After Action Report From Crawford

basil ^ | 8/28/05 | basil

[basil]

So now it's all a part of history. Would that all of you could have been there to take part in this joyous day of celebrating our troops, our president, and our mission. Everyone who was able to attend saw different things, had different experiences, came away with a different idea of what transpired yesterday. That is the nature of how these things work.

My own perspective is that the event was a huge success. The number of people who gave freely of their time, their pocketbooks, their expertise, their muscle power, and their overwhelmning support was truly phenomenal! What a heart-lifting experience to be surrounded by good, all American Americans! What a contrast to those poor people on the left, with their sad faces, their misplaced loyalty, and in some cases, their desire to destroy this, the most successful country the world has ever seen.

My perspective on the day will probably be surprising to some, especially to those who have never been involved in the planning and execution of a large event like this. The truth of the matter is that during the event, you are too busy to see and hear what is going on up on the stage, and around the periphery of the event. There are always details to keep up with, people needing something taken care of IMMEDIATELY, some minor emergency or some request, that keeps you focused on that little subject, instead of what's happening a bit futher afield from your location at the moment. In actuality, in a lot of ways, I wasn't there!

There was never a time to just stop and listen to this speaker or that one---most of them, I didn't hear at all. The one thing I did hear was the lovely singing of our anthem by Mr. Bruce Odems, a career Austin Firefighter, and a veteran of the 1st Gulf War. No one could miss him, as his lovely voice was projected so beautifully out over the crowd. Then, it was time to turn back and take care of other details.

Many thanks to TXBubba for keeping a live thread going--(someday, I will have finished reading all of those 3 thousand plus posts). I was not very helpful as the phone connection was so bad for one thing, and for another, there were so many things happening that I didn't yet know about, so I couldn't tell her about them. And--well, I have to add that some of the things I told her turned out to be not true anyway, so maybe some of that bad phone reception was a good thing--LOL!

There are so many people who did a yeoman's job of making this thing a roaring success. It was incredible--people from all over the country just showed up with wonderful contributions, and went to work right away. I'm going to start a list of the ones I remember off the top of my head, and hope that The Sarce, Gracey, Drewsdad, and all the other freepers there will add to the list.

First of all, of course, is Kristinn. There are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe the contribution he made to this endeavor. Those of you who know Kristinn know what I mean--the rest of you will have to take our word for it. Kristinn is Kristinn and is one of FR's finest gifts.

While mentioning Kristinn, I have to interject and mention that 2 of my very good non-freeper friends who happen to live very near Crawford took over the duty of chauffering the non-driving Kristinn around all day every day from Wednesday through yesterday--when they even had to drive him about 100 miles to the DFW airiport, as the shuttle flight from Waco had mechanical problems. I won't mention there full names here for obvious reason, but Rich and Gail, you know who you are, and you have our gratitude!

One of our newer freepers, by the name of FFforFreedom-I think I got that right, but will check it to be sure-just literally connected with me, and got the ball rolling putting members of the Austin Firefighters Union to work, and rounding up supplies for the rally. The list of things they added is a long one, but one of the bigest things they contributed was sheer muscle power, hard work, heart, and sweat. They are the guys who furnished the barbeque and other food (and it was delicious). They hauled their grill and the power system to run it out to the site early in the day, and the smell of grilling sausage and brisket filled the air. They furnished water, ice, generators, fans, the EMS service, and on and on. They even hauled in a discarded old bathtub and iced down a load of watermelons in it! That's pure Texas, folks--LOL! Please give a word of thanks for these fine fellows. As the packing up, cleaning up was underway, FFforFreedom was nowhere to be seen--and then, all of a sudden, I spy him walking across the field, holding up his own IV! Seems he had finally been overcome by the heat and had to be administered to himself by the very EMS that he was responsible for getting onsite! He was on his way back to join his crew in cleaning up and packing up!

There were the two female dynamos from Ft. Benning, GA, who just came out of nowhere--with their 3 story tall flag, their balloons, their yellow ribbons, tents, and on and on. It was these young ladies who paid to rent out the air conditioned Community Center for EMS to have a place to bring in victims of the extreme heat for treatment. These gals were like a whirling dervish--came in, set up, broke it down, and carried it away. The engineering, heavy equipment, and all the details necessary to pull this off were just there--that's all--they just showed up.

The wonderful speakers, who truly spoke from their hearts, the families with loved ones serving in the Middle East, the bikers, the people on horseback, the true Gold Star Families--the people who made all the sacrifices to get to the rally from near and far--all contributed greatly to this wonderful day of patriotism and support for our fighting troops, their Commander In Chief, our mission.

Have no worry about lack of media coverage. (Is anyone really surprised?). Many, many cameras got this rally memorialized on film, and that film will find it's way to Iraq and Afghanistan and our toops will know that there is huge support for them in the U S of A! That was the point--that was our message, and our Service Men and Women will know this!

I will close with one personal incident that occurred at the end of this very long day. Forgive me, but I just feel the need "share" this.

We're finally on the road for home--it's about 8:30 PM or so, and Doctor Raoul is driving. He is an excellent, very safe driver (although he drives a bit slower than I do--LOL!) Anyway, after a while, he tells me that he has sort of hit the wall, and is having trouble keeping his eyes open. So we switch, and I take over the wheel. Raoul is now in the passenger seat, trying to snatch a few ZZZZZZ's, when he stirs, and says, "Is that a siren I hear?" I look out the rear window, and sure enough--I see these flashing blue and white lights, and the siren is growing closer. (Keep in mind, I've been behind the wheel for --oh maybe 5 minutes). Of course, I'm being nabbed--LOL!.

I pulled over , and my "new friend in blue" pulls in behind me. Also, you must know, we were on a back road, not a major highway, and there was very little traffic, and nothing but open road ahead. I didn't want anyone to get the idea that I was endangering anyone--but I was definitely speeding.

So the cop walks up and introduces himself as Officer so and so, from the Hutto TX police dept, and that he clocked me going 76 in a 65 mph zone. I tell him, "Guilty as charged, officer, and it is also my obligation to let you know that I am armed." He asked if I had a License to carry the gun, and I said yes. And then............................

His radio squawked--

and the message is that there is an erratic driver on the road, with a child in the car. The officer looks at me, and says. "Be on your way, and drive safely!" He hadn't even gotten around to asking for my driver's license! He ran back to his car and took off!

Doctor Raoul, who never opened his mouth during all of this, was wondering if he dreamt the whole episode. I told him no, it happened, and it just goes to show that there is a GOD! End of story--the rest of you take over with your details now, please--I've already been far too long-winded!

[FFforFreedom]

I wittnessed a rancher offering up his land for "Pro Bush" Supporters to park on.

[freema]

There is not a big enough hug, a big enough kiss, to thank everyone!

I received a call last night from the father in law of a local fallen soldier. It's been months since I've spoken with anyone in the family.

Last winter as libslefties were using dead soldiers to score political points in our local paper, I countered them non-stop all the way to the corporate media, finally publicly vowing on the opinion page that no one would denigrate his or others' service and sacrifice without a fight.

He called last night to say they keep that letter and to express their gratitude.

I pass this to you so that you have some idea of how much this past weekend meant to me. I don't know if any of us can ever know how much it means to the families of the fallen who support this mission.

God bless Freepers everywhere.

[FFforFreedom]

Thanks for letting me use your phone.

I was at the end of my rope. That IV got me back in the saddle to finish loading up.

It was amazing how many freepers were there helping.

Thanks again!

[mac_truck]

bookmark

[FFforFreedom]

I'm with you on this one. This was a mistake. The way the Warriors designed their signs added to the problem.

The largest words were meant as sarcasm which was defined by smaller print at the bottom of the sign.

I was minding my own business and got caught in the middle of this and witnessed it first hand. There were a few in the crowd that were so upset they wouldn't allow the Warriors to explain or take the time to read the signs. I tried to show them the sign but they wouldn't allow me to turn it over for them.

I spoke with the Warriors after they left the event. They were still receiving some problems from folks who didn't understand. I had to get up on my buddies truck to explain to the crowd that it was a misunderstanding and that the Protest Warriors are a conservative group.

[FFforFreedom]

Thanks for your support of the fire fighters.

I have an earlier post explaining who we are. Basil had a minor misunderstanding of my group. I organize conservative fire fighters in central Texas. Much of our work counters Union Leadership activities. We don't have a formal corp set up YET.

I will make sure the guys know how thankful you are. If you want to write something to them, I'll be sure to get it mailed out to them.

[ariamne]

Thanks for your efforts to clear things up. I joined PW right after becoming a conservative and was looking for a means to counter the protests on the left. These generally young men and women wade right into the leftist fray, a dangerous undertaking, given the violent propensities of the leftist hordes. I am glad you were there to defend their intentions.

[basil]

I hope your friend can find the peace that will begin to heal his heart. Thanks for telling us about him. He's in my prayers.

[SuzyQue]

"I guess we could organize a sort of chain reaction effort. The original producer burns 10 copies and sends them to ten folks. They each burn 10 copies, sending one or two to other volunteers, and the rest to a central collection person for shipment to the troops. Each volunteer does the same. If you have a critical mass of volunteers, you'd end up with an explosion CD's or Video disks."

Sounds like a great idea. I think the hard part would be to get all of the pics in one place to start with. What do we need to do?

[FFforFreedom]

NEED HELP!

I need someone to mail me with names and numbers of leaders at Camp Reality.

I'm trying to locate the troughs we used to put ice and water in during the rally.

This could be very expensive if we don't locate them and get them returned.

Thanks!

Adam

[basil]

I'm so sorry I can't help you. I never went to Camp Reality, and never met anyone there.

Good luck in your search. Mari

[FFforFreedom]

That's OK!

Some one took them to Camp Reality and they were supposed to be delivered to Bar None.

If we can find a contact at the Camp it would help

[anymouse]

You were there when the ice water troughs where moved to Camp Reality. Do you know who "FFforFreedom" should contact to find out what happened to the troughs?

I was at Camp Reality when the troughs where delivered. Then the storm clouds came and wind gusts came and blew down several awnings. We went into town for the candle light ceremony.

When I went back to Camp Reality on Sunday, I don't remember seeing the troughs. I'm sure our guys had a guard posted, but I wouldn't put it past the lefties to steal anything not nailed down.

[anymouse]

Here are some more photos of the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" rally and other "support the troops and President Bush" events in Crawford, TX.

The photos can be found linked at the top of the Galveston County Republican Party web site at:

http://www.galvestoncountygop.com

Some samples (click on thumbnail to see higher resolution photo):

[FFforFreedom]

I'm headed out there today.

Thanks for the info.

[95 Bravo]

Perhaps some could be posted on www.americasupportsyou.com.?

[strategofr]

"Perhaps some could be posted on www.americasupportsyou.com.?"

Sounds like a great idea. Maybe you could try personal mailing some of the people who were there, based on their statements on various threads, and see who has access to some video.

[strategofr]

"The original producer burns 10 copies and sends them to ten folks. They each burn 10 copies.."

It would be great if people did something like this. I also have a feeling that we could pay a professional manufacturer a ridiculously small amount per DVD to print out 10,000 or more. If the amount of money was small enough, it could easily be raised here on FR I suspect. Although I am jammed with work at the moment, I hope to have some time in a short while. I will try to research the question of how much it costs to have DVDs manufactured and what kind of minimum quantities they require.

[SuzyQue]

I'm game. I think I'll start gathering up photos. Let me know what you find out.

[strategofr]

"I'm game. I think I'll start gathering up photos. Let me know what you find out."

OK, but is it just photos? No video?