10 PM in the Nation's Capital

'The whole world is talking about what we're doing here.'

read Part 1 of this series here: Fireworks & Applause
previous installment: Making an Entrance

For the past six hours, Ted and Sally have been stuck in traffic. They’re lined up nose-to-tail on Ottawa’s Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway amongst vehicles of all shapes and sizes. It’s now 10 pm.

As far as they can tell, their access to the downtown core is being blocked by the police. They’ve heard there are plenty of parking places closer to Parliament Hill, but solid information is scarce. What’s certain is that they’re two kilometers from the action and there are no toilets, coffee vendors, or other amenities close by.

• Ted plays a video on his phone, recorded earlier that day while the sun shone, of a First Nations drum circle performing on Parliament Hill.

• Someone watching Sally’s livestream tells her she should have brought along a pail. “I did today,” says this person, “and thank goodness for that! Sat in the truck for hrs with nowhere to pee.”

• Sally agrees it has been a challenge. “I’ve done a lot of peeing on the side of the road,” she laughs. “No big deal.”

• Over the trucker radio, a voice asks if anyone else is on the channel. Half a dozen people, including Ted, check in. Someone suggests they honk their horns in unison for ten seconds to “see how loud we can get. You ready? Three, two, one.”

Afterward, the chatter picks up a bit:

Never seen so many happy people in a traffic jam before…Yeah no kidding…Everybody hugging, it’s just been a rush. I don’t think I’m ever going to come down off it…

…Yeah it’s definitely something to be proud of, to be part of this thing, that’s for sure…I don’t think anything else in life, driving a truck, will compare to this moment…

…I’m getting phone calls from everybody back at home. They said the whole world is talking about what we’re doing here.

next installment: The Parkway Shuffle