San Diego RESCUE!

It took me until the wee hours of Sunday to realize that the San Diego RESCUE was a success...

My day started at 10:00 when all volunteers, sporting their bright blue “Here to Help!” shirts, started setting up. At 1:00 my team hiked up to Horton Plaza and set up the Abduction Site. All was quiet at 2:30 when we were ready, clipboards and ropes in hand.

At 3:00 people started showing up and for the next two hours we frantically circled the fountain answering questions, reassuring parents, signing waivers and promising that we would be leaving in 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then within the next 45 minutes. Finally, over an hour later, we got the signal to send our groups lead by a volunteer, hanging 40 deep on a rope, to Embarcadero Marina Park South. We marched down 5th and wrapped around the Convention Center. It was quite a site to see and I missed it… I was back at Horton Plaza packing up supplies and taking down signs. I’m so happy Michelle took pictures!

Once we returned (5:30 – 6:00ish) to the park we were meet with the sight of 1000 people setting up sleeping bags and tents in front of a well lit stage while music played, video cameras taped and blue-shirted volunteers dotted the crowd. We gathered together for a mass picture, which had us acting serious, then excited, then serious with fist in air, then fist in air and unrolling sign, then redo, hold it for 30 seconds, just one more shot, just one more shot, ok last one, ok this is the absolute last one, Oh! Just had a great idea, one more and break!

Around 7:00 I finally got some much needed food – in the form of two lovely Pat and Oscar breadsticks and a Powerbar. I enjoyed some greatly appreciated down time while chatting with new fiends and then on to the speeches. This is where I thought the RESCUE would feel like a success! And it did to a point – we had two Ugandans, one was the mayor of Kitgum, two marathoners, a hotel owner and San Diego Charger, Vincent Jackson all give amazing speeches. It was inspiring and reassuring that this event had a good purpose and gained the attention of such a variety of people.

After that we were technically rescued and people were free to go, some did, but many stayed. I hung around, chatted with some volunteers and almost left. I’m so glad I didn’t. A bit after midnight we heard screams and looked up to see sprinklers shooting water onto the sleeping abductees. We stared as they scrambled to move their sleeping bags and supplies. A few minutes later the sprinklers in front of us shot on and throughout the crowd, they kept sprouting up like that stupid gopher game I always see at arcades and never win!

People rushed in with overturned buckets to stop the spray, and we made a mad-dash to save the letters we wrote to our lawmakers, the sound equipment and the merchandise! Unfortunately there was an oversight on someone’s part to turn off the sprinklers and they continued their cycle, completely soaking the grass. Many people decided that their night was through and left – I do not blame them for a minute!

For me the best part of the RESCUE happened next. A large group of dedicated people decided to stay; they dragged their belongings across the parking lot to a basketball court and returned to the wet grass in a giant, dancing line singing about peace. Staying on the hard, cement basketball court was dedication. They could have chosen to go home, and no one would have blamed them. Someone got on a megaphone and reminded us to think about what the abducted child soldier goes through, that comparatively this was cake. Those who stayed took that to heart. After the sprinklers ran their course a small group of volunteers and I waded through the soaking grass to clean up, laughing to keep ourselves awake. Around 2:30am I laid my sleeping bag down on the cement and joined the last of the Abductees. As I snuggled into my sleeping bag and tried to warm my soaking wet socks I took a look at about 100 very dedicated people and three very tired volunteers who made me extremely happy that I chose to stay. That is when, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I knew that the San Diego RESCUE had been a success.