Tuesday, March 23, 2010

you've got that purple pallor



Y'all may not notice it, but I've seriously been slacking off on the blog over the past couple of weeks. That's because I've been pretty busy with a fundraiser for Purple Line NOW! - which I staff as part of my day job (which I assume y'all are largely familiar with) that finally took place last night at the new Montgomery College Performing Arts Center without a hitch. It's exciting to do something different from my normal daily duties but still incorporates stuff I've learned from over the years.

And the end result is the video above, containing "video greetings" from a dozen Montgomery and Prince George's county state delegates and senators expressing their support for the Purple Line. It was a pretty time-consuming deal. I spent two days driving to Annapolis to visit the electeds and work with their tireless staffs to find just a couple of minutes for me to plunk a camera in front of them. (Many of them offered food, and one offered me a drink - you know who you are! - for my troubles.)

That was followed by three days driving between New Carrollton and Bethesda, shooting various places along the Purple Line; struggling to find parking in Chevy Chase, getting lost in Langley Park, and taking a couple minutes to enjoy the Saturday afternoon scene on Ellsworth in Downtown Silver Spring; and explaining to people what I was doing and why I was taking pictures of them crossing a street.

And then, editing hours and hours of video into a six-minute piece.

So I'm happy it's done, and that I've got something to show for it. Certainly I can't present this video without thanking all of the Purple Line NOW! board members and volunteers who made this project and the fundraiser as a whole successful - not to mention the AWESOME AWESOME staff at Montgomery College who ran lights and microphones and DVDs and sound boards and all sorts of cool stuff I don't understand.

And yes, that's Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-Dist. 4), who was scheduled to speak at the fundraiser but unfortunately showed up after it had already ended. I was surprised she even came - I mean, our representatives deserve at least a nap after passing health-care reform - but I was impressed to see that the Congresswoman took the effort to make an appearance and talk people up for a while, too.

The best reason to come late to a fundraiser? You get all the leftover hors d'oeuvres. "Really?" Congresswoman Edwards said when handed a box of meat skewers, little mushroom-cheese-bacon things, and assorted vegetables. "Awesome!" I think she meant it. Hunger really humanizes people, even the ones you see on C-SPAN.

3 comments:

Terry in Silver Spring said...

I'm glad Donna Edwards came to your event, even if she was late. I was a strong supporter of her in both elections, but since she's been in office she's sort of left me feeling dismayed. Her main messages for a while there were all seeming to be tied back to single moms. Certainly a great group of people to help, but with a diverse district like she has, she should be speaking on a range of issues. I'm hoping it's just a matter of her growing into her job.

WashingtonGardener said...

Terry, I think the main concerns of single moms are concerns most all of us share. I don't see that platform base as being narrow in the least.

I as sorry Donna did not arrive in time to be aprt of the program but glad to hear she tried.

Dan - evrryone enjoyedthe video - esp. the very hefty guy walking on the trail. He needs it! ;-)

Cyndy said...

That was a great video! I'm excited about the purple line.