Happy June

It’s finally over and the press conference turned out much better then I though. Of course its all an illusion—We had the conference is a very small room and the only media which showed up during the actual conference was Telmundo , the local Hispanic channel who happened to be passing through on their way up to the Mexican Consulate. The reporter and especially the camera guy saw we had sandwiches and iced beverages and decided to cover the press conference. Later on one of the local news folk stopped by and did some interviews.

I really wanted to get this post up yesterday but I just did not have the time or endurance. I ended doing videos with Dianne till nearly midnight. Perhaps viewing these films was the most import thing I could do. I did get some images of then Road To Freedom bus and of the event. I really wanted to have gotten more images but I ended up given the camera to one of my friends who showed up to the event who only took a couple of images of the Attorney General and my self or rather the speakers of the program.

I guess as I look back on the event in the clear,`cold, bright sunshine of Saturday morning the event was not that successful an event; Hardly any local media showed up. The reason the my boss, Claire, got me involved in this whole project in the first place was to increase the visibility of our office in the Utah community. I doubt if yesterday's event accomplished this. We had a 'get together though' a place where people with disabilities , who have been people of change oh the local scene and the national (in some cases) and this association was great. The meeting of Jim Ward the, Road to Freedom, guy remarkable. In the microcosm of yesterday's events he was the “microcostic super star”. Tom Olin was his roadie, driver and documentor. Jim's smile is infectious giving the receiver the feeling of an unrealistic confidence to achieve what needs to be done. I can tell that Jim is equally at home on the local and National stage . Jim is a “Professor Harold Hill” figure for people with disabilities: coming into their small town with his big old bus, shrink wrapped bus and he starts selling a dream of what these folks might be. A vision of their best selves, doing their part on the home front to keep the dream of a National document ensuring people with disabilities rights alive and intact.

We drug the event all four hours of the day to it's long end. We actually tried to take the project down at three but as we proceeded a new van of folks with disabilities showed up and drug the event out to four.

Jim took the presentation down and loaded in bus in 15 minutes and and was ready to leave. We gave Jim and Tom the water which had been donated twenty or thirty bottles. And sent him on his way. The rest of the staff divided the rest of the 75 or so sandwiches and cleaned the borrowed office. Enjoying the glow of the day.