Dear Next President, do something

Novelist John Berger said: "The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied...but written off as trash. The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing."
There was a winter when I was 11.
A time when my mother and I slept on this exact bench in the Erie Lackawanna. No one bothered us back then. Today there are signs hanging on every one of these benches that say only ticket holders can sit here. Saying there is a two hour limit.
A time when we rode the Path Trains not to go anywhere, but to stay warm.
A time when everything we owned was held in two old worn and battered suitcases.
A time when a feast was mayonnaise sandwiches.
A time when an angel was a teacher who gave me gloves, a hat, and socks.
A teacher who always brought two sandwiches for lunch, one for him, and one for me.
A time when an angel wore Blue and a badge saying sleep here Mam no one will bother you.
A time when two angels worked at the public library, and said please take this coat. Someone left it and never returned. It was never worn. Look the tags are still on it.
A time when those angels gave me books and cookies everyday, and called me by my name.
A time when a newlywed sister said Mom he needs to live with us for until you are back on your feet.
A time when prayer became my best friend.
A time when a nation went to war with poverty.
A time when things became better.
A time when darkness did not have live forever.

Dear Next President,
Poverty is not a crime, but a nation that does nothing about poverty is criminal.

Do something!

Build new bridges,
Build new tunnels,
Build new highways,
Build new hospitals,
Build new schools,
Build new parks.

End tax breaks for nothing,
Give tax breaks to companies expanding their work forces,
Give tax breaks to companies building factories and mills here.

Put tariffs on imports,
Put America back to work,
Raise the minimum wage to 15 today.

Make health care a right,
Make a pathway to citizenship,
Make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.

Do something besides putting signs on our benches, ticket holders only.

Wanted a nation that cares for:
It's poor,
It's young,
It's elderly,
It's veterans,
It's handicapped,
It's poor.

Wanted a President that did something more than talk.

If you want to listen to what the Walking Man is listening to today...Love Rescue Me by Playing for change https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz6d60ysb-Y

I see hope in you

Hope does not divide us. Hope brings us together. Hope does not live in Congress, the Senate, the White House, or our Governor's mansions. Hope is not traded on Wall Street. Hope lives in the people. Hope grows with every handshake, every hug, and every helping hand. Every time I think hope is lost I turn to you. I find hope in the people.
The people who walk, get on the bus, the train, drive their cars to their jobs.
You know the jobs:
The jobs that keep our bridges, tunnels, and highways open,
The jobs that keep the trains running on time,
The jobs that save lives in our hospitals,
The jobs that put vegetables, fruits, and bread on our tables,
The jobs that keep our phone lines open,
The jobs that keeps the lights turned on,
The jobs that pack the trucks and deliver the goods to market,
The jobs that pure our coffee, pump the gas, and always say thank you,
The jobs that put the fires out,
The jobs that carry the sick and dying to our emergency rooms,
The jobs that pack the shelves with the goods we need to live our lives,
The jobs that clean our streets and highways,
The jobs that clean our clothes, our homes, and offices,
The jobs that fix our cars, our trucks, our buses, our trains, and washers and dyers,
The jobs that patch our roofs,
The jobs that build our homes,
The jobs that cook our meals,
The jobs that keep our streets safe,
The jobs that keep our schools running,
I see hope on the faces of the butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker.
I see hope in you.

If you like to listen to the song that inspired my walk over the mountain today..its Dick Gaughan "The Workers' Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBMgauayxnU

Ask the children!

You don't need a Ph.D to understand that education that is highly focused on standardized testing kills the motivation to learn in children.
You don't need a Ph.D to understand that 49 states spending more money on their wealthy schools than their poor schools is wrong.
You Don't need a Ph.D to understand that rigor, grit and no excuses education reforms dehumanize children.
You don't need a Ph.D to understand market-based education reforms have not succeeded making schools more child friendly.
You don't need a Ph.D to understand that Charter School lotteries have more losers than winners.
You don't need a Ph.D to understand that our political leaders are in the pockets of ed reform lobbies.

All you need to do is ask our children.
All you need to do is ask their parents.
All you need to do is ask their teachers.
Ask the children,
Dr. Jesse Patrick Turner

If you like to know what this walking man is listening to...its Barry Lane singing More Than A Number https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Vf8cwTWRY