Kudos.

In late September I was asked by Angie McMahon, "Have you heard about this Rally to Restore Sanity that Jon Stewart is having in DC?"
"Yes."
"Is anyone doing one in Chicago?"
"I haven't heard. I don't think so."
"I wonder why. Want to help me plan?"

I may have said "Sure!" and then chugged a little more beer. The thing is, Angie McMahon isn't all talk.

I believe it was the next day that the Facebook page for the Chicago satellite of the Rally to Restore Sanity was launched. The initial intent was to get enough people interested in attending in order to find someone with the know-how to plan and coordinate the entire thing. On September 22nd, I wrote to Angie: "458 people attending so far! Angie, this is so great!!" By early October that number grew, and grew, and grew. As I write this, the number of people who "liked" the Chicago satellite rally on Facebook is at a whopping 7,969. Talk about a snowball effect.

For the past month, I have watched from the sidelines as Angie has rallied followers, talent, local production companies and sponsors, started a Paypal account to raise funds, and basically man an entire movement all by her lonesome. As the month-long time line dwindled into weeks, then days, people on Facebook started to get agitated, antsy. Would the city of Chicago even grant us a permit? Is this thing actually happening? Why doesn't Angie just call Oprah? Angie herself was a skeptic. I never was.

I knew that, on October 30th, I would stand in Grant Park and watch hundreds (and possibly thousands) of people gather to simply say, "Enough of the bullshit. Let's just get along already." And I knew Angie would be at the helm. At times I felt extreme guilt for not participating more in the planning of this event. I didn't do what I could to help a person who found herself in the middle of internet-based mayhem and bedlam. As independent and determined as I tend to be, I have been known to find a "mother hen" or two to guide me along certain paths in my life. Angie McMahon has been one of my hens since I moved to Chicago in 2007. So, when I saw people criticizing my mommy, I went on the defensive.

Most people have been supportive and considerate throughout this entire process, and I know that Angie is grateful to them. They outweighed the naysayers by a landslide. The rally happened. And for the better part of it, it was a peaceful gathering of moderates willing to laugh off idiocy and say, "To hell with ignorance." But I also witnessed people coming down hard on Angie and giving her lectures on how she was "losing the crowd" by not letting them simply watch the DC rally on a jumbo tron. How it was "unfair" to the speakers because no one wanted to listen to them. They'd all rather see Ozzy Osbourne perform. "You're involved in theater, you should know when you're losing your crowd."

I couldn't help it. I went on the defensive again.
"Ma'am, there are still a ton of people here and they seem to be listening. If people want to watch TV, they can do it at home."

Yet another woman told Angie not to "allow" people to swear into the microphone. Yes, Angie McMahon has directed several scripted productions but, ladies and gentlemen, this was not one of them. Angie never called people to Grant Park to watch TV together. It was clear from the beginning that Chicago's satellite would stream some live footage from the DC rally, but we would also make this a rally of our own, inspired by the one held by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. As these women walked away, I grabbed Angie and I said, "Remember, all you did was start a Facebook page and fuck them if they don't like it." Their bitching and moaning defeated the entire purpose of gathering in the first place. This was intended to be a peaceful event. Angie later took the stage and eloquently restated what this rally was about, what she had intended to do, and thanked those who stayed to listen to our speakers and performers who had taken special time out of this beautiful Saturday afternoon to "share this moment" with all of us.

I couldn't have been more proud of my mother hen. I am a person who has a hard time planning what I should eat for lunch. Angie McMahon plans rallies that are "bigger" than herself, and she does it with grace. Those of us who know Angie are well aware that she is notorious for biting off more than she can chew. But, we should never underestimate her ability to break down that bite into easy-to-manage proportions after the fact. Not to make this a feminist thing, but what a remarkably strong and determined woman! I realized today how lucky the world is that Angie is raising daughters.

Please, if you see her around town in the next couple of days, give Angie a pat on the back, a simple "thank you" or a "well done." Do not buy her a drink. She's pregnant. But she does deserve some credit. She became an accidental leader today, and she did a damn fine job.

Raise a glass (of milk) to Angela McMahon!