Image: D.R. Richards
I happened to be coming back from the Northfield Conference last spring, and heard from a friend, that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were in Unity, New Hampshire, of all places, giving a speech of Unity. The timing was right, so I swung in, on my way back to Sunapee. There were shuttle buses all over the place. Acquaintances and fellow townspeople that recognized, were streaming in along with from the surrounding towns of New London, Sunapee and Newport to see these two. Joining were them were a few thousand from points afar, and joining them were photographers and press people of all sorts. I hadn’t heard about the shuttle buses, or any arrangements about leaving cars at some remote lot, and drove my van along the road to Unity and parked about a half mile from the “downtown Unity village district”.
During my travels with Mountain Spirit Institute, Outward Bound, or Alpine Ascents International, I have always encountered foreigners who have enjoyed getting to know us North Americans, but have had concerns about our serious lack of judgement when it comes to controlling or choosing our leaders. I am once again proud of our populace for finally making a progressive decision. I haven’t felt this way since I was a child. I have no delusions that Obama is the fix-all president, however this goes a long way in our country, to rising to the occasion, as a more compassionate people and nation. Thank God, it’s about time.
I used to work for Suki Coughlin in New London, NH. She was a stringer for U.P.I. Wire Services, and taught me a lot about press work. I used to cover quite a few presidential campaigns in my former life. So, When I had my camera with me this day, decided to get near the podium and take a few shots of this moment. Who would have thought? It’s not only true that we’ve passed a crossroads in having our first black president, but we’ve certainly crossed a wonderful threshold where it’s becoming self-evident there is a new paradigm in the U.S., one of a new level of compassion, humility and equality.
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