Weekly Photo Challenge: Street Life

For this photo challenge I am choosing to share some photographs I took while in Corning, NY this last fall during the government shutdown. I have the privileged of having a family that has always been very involved in expressing their political views. My Aunt, in particular, has been very involved in organizing and orchestrating various protests. She also was a part of the Christian Peacemaker Team in the Gaza Strip for many years. I have great respect for that work in particular that she has been involved in.

My Aunt on the left.

Needless to say, while I was in New York and the US Government decided it would be a good time to shut down, my Aunt and her friends decided they should stage a protest about the shutdown. She asked me to come with her to her building to help put a sign up from the roof. I decided that it would be a lot of fun to witness her in her element, not to mention I love being up on the top of roof of her two story downtown building.

She owns a building across the street from Congressman Tom Reed’s office, and so even though he was not in the office everyone agrees it is a great place to hang a banner to get his attention. The protest was scheduled for lunch time, and most of the people in attendance were either retired or workers using their lunch break to join the protest.

It was fun to see my Aunt in her element, and see how this small community works so hard to try and make a difference in the political system. My Aunt even reminded me that I took my first steps in the middle of a New York, NY street during a very very large protest, with Peter, Paul, and Mary playing in the background. You can join the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge (click the link).