When Does Uncle Sam Look Like the Pillsbury Dough Boy?

I drove to Toledo OH today. The high temperature was 46 degrees but it felt colder because of the wind. Trump was holding one of his rallies and I read on Facebook that a number of Democratic groups were getting protestors together in response. One of these groups, Refuse Facism, posted on Facebook last week and it caught my attention. I posted that I was going and invited others to carpool. No one responded so I made the hour trip to Toledo on my own.

There were thousands of Trump supporters lined up to get into the arena at the Huntington Center where Trump was to speak. A large police force with bicycles was present to separate Trump fans from his detractors. How many detractors? A few hundred. 

Photographers were out shooting. And as usual, many took photos of me. None of them, however, were carrying business cards. In the future I am going to have to have a pen and paper on me so they can give me their names and the media with which they are affiliated.  With lots of photos being taken, sans interviews and business cards, it is virtually impossible to track coverage.

I had four layers on from the waist down and seven layers on my torso. Frankly, I have no idea how I squeezed so many layers under my Uncle Sam outfit. I must have looked fifty pounds heavier than usual. I believe Uncle Sam resembled the Pillsbury Dough Boy. You be the judge. Here's a photo taken by a Toledo Blade photographer taken shortly after I arrived.

Photos by photographer Larry N. Nash really give a sense of how charged the environment was. Thanks to Drew A. Doblinger for forwarding these photos posted on Facebook.

A number of people approached me who I had met at other political events. One man with whom I spoke recalled our meeting in Westerville. I responded by telling him that the photo that was taken of him and his wife with me had been shared on Facebook multiple times. He was delighted with that news. Drew A. Doblinger (meanpeacerevolution), a political artist and activist, gave me his business card (the only one I received there), telling me he had posted a photo of me he had taken at a conference in Lansing MI and I could find it on Instagram. Here it is. 

The next debate is in Des Moines IA next Tuesday. The forecast calls for a high of 32 degrees, low 22 degrees. Brrrrrr.  I am headed to the store to buy more thermal underwear. I should be able to use it again in Manchester NH on February 7th. Oh the challenge of battling winter weather without a coat!