And many people think we are all leftist and fruitcakes here. LOL!
Unfortunately, I can not make it, but will at some point.
Until then we do what we can to pay tribute. Thanks for the report Doug.
Flag half mast 
Posted on 06/07/2004 11:24:06 PM PDT by doug from upland
It was a moving and awesome experience today at the Reagan Library. In the FReeper motorhome were BobJ,Dio, Mr. & Mrs. Doughty One, RonC, and Bob. Who did I miss?
I was off the FReeway at about noon and finally mad it into the line at about 1:20. I made it to the rotunda at about 4pm.
The reports on the news are lying. If you are there now, your wait will be a minimum of 5 hours. People just kept coming and coming and coming.
Did anyone watch KTLA tonight? They interviewed me on camera and I gave them some good stuff about the Gipper and his vision that defeated the greatest evil of the 20th Century. Also, I spoke to NBC and Gannett news service.
The outpouring of love for this remarkarkable man made the trip worthwhile. I understand they are extending the hours to 11pm tomorrow night. I spent a great deal of time walking by the line and saying hi to people. I finally left at about 9:30.
Doug McIntyre of KABC stopped by and was looking for me. Unfortunately, I was in line and missed him. He has a great show and had me in studio one night during the Clinton years, coining the term "Clintonologist."
Those who were there, please check in.
Don't you just love it when the leftist RAT b*st*rds must listen to a week of great things about the Gipper?
This is the only time in my life that I wish I was in California.
Way to go. KFI - John Zigler is doing interviews right now...the people are awesome. Reagan right up to the end knows how to pull the rug out from under the dems. A whole week of Reagan. All the truth. All the greatness and what he accomplished. I am loving it. The Reagan Library is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Mr. C4E and I will visit again to pay our respects.
Red
Sandy and I arrived at the FReeper motorhome parked in the Moorpark College parking lot around 2:00 p.m. There we talked to BobJ, Diotima and a number of other FReepers until 3:30.
At three thirty we walked to the end of the line and waiting in line from 3:37 until 6:32. At 6:32 we boarded a bus and traveled to the Reagan Library. We stood in line there for about thirty minutes. As we road the bus to the library, we realized the line we stood in for nearly three hours, was at least twice as long as it had been when we started. I would estimate it was over a mile long, as it wound it's way over, around, through, and back and forth on the campus. It was a grueling line, that moved well at times, then didn't at others.
Entering the Reagan Library, we walked straight in toward the casket, around the right side, behind it to the left and back out essentially the way we came in. The casket rested on a black velvet draped beir. The beir rested on a blue carpet, end toward the entry way. Standing at the foot were two representatives of the military services, facing the casket, backs to the entry way. Three other members of the honor guard stood at the other end of the casket, facing the entry way. They were very impressive.
Folks talked about seeing the changing of the honor guard. They were very impressed.
The time spent in the presence of President Reagan's casket, was only long enough to impress you of his continuing stature, the reverence with which people held him, the incredible respect shown by the military honor guard, and the overwhelming emotion that affects each person differently.
I have deep respect for Reagan. I didn't find the experience to be an overly emotional one for me, but it was a sad day. I have come to understand that there comes a time in life when you are ready to rest eternally. Considering Reagan's final years, I am happy for him. He served us well.
Some of the other men admitted that their eyes welled up as they entered the viewing area. I won't deny that I was moved by the experience.
Some people will spend in excess of eight to ten hours from the time they start waiting to park, until they leave the parking space, to spend a few moments in the presence of Ronald Reagan. I felt compelled to pay my respects to this man. I am glad I did, even though it took just under four hours to do so.
As we drove away from the library cars were backed on the Ronald Reagan Freeway for four miles to the east. As the freeway wound around the curves to the west, nothing but carlights could be seen, their occupants waiting to pay last respects to a man who changed the world.
In line we saw whites, blacks, hispanics, asians..., you name it, they were there. From young children to people who needed help getting around, people from every demographic were represented. Folks in the area by chance had decided to add an impromptu pilgramage to their travel plans.
Claudia Bermudez, daughter of a prominant Contra Freedom Fighter, stoped by the motorhome this afternoon. We talked for twenty minutes or so. She hoped that people would remember that Reagan rescued her people from communism.
Some of us will Claudia.
My eyes welled up too, Ron.
Red
The more they're hatin' it, the more I'm lovin' it!
Very nice work today, DFU! With media and everything else! The crowd must have been awesome!
Quite a day. I managed to get on Al Rantel this morning and then give him a report on the scene in the evening.
No clue. It wouldn't suprise me that there were 25,000 people at the college in the late afternoon and early evening. I don't know, can they get 1000 people through the rotunda in an hour?
KFI stated that 1800 people per hour were viewing the casket. At around the twelve hour mark, this will mean that over 20,000 people have done so, so far.
Without going into detail and drawing this out, I will say that I think this viewing should have been handled at a different location, one that could have accomodated more viewers per hour, better parking and far less wait.
IMO, the current setup, as nice as it is at the Reagan Library, will severely limit the ability for people who want to, to pay their final respects. I think that's a shame.
I know the planers meant well, but this is overwhelming in scope.
Copied from the other thread.
Here's a report from Moorpark.
We got there at 8:45 pm. We went the back way so traffic wasn't so bad. Took about l/2 hour to get in the parking lot. Took us about 15 minutes to walk to the end of the line. There are literally thousands and thousands of people lined up to see him and this is 10:00 at night. We waited in line for 1.25 hours. I asked a police man his estimate for our wait - he said anywhere from three to six hours more. There aren't enough facilities to accomodate all these people, no water, etc. We left because we can come back and pay our respects once he is buried. As we left we saw tons of people streaming in and a solid line of headlights on the freeway.
People, if you are planning on attending - bring plenty of water and if you come during the day, you will be in the sun - there isn't any shade.
I don't think wearing fancy clothes is appropriate - especially heels. Coat and tie could be pretty stifling if during the daytime.
Never did see the FReeperBus but did run into Merry10 and PeoplesRepublicofLA.
FOX News was saying an estimate of 10,000 in the first several hours of the public viewing. While that may be factually inaccurate, it just shows the sheer number of people who have come out to the Reagan Library in such a short amount of time. They were saying that some may end up in line and not be able to pass by the casket. I was awed that the wait was at a minimum of 3 hours.
And many people think we are all leftist and fruitcakes here. LOL!
Unfortunately, I can not make it, but will at some point.
Until then we do what we can to pay tribute. Thanks for the report Doug.
Flag half mast
Hey DoughtyOne.... KCBS 2 news just reported a 8 to 10 mile back up on the 118 fwy as of 11:30 PM just to exit to the collage drive.....Im glad I went when I did ant 10 AM... there was no back up on the fwy and that time and it was packed at the collage then
PS nice to meet you and your wife today
We were amazed to see the traffic headed west toward the library. It was clear to us things were going to get a lot worse. There just isn't the parking available to service this amount of traffic.
It was great seeing you also.
Red
I just got home from picking up my wife and daughter from(Atlanta) on their return trip from Orange County,CA.
They said they wished they could have gone by there.Their flight left 3pm pst.
I suspect the estimated number of 100,000 in DC is very underestimated.
Just got back from my attempt to get to Moorpark College and then on to the Library. We left at 8:45pm from OC and took the 405 to the 101 to the 23. We were stopped short of the Collins exit by about 2.5 miles. KABC radio had a guy in the bus line that had waited 4.5 hours and still had aways to go. Other stations are saying the wait is approaching six hours and growing. I have a 10:00 in San Diego, my wife has a noon flight to Chicago and my daughter works at 11:00 am. We turned around. It took us 30 minutes to get to the point where we could exit via the shoulder at the next exit.
The out pouring of respect from Southern Californians and others that have traveled to this area is immense and impressive. KABC estimated the crowd at the college at 30k and the back-up on the Freeways stretches for miles. God Bless those trying to get to the Library and God Bless the FReepers for what they did.
God Bless President Reagan and his family.
Thanks for this great report dfu - I wanted so badly to be there.
O'Reilly was commenting tonight about the apparent overkill in coverage of Reagan. He said people should send him an email, or vote in his poll (which is for paid people) and let him know if it's been too much or if people are happy.
I think we should help O'Reilly out by telling him WE LOVE THE AMOUNT OF COVERAGE!!
It's so great to be hearing something positive instead of that constant negative drumbeat.
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