On Wednesday, I boarded a plane for the first time in 25 years. I fought back my fear of flying just long enough to fly to Washington to lobby for health care. The flight was more turbulent than I had hoped and since it was a small plane, I felt every shake and shimmy. By the time I landed and grabbed a cab, I was the one shaking and wanted nothing more than to spend the evening relaxing in my hotel room.
But that wasn't what I was there for. I was in D.C. to attend rallies and to meet with my representative - Bart Gordon - to tell him about the problems his constituents were having with health care and health insurance. So, after checking in, I hopped in another cab and headed to meet the rest of my group at the interfaith rally for health care reform. We heard from a number of religious leaders from every faith who encouraged us to believe and to pray, but also to work for change.
Rep. John Conyers gave a very entertaining speech about the need for reform and there were several enjoyable performances by local dance troupes. But my favorite speech was delivered by one of the last ministers to take the stage. I don't remember his name, but he gave a rousing speech exhorting all of us to take action and get health care reform passed. It was truly inspiring and I really felt that he re-energized the crowd. If he could speak to Congress, I bet he could get health care reform passed tomorrow.
I wanted to stay long enough to take part in the candlelight vigil, but I was just too exhausted after my stressful trip. I also thought I'd better rest up for the hard work we had ahead of us the next day, so it was back to the hotel.
The next day, we made our way to the Longworth Building to meet with Congressman Cooper. It was quite a thrill to walk the same halls that our legislators walk. And I have to say that I was more impressed than I thought I'd be seeing the official seals on the doors and hearing the ping of the bell in the cafeteria signifying that a vote was about to take place. Just being in the building, it was easy to feel that you were a part of something important, something larger than yourself.
Our meeting with Congressman Cooper went very well. After his constituents told their stories about the problems they'd had with health care, I kept expecting him to tell us that the meeting was over, but he spent almost an hour talking to the group and seemed responsive to our concerns.
We didn't have any other meetings scheduled for a while, so some of us walked over to the Health Care for American Now ("HCAN") rally. We were too late to get any of the boxed lunches and I couldn't find any bottled water, but I was able to give away some health care reform buttons that I made for the trip. A couple of us really wanted to see Howard Dean speak, but we had to leave to go back to Longworth to meet with Congressman Tanner. I actually ended up meeting with Vickie Walling, Rep. Tanner's Chief of Staff, and she seemed to know a lot of people from the district and even knew the mayor in my town. Vickie talked quite a bit about the problems involved in getting health care reform passed and the difficulties of drafting legislation that satisfied everybody. It was a little discouraging and I was a little disappointed that Congressman Tanner didn't at least make an appearance, but I'm sure he was busy.
We had a break in our schedule and I had a chance to go relax in the cafeteria for a while before our next meeting. I was surprised by how many young people work in the Congressional office building. And everyone was definitely dressed for success. Except us, of course - we were dressed for action!
Our last meeting was the most important for me. We took a shortcut through the basement to the Rayburn office building and up to Congressman Bart Gordon's office. We met with Congressman Gordon and one of his legislative aides. I had a chance to tell my story and to share with Rep. Gordon some of the problems that patients I work with are having. He seemed concerned and responsive to what another constituent and I had to tell him. And although he had to go to vote on an amendment, he came back later to meet with us again before dashing off to another meeting. And his aide was quite charming and engaging in his absence.
After our meetings were over, we took some photos and headed for home. We had to say our goodbyes pretty quickly since we were trying to make our flights home and it seemed too rushed after all we'd been through together. Meeting other Tennesseans who were having problems, but trying to make a difference was easily one of the best parts of the trip. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with people who are as passionate about health care reform as I am and who feel, as I do, that we should do all we can to get it done right. Some of us exchanged information to keep in touch and Tony promised he'd send contact info out on everyone. And then it was off to the airport.
The cab ride took so long that I almost missed my flight. After some begging at the counter and a quick sprint through the airport, I finally boarded my plane for the trip home. Cass, another member of the group, sat next to me on the flight home and despite being tired managed to talk to me the whole flight, distracting me, because she knew I was afraid to fly. (Thanks Cass. You were so sweet and I so enjoyed talking to you.) Thankfully, the flight home was better than the flight there.
I want to thank the Change That Works campaign for all the great work they're doing all across Tennessee and for allowing me the opportunity to speak out to my elected officials about the need for quality, affordable health care now.
Janet Moore from Cookeville, Tennessee, traveled to the Nation's Capital as part of the Change that Works delegation to speak to Congress about health care reform.
