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TICK
TOCK, tick
tock ... the stoic and inscrutable
Olympic Clock might have said, if it were not digital and could talk.
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We dashed past the
Flying Girl seen through the Vancouver Public Library window, thinking we were late for the
Stop Proroguing Parliament Rally.
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Although in a hurry, we couldn't resist stopping to admire the library's marvelous mass of architectural arcs and swirls.
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Surprisingly, at the Vancouver Art Gallery where the rally was to be held, we instead found a lone woman at the foot of the historically ornate building who explained the group had left and was marching to Victory Square.
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Time relaxed for a moment when a mother, with her adorable daughter and doll, caught my attention and she allowed me to take a picture. They were each accidentally dressed in a pretty pattern resembling the giant floral panel decorating the gallery walls.
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Arriving at Victory Square, we discovered a notable crowd. There were buttons, waving flags, and a variety of signage to show
objections over the closure of Parliament until March 3, 2010.
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Standing in the mud-soaked grass, we were immersed in speeches and the hearty organized shouting of slogans by a conscientious crowd.
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It was encouraging to see such a rousing civil display of democracy. The rally was just one of several groups voicing their views last Saturday.
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People expressing themselves throughout the city covered topics such as:
Save Christians In Egypt; to
Haiti Needs Emergency Relief, Not Military Intervention; to
Canadian Troops Out Of Afghanistan. There were also several folk out and about protesting the upcoming Olympics.
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The peaceful array of democratic opinion was somehow as comforting and colorful as the unruffled rainbow circling one onlooker's hat.
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For more information about the purpose of the rally we attended search for
Proroguing of Parliament online.