Once In 10 Years
by Chris Damon-Cronmiller
There I was, sitting in Dania’s car with her on our way to the Massachusetts State House, not knowing in the least what to expect. Dania asked me a couple of days before my first day working as an intern for AANE, whether or not I would like to attend the ceremonial signing of the Autism Commission Bill with her and some of our organization’s other key members. Of course, I had to accept her offer- after all, who wouldn’t, particularly if it was during his or her first day of work? Nonetheless, I was caught off guard by what I first experienced in the state house.
Dania first introduced me to Representative Barbra L’Italien’s assistant, Jennifer Barelle, and then L’Italien herself. Afterward, more people that were affiliated in some way with AANE poured into the waiting room where we were waiting, including Amy Weinstock and Michael Borr from AFAM (Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts). Then, swathes of lawyers and elected officials within the state house joined us – including more state representatives and senators as well. Frankly, I was a little bit intimidated, being a 19 year old intern who had, as I said before, only started working at AANE that day. Everyone fortunately made me feel quite welcome, despite the occasional good-natured teasing I dealt with at the hands of some of the state senators. In fact, the whole event had a festive nature to it, especially as all of us moved into the signing room. However, Michael (or someone else, I do not exactly remember) told me in a half-joking half-serious way to not get my hopes up. “Stuff like this does not happen overnight,” he said. “It often takes people 5 or 10 years to get bills as far forward as we have right now.” As a side note, it is worth noting that the entire process of passing the Autism Commission Bill as far forward as having the governor sign it and appoint members actually took more than 8 years. The information that Michael gave me would prove to be invaluable for the future.
As the “celebration” in the signing room went under way, I began to get a better glimpse of the hard work that had to be put in, in order to make the bill a reality. After she got everyone’s attention, Dania made a request for everyone to put in their best efforts into raising more money for the committee and the upcoming Autism Insurance Bill; this made me realize first hand that a lot of work still needed to be done despite what had already been accomplished. Even as Governor Deval Patrick came into the room, shook everyone’s hand, congratulated them on a job well done, and finally signed the bill, something still did not seem “complete” as I might put it. I could sense in the air that everyone knew this was not completely over, and as I said before, that work still needed to be done.
On the other hand, no one could deny that there was a celebratory air to this event despite the feeling of uncertainty looming over everyone’s head. Everyone clearly was happy and relieved, for the most part. As I held Dania’s camera snapping pictures whenever I could (and at the request of anyone who wanted a picture), I could tell that this ceremony, this celebration, was the result of years and years of hard work. You could really see it. This celebration was truly unique, and to use Michael’s words, an event that really occurs once in 10 years. Also, as another side note, it is not every day that one gets to have his or her picture taken with the governor (which was less intimidating than it could have been since my mother worked with him before he was elected, so he indirectly knew me beforehand, but still the experience was still great)!
July 20, 2010
Posted in: AS Community & Culture, AS News, Events
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