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Healthcare Rally and lobby day in DC
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Healthcare Reform Rally In DC
The Way I See It
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
HealthCare Reform Rally in Washington
On June 24Th and 25Th, I had the pleasure of an experience that I will not forget. On Wednesday morning , the 24th i was taken to the airport in Memphis to catch a flight to Washington D.C.. This was the first time I had ever be on a commercial airlines and was excited about the trip. After 2 airports with the unpacking , taking my shoes of and my belt then putting it all back in place, I arrived at Reagan National Airport. Before getting off the plane I met 2 ladies from Denver that were there for the same reason that I was and were going to the same Hotel. Lucky me; I had someone to split the cab fare with. Once we arrived at the hotel I checked in and went to my room to unload my bags. It was a beautiful hotel in the heart of the embassy district. The Indian, Indoneson, and Malaysian Embassies were on the other 3 corners of the intersection where our hotel was. They call this Embassy Row for obvious reasons. The time was 3:00 pm and the itinerary said that our group was to meet in the lobby at 4:00 pm. We all met and introduced ourselves and quickly grabbed 2 cabs and headed off to Freedom Plaza. This was the place Where our first rally was to take place.
The rally was held to let Congress know that we were all there to insist on HealthCare Reform now. There were thousands of people there for that very purpose. There were delagates there from many different organizations and individuals that want to see the Healthcare Reform Bill pass through congress this year. I was there as a delegate for SEIU; to tell my congressman my story and why I think this needs to happen.
When we arrived at Freedom Plaza; it was overwhelming and exciting to see the gathering, with the stages and the booths with the entertainment and the speakers that were there for the rest of the day. While watching all of this, I couldn't help but notice our Nations Capital in the background. After all we were right on Pennsylvania Blvd. I watched and listened all afternoon in the heat of the afternoon sun as the Plaza started to fill with people. There was one speaker after another lined up waiting his or her turn to come to the podium and say why they belived in Reform of a system that had for so many years, failed us. There were Doctors and Nurses that spoke about why they wanted to see the change and major religious leaders of all faiths that spoke on behalf of all those that they worshiped with; Those of Christian Faith, Moslems, Jew, Catholic, and Hindu all there to do thier part. There were some members of Congress there also, including Congressman John Conyers of NY. The rally lasted till about 9:30 pm; then we all went back to our hotels to call it a night.
The next morning our group met in the lobby for a breifing of what we were to be doing all day and what we should expect when we met with our congressmen. In our group we represented the 5th, 6th and 8th district in Tennessee. We were all to meet with the congressmen in all three of these districts. We were all there to tell athese gentlemen our own story of why we wanted to see the right changes made in our HealthCare system.
It was an awesome feeling standing in line to go into the office building where our lawmakers had their offices. There had been alot of famous men and women walk those very halls since the begining and we were about to walk down those very halls.
We went to each office as a group, but the plan was that the delegates from that district be the ones to sit down and tell his or her story. There were also representatives from SEIU that were with us to help ask the questions that needed to be asked. Our first visit was with Congressman Jim Cooper of the 5th District. He invited us in and we all gathered around in his office, most were seated with him sitting in the circle with us. There was a social worker and a male nurse; RN in ICU at the Veterans Hospital, that were in his district. The congressman was a good listener and gave good responsive answers to all the questions that were asked of him and responded to the stories that were told. Congressman Cooper was on our side.
After we left his office we decided to walk to the other side of the capital bldg. to athe main rally of the event. It was in Upper Senate Park, in the shadows of the Capital building. The walk itself was a memorable journey. We walked all the way across the front of the Capital building, taking pictures of this awesome building as we walked to the other side. When we got to the park there were thousands of people there listening to the speakers; holding up their "Healthcare Reform Now" signs and cheering for each of the speakers. again many of them were doctors, congressmen and Senators. Howard Dean was to speak later but we didnt have time to stay. There were more meetings for us to go to. We missed the box lunch that was to be waiting for us so we made our way back to the House building and took a small break in the cafateria where all the staff in the building went for lunch.
Next it was time for the meeting with Congressman John Tanner of the 8th District. Unfortunately Congressman Tanner was unable to be there. His Chief of Staff, Vickie Walling was there to meet with us. She explained that she was the one that handled the Healthcare issue for him, therefore she was the one that we needed to talk to anyway. But it would have been nice if the Congressman had been there since he is our vote in congress. And it just happened to be that he is my congressman. I'm sure that there were more pressing issues for the congressman to tend to or he would have been there. At this meeting ther was an older couple that are disabled and on quite at the age for retirement from Enville, Tn., a social worker from Union City and myself. I waited for the others to tell their stories to Vickie, then it was my turn. I had 2 reasons to be there. My story was two-fold. I am presently unemployed with no way to afford insurance coverage and as I have stated in a previous blog; I have a pre-existing condition that will always affect how I get any coverage at all. I speak for all those with the same problems when I tell her that we need the Public Health Option. This option is the most important part of the reform action for 46 million Americans. Without this we will be left out in the dark and will be no better off than we are right now. We were told that Congessman Tanner is not completely on board yet; that he has some reservations about the current structure. I was a little disappointed in whatI heard because I'm afraid he is not looking at the over all picture. I hope that we can convince enough of his constituents to get him in line with the rest of us. The meeting went well with Vickie an she listened with concern to everything we said. I felt safe in knowing that I got my point across.
Once we left Congressman Tanners office, it was time to go to the office of Congressman Bart Gordon of the 6th District. He welcomed us into his office where i saw the most spectacular view of the capital building. I even had to take picture of that view to remember it. In this meeting the members of our group that he represented where an office manager from a doctors office and I might add, vice chair of her counties Democratic Party; and a student from MTSU who was a Senator in the student body. They were able to tell their stories to him before he had to leave for a vote. And the conversation was continued with an Aide of his that also worked on the Healthcare reform. He did however return to continue his conversation with us before time to leave. He is on board with us on the issue. That is what we wanted to hear.
At the same time we are going to these meetings, there are any others; from all across the country, doing the same thing. It had takken all day to do what we had done. I can only imagine how long it would have taken if we had gone to all 9 congressional offices from our state. After we had taken a moment to catch our breath, we decided to walk over in front of the capital building one more time to take pictures of the group and individual videos of each of uson what we had gotten out of the day. On the way over we ran into Congressman Lincln Davis; who was walking back to the office building. Those walking in front managed to stop him and strike up a conversation with him. I walked up in the middle of this conversation, but what I got was that he was in agreement with us and we knew that one more of our Congressmen were on board for HealthCare reform.
Once we finished with everything, it was time to head back to the hotel to grab our bags and head to the airport. Our job was done and it was time to go home. We grabbed 1 more cab and headed out. Unfortunately it was rush hour in DC, and you don't go anywhere in a hurry. When we finally arrived at Reagan National, what we saw was was too many people in line at security for us to even think of making it to the plane on time. Once we got to the counter to get our boarding passes, it was confirmed. We were 10 minutes late for boarding. It was jsut as well. It had been a very long day and we were all exhausted. It did us good to get a shower and a good nights rest before the long day of flying ahead.
I met a lot of people from across the state and I feel that I made new friends. We all left there with 1 thing in common. We all went there to convince congress to pass the Healthcare Reform Bill; because it is important to all Americans that we get this done and we get it done NOW. There are too many of us in this country that are unprotected and unable to afford healthcare for our families. This was a historic journey for us all and it is one that I hoipe we can all say "I was a part of getting Healthcare Reform passed for our country.
I want to thank Marian, Omar, Freda, Tony, and SEIU/Change That Works for giving me this opportunity to go to our elected officials in Washington, and be a voice for the people of our nation. I was proud to be a part of this
Healthcare Reform Rally In DC
The Way I See It
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
HealthCare Reform Rally in Washington
On June 24Th and 25Th, I had the pleasure of an experience that I will not forget. On Wednesday morning , the 24th i was taken to the airport in Memphis to catch a flight to Washington D.C.. This was the first time I had ever be on a commercial airlines and was excited about the trip. After 2 airports with the unpacking , taking my shoes of and my belt then putting it all back in place, I arrived at Reagan National Airport. Before getting off the plane I met 2 ladies from Denver that were there for the same reason that I was and were going to the same Hotel. Lucky me; I had someone to split the cab fare with. Once we arrived at the hotel I checked in and went to my room to unload my bags. It was a beautiful hotel in the heart of the embassy district. The Indian, Indoneson, and Malaysian Embassies were on the other 3 corners of the intersection where our hotel was. They call this Embassy Row for obvious reasons. The time was 3:00 pm and the itinerary said that our group was to meet in the lobby at 4:00 pm. We all met and introduced ourselves and quickly grabbed 2 cabs and headed off to Freedom Plaza. This was the place Where our first rally was to take place.
The rally was held to let Congress know that we were all there to insist on HealthCare Reform now. There were thousands of people there for that very purpose. There were delagates there from many different organizations and individuals that want to see the Healthcare Reform Bill pass through congress this year. I was there as a delegate for SEIU; to tell my congressman my story and why I think this needs to happen.
When we arrived at Freedom Plaza; it was overwhelming and exciting to see the gathering, with the stages and the booths with the entertainment and the speakers that were there for the rest of the day. While watching all of this, I couldn't help but notice our Nations Capital in the background. After all we were right on Pennsylvania Blvd. I watched and listened all afternoon in the heat of the afternoon sun as the Plaza started to fill with people. There was one speaker after another lined up waiting his or her turn to come to the podium and say why they belived in Reform of a system that had for so many years, failed us. There were Doctors and Nurses that spoke about why they wanted to see the change and major religious leaders of all faiths that spoke on behalf of all those that they worshiped with; Those of Christian Faith, Moslems, Jew, Catholic, and Hindu all there to do thier part. There were some members of Congress there also, including Congressman John Conyers of NY. The rally lasted till about 9:30 pm; then we all went back to our hotels to call it a night.
The next morning our group met in the lobby for a breifing of what we were to be doing all day and what we should expect when we met with our congressmen. In our group we represented the 5th, 6th and 8th district in Tennessee. We were all to meet with the congressmen in all three of these districts. We were all there to tell athese gentlemen our own story of why we wanted to see the right changes made in our HealthCare system.
It was an awesome feeling standing in line to go into the office building where our lawmakers had their offices. There had been alot of famous men and women walk those very halls since the begining and we were about to walk down those very halls.
We went to each office as a group, but the plan was that the delegates from that district be the ones to sit down and tell his or her story. There were also representatives from SEIU that were with us to help ask the questions that needed to be asked. Our first visit was with Congressman Jim Cooper of the 5th District. He invited us in and we all gathered around in his office, most were seated with him sitting in the circle with us. There was a social worker and a male nurse; RN in ICU at the Veterans Hospital, that were in his district. The congressman was a good listener and gave good responsive answers to all the questions that were asked of him and responded to the stories that were told. Congressman Cooper was on our side.
After we left his office we decided to walk to the other side of the capital bldg. to athe main rally of the event. It was in Upper Senate Park, in the shadows of the Capital building. The walk itself was a memorable journey. We walked all the way across the front of the Capital building, taking pictures of this awesome building as we walked to the other side. When we got to the park there were thousands of people there listening to the speakers; holding up their "Healthcare Reform Now" signs and cheering for each of the speakers. again many of them were doctors, congressmen and Senators. Howard Dean was to speak later but we didnt have time to stay. There were more meetings for us to go to. We missed the box lunch that was to be waiting for us so we made our way back to the House building and took a small break in the cafateria where all the staff in the building went for lunch.
Next it was time for the meeting with Congressman John Tanner of the 8th District. Unfortunately Congressman Tanner was unable to be there. His Chief of Staff, Vickie Walling was there to meet with us. She explained that she was the one that handled the Healthcare issue for him, therefore she was the one that we needed to talk to anyway. But it would have been nice if the Congressman had been there since he is our vote in congress. And it just happened to be that he is my congressman. I'm sure that there were more pressing issues for the congressman to tend to or he would have been there. At this meeting ther was an older couple that are disabled and on quite at the age for retirement from Enville, Tn., a social worker from Union City and myself. I waited for the others to tell their stories to Vickie, then it was my turn. I had 2 reasons to be there. My story was two-fold. I am presently unemployed with no way to afford insurance coverage and as I have stated in a previous blog; I have a pre-existing condition that will always affect how I get any coverage at all. I speak for all those with the same problems when I tell her that we need the Public Health Option. This option is the most important part of the reform action for 46 million Americans. Without this we will be left out in the dark and will be no better off than we are right now. We were told that Congessman Tanner is not completely on board yet; that he has some reservations about the current structure. I was a little disappointed in whatI heard because I'm afraid he is not looking at the over all picture. I hope that we can convince enough of his constituents to get him in line with the rest of us. The meeting went well with Vickie an she listened with concern to everything we said. I felt safe in knowing that I got my point across.
Once we left Congressman Tanners office, it was time to go to the office of Congressman Bart Gordon of the 6th District. He welcomed us into his office where i saw the most spectacular view of the capital building. I even had to take picture of that view to remember it. In this meeting the members of our group that he represented where an office manager from a doctors office and I might add, vice chair of her counties Democratic Party; and a student from MTSU who was a Senator in the student body. They were able to tell their stories to him before he had to leave for a vote. And the conversation was continued with an Aide of his that also worked on the Healthcare reform. He did however return to continue his conversation with us before time to leave. He is on board with us on the issue. That is what we wanted to hear.
At the same time we are going to these meetings, there are any others; from all across the country, doing the same thing. It had takken all day to do what we had done. I can only imagine how long it would have taken if we had gone to all 9 congressional offices from our state. After we had taken a moment to catch our breath, we decided to walk over in front of the capital building one more time to take pictures of the group and individual videos of each of uson what we had gotten out of the day. On the way over we ran into Congressman Lincln Davis; who was walking back to the office building. Those walking in front managed to stop him and strike up a conversation with him. I walked up in the middle of this conversation, but what I got was that he was in agreement with us and we knew that one more of our Congressmen were on board for HealthCare reform.
Once we finished with everything, it was time to head back to the hotel to grab our bags and head to the airport. Our job was done and it was time to go home. We grabbed 1 more cab and headed out. Unfortunately it was rush hour in DC, and you don't go anywhere in a hurry. When we finally arrived at Reagan National, what we saw was was too many people in line at security for us to even think of making it to the plane on time. Once we got to the counter to get our boarding passes, it was confirmed. We were 10 minutes late for boarding. It was jsut as well. It had been a very long day and we were all exhausted. It did us good to get a shower and a good nights rest before the long day of flying ahead.
I met a lot of people from across the state and I feel that I made new friends. We all left there with 1 thing in common. We all went there to convince congress to pass the Healthcare Reform Bill; because it is important to all Americans that we get this done and we get it done NOW. There are too many of us in this country that are unprotected and unable to afford healthcare for our families. This was a historic journey for us all and it is one that I hoipe we can all say "I was a part of getting Healthcare Reform passed for our country.
I want to thank Marian, Omar, Freda, Tony, and SEIU/Change That Works for giving me this opportunity to go to our elected officials in Washington, and be a voice for the people of our nation. I was proud to be a part of this
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