Saturday, October 29, was a spectacular autumn day for a march.
Beautiful high country orange to red leaves falling, lifting our spirits in this age of uncertainty.
We had 40 to 45 marchers attending our event, "Occupy Chaffee County" in Salida, Colorado, a town of 5,500.
Mike Reynolds from Poncha Springs, who works for the Colorado Department of Transportation, said he doesn't agree with the current financial structure in our country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Mary Lou Church, of Salida, said she supports "Occupy Wall Street," and is sad to see the brutality of the police. “But it won't silence us,” she said.
Marty Garvey, of Salida, said, "What is going on in our country is ‘Enron on Steroids.’ "
I asked Tom Thomas of Salida why he was marching. “Because I worry about my grandchildren,” he said. My thoughts, also.
Laura Knelange of Salida was marching with her dogs. She said she was dismayed that the rights of corporations surpass human rights on a global level now.
We marched with our signs from the Arkansas River along Main Street for about five blocks and back as people drove by slowly giving us thumbs up and honking in solidarity.
We represented Chaffee County in a big way, we feel.
—LaVonna LathropMember of AHA (American Humanist Association)Member, “Occupy Chaffee County Colorado"Board Member, "HSI" (Historic Salida, Inc.)