No Kings. Not in Her 94 Years.

The honking was enthusiastic. The work is harder.

On Saturday, I went to the No Kings Rally in Toms River, New Jersey.

I brought a homemade sign that caused some enthusiastic honking. (Scroll all the way down for a peek.)

There were so many amazing signs, but one impressed me the most. The sign belonged to a 94 year old, in a wheelchair, and read: NO KINGS. (Not in my 94 years — NOT EVER.)

I don’t know her name. I know she showed up. And I know that when a 94-year-old woman wheels herself to a rally, the least the rest of us can do is get off the couch.

This was the biggest turnout yet — over 8 million people at more than 3,300 events across all 50 states. Organizers are calling it the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. The first rally drew 5 million. Then 7 million. Now 8 million. Something is growing.

Was it fun? Yes. Was it energizing to be surrounded by people who are paying attention? Absolutely. But I want to be honest with you: a rally doesn’t save democracy. Showing up on a Saturday feels good. The harder work happens on the other days — in the conversations you don’t walk away from, with the people you can’t quite avoid.

Last fall I wrote Why Good People Must Stop Being Quiet — with actual scripts for those moments when someone drops a lie at the dinner table and you freeze. If you haven’t read it, now is a good time. If you have, it might be worth another look.

P.S. April Fools! There is no 94-year-old. There was no rally. Democracy is fine. Everything is fine. (It's not fine. She was real. Go read Why Good People Must Stop Being Quiet and get those scripts ready to play a part in saving our democracy.)

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A few things going forward:

I’m writing twice a month now — a choice I made intentionally, not reluctantly. You’ll still hear from me, and when you do, it’ll be worth opening. I’m also hosting a monthly Substack Live. If you haven’t joined one yet, keep an eye out — the next one is coming soon.

Show up when it matters. See you in two weeks