I was also trying to gauge how many people were marching. I am not an expert on these matters but...I hate to say this but I must be honest...I do not believe that 400,000 came, as Leslie Cagan claims. Yes, it was a large demonstration, but a few blocks away from the main action and you didn't know it was going on. That's just not the way I remember the enormous anti-war demonstrations of my childhood, although I could be exaggerating their impact. But I don't think that this demonstration was as big as they were.

Practically everyone that I know left Manhattan. They are the sort of people who went to those antiwar demonstrations a generation ago.

After we marched past Madison Square Garden we turned on 34th Street towards Fifth (west) and then downtown. I bailed out on 28th and went up to 59th Street. I wanted to see if anything imaginative was going on at the Plaza. Nothing. (It was around 2:30 p.m. at this point). I walked through the park and recovered at my apartment. Then I took a walk through Central Park before coming here, where I have internet access.

Leslie Cagan held court at the entrance to the Delacorte Theater. I asked her how many people came. She said, "400,000." (As I said, I don't think so.) Then I walked to The Great Lawn, which was the scene of a wonderful impromptu People's Demonstration, like a huge Hyde Park. I walked around the lawn, which is a large oval shape. There were tables set up by various extremist organizations, people dressed in anti-Bush paraphernalia. On the shady, east side of the lawn cops lined up for drinks or lazed around, looking at the lawn unconcernedly. A soccer game and a softball game proceeded on the north part of the lawn. Everything was mellow and friendly.

Violence. None, nada, not a bit. Sorry to disappoint the rabid right-wing, but I didn't see even a spark of anger. A few cops were grumpy and chilly, counterbalanced by those who were friendly and cooperative.