It Was a Dark and Stormy Day...


My personal reaction to covering the Global Day of Action event in Buffalo.

I am still recovering.

We couldn't have asked for worse weather. Oh yeah, sure we could -- it could have been snowing cats and dogs instead of raining. Though actually the snow would have been easier to take -- snow doesn't make puddles of water to seep into your boots and soak your socks. My feet would have been dry, at least. Though shooting photos through a haze of snow would have been an even bigger challenge.

I wanted to go to the rally in New York City. I knew a lot of people who were going, and I'm sure I'd have had a grand time. But that would have meant getting on a bus at midnight and returning home 20 hours later. I knew there was no way my body would be able to handle that. If I took it on, I might as well give up at least two weeks to pain -- a price I am just not willing to pay. So I said I'd go to Buffalo and report on that one instead. I'm glad I did, and not just because it was easier on me physically (it was actually pretty hard, just not as hard as it would have been to go to NYC). It gave me a chance to see what sturdy stuff peace activists in the Buffalo area are made of.

It was pretty gloomy when I finally arrived at Lafayette Square, later than I had planned. Had a hell of a time finding it, even though I looked it up on Mapquest and printed out several maps as well as the directions. I'd never been to downtown Buffalo before this. Kept missing turns. Buffalo street signage seems to be even worse than Rochester's, which is bad enough. I meant to get there early, following my journalist's training to get to an unfamiliar site before the start of events in order to get oriented, especially if I'm supposed to be shooting photos. Still, nothing had started by the time I arrived, around 2:15 in the afternoon.

The sky threatened rain. And delivered on that threat very soon after my arrival. Thankfully, I had an umbrella in my trunk, and I had the luck of finding a parking space right on the square when someone else left just as I arrived.

I didn't know a soul there and hadn't a clue whom to talk to and I had no idea what would be happening. (Not a good way to do journalism!) I'd sent an e-mail to the event organizer, but I did that too late to get anything back on time. So I wandered around, shooting this and that. It's always hard to get good crowd shots if you can't get above the fray. The square wasn't particularly crowded when I arrived, and I worried that it would turn out to be a bust, but people kept arriving -- people of all ages, all ethnicities, all walks of life. So I just kept shooting, glad that I had the 128 mb card in the digital camera, and glad that I could delete the crap as I went along. Turns out one of my best shots (American Terrorist) was taken from far away and I didn't even know what I had until I zoomed in on it later while sorting through the photos on my computer. Wish I'd gotten in closer! Then there's the one of the guy carrying an American flag with a peace symbol made with duct tape on the back of his black jacket -- I wish I'd taken more of that one, because so much of it was out of focus.

When the march started I had to run to get ahead of it. Didn't know that was going to happen. And of course, the moment the march began it started raining like hell. I mean, the water was coming down in sheets! Ever try to shoot photos while carrying an umbrella? Not a good idea! Fortunately the camera was auto-focus. I normally prefer a manual camera, and this one does have a manual override, but under these conditions the automatic features saved the day. Of course, there were a number I had to ditch because the lens was wet with raindrops.

While I was running ahead through the rain to keep ahead of the marchers I was thinking, why the hell am I doing this? But then, professionalism took over and I got caught up in doing my best to get good shots. I even lost all consciousness of the pain in my body until the end of the march. Ok, I do remember listening to the water sloshing in my boots...

But then, I had to come up with a story, too. To do that, you have to talk to people. It's hard to talk to people, take notes, and shoot photos at the same time. Fortunately the group ended up at a church, where I could grab a few people who could give me some decent quotes.

By the time the day was over, my winter coat (meant to ward off snow, not rain) was waterlogged and my feet were blocks of ice.

I wish I could have reported on Rochester people who were there. If there was anyone from Rochester besides me, I didn't know. I had asked around to see if anyone else might be going, but no one got back to me.

One woman I talked to made the point that you can't just agree with the protesters and stay home. You have to get out and do something. You have to make your voice heard.

One photo I took that I especially liked, just as a photo, is the one with the child with red mittens in her father's arms underneath that colorful yellow "flower" umbrella. That one needs to be seen next to the one of the poster with the pictures of children who were victims of American cluster bombs. And next to that great visual, the tiny coffin in a stroller with the words "War Kills Kids."

The child in her father's arms demonstrating in Buffalo is safe. Not so millions of other children around the world. Certainly not the children in Iraq or Afghanistan.

You can't just sit by. You can't just vote, though surely that can help. You have to do something. And you can't let a little bad weather get in the way.

Posted: Mon - March 22, 2004 at 09:24 AM          

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