Airline service workers want 5-cent fee added to tickets to cover insurance costs

Commercial aviation helps to create some 11-million jobs in America. If that is not enough to get your attention, I don’t know what will?

While in Washington D.C., I stumbled upon a major protest on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House. The wind was blistering cold and I struggled to take photos without my gloves on, but I wanted to make sure I captured the emotion that was stirred up by the workers who were asking for help to cover the cost of their personal medical insurance.

The group of airline industry service workers were asking for the airline companies they work for to add a nickel to the cost of every ticket sold in hopes of acquiring better health insurance for their families. The group suggested that an additional 5-cents added to every ticket would cover the cost of their family medical insurance plan, which right now is unaffordable for many. Their website stated, “We will be forced to pay the Obama Care Income Tax Fine for declining to purchase this un-affordable insurance.” That 5-cents per ticket, according to the protestors, would cover their expense.  

I walked in close for these shots as I was using my small 23mm fixed lens Fuji X100s. Those who were protesting seemed to be too busy shouting what they felt was needed for their family to even notice my encroachment into their personal space. Several police officers asked me to step back as they began making arrests while the crowd deliberately blocked the flow of traffic in the area of Pennsylvania Avenue.

After 15 or more protestors were arrested, the chants continued. The big question that lingers, will that additional 5-cents be added to the cost of an airline ticket and if so, will it be noticed by the traveling public? Only time will tell.

I have to buy diapers

I listen to stories, I don't question them... 

"Can we take you to a shelter tonight, it will be about 2-degrees later this evening with a windchill in the negatives," I asked? He looked down at his sign as if to think about the question, then held his sign up. It read, "I need money to buy diapers for my son." 

I said, "You don't need to stay in a tent tonight, you will literally freeze to death." He said to me, "I just need a few dollars, I have to buy diapers for my son. He doesn't live with me, he lives with his mom in an apartment - but I have to buy him diapers... diapers... can I have a few dollars?" I said, "I'm not here to hand out money, I'm here to take you to a shelter so you don't die tonight in the cold." With a trembling tone due to the cold he said, "I'll be okay, I'll be fine... I just need a few dollars." 

I told him to call the police department if he changes his mind about sleeping in the cold, informing him that they won't ask any questions tonight - they will simply take you to the shelter. 

I will play my trumpet for you

With a handkerchief held tightly in his left hand as he grasped his trumpet while steadily pushing the keys down with the right, "When the Saints - Go Marching in..." Every once in a while he would drop the trumpet to his side singing with the raspy tone of Louis Armstrong.

On an interesting side note, Armstrong (nicknamed Pops or Satchmo) also played with a handkerchief in his left hand when playing the trumpet or cornet. Armstrong died at the age of 70 in 1971.

"Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them."  - Louis Armstrong

Translated through a smile

I shot this picture in Haiti. I could not understand a word this gentleman was saying, but his smile said it all.

“Small children will talk to anyone, once the guard of shyness has fallen, and they have, like the elderly, a sense of immediacy, a need to say or do something, now, now, the minute it is thought of, combined with that other sense, of the complete irrelevance of time.” 
― Susan Hill

Third World Journey: A thought on a Saturday Morning

For some reason, this quote came to mind... 

“People come, people go – they’ll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past.”

― Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue

Shot in Haiti, 2015

What are you doing?

If only I could understand what this man was trying to communicate. I shot this in Haiti. I ran into this Haitian on a small dirt road in the middle of a little village about an hour away from the ocean. 

The children of Haiti

When shooting photos in Haiti recently, I tried hard to photograph the images of the children who are victims in the fight for hunger. I wanted to capture as many as I could without them looking directly at me in an attempt to capture their blank stares in their natural settings. In other words, I tried hard to grab their emotions for others to see directly through my lens. 

Children who are hungry

I walked past hundreds of children during my time in Haiti. It was absolutely amazing to me how the children reacted to a stranger. In many cases, the children would rub their stomachs as a sign of hunger. The older children would verbally ask for money, suggesting it was to buy food with.

How did a country get to a point where children have to face real life problems such as going hungry.  It is a tragedy to me that children have to be forced to worry about their nutrition when they don't even understand the importance of nutrition. 

Children are a workforce

When you visit a third world country like Haiti, children are familiar with hard work. I came across multiple children who gathered the daily water for their family, gathered food from street vendors on their own at age 10, did laundry by hand at age 8...  I could go on and on. Children sometimes act as the glue of a family in countries like Haiti. Making sure that the necessary chores are completed in a timely manner. 

Children are the light

This is a small Haitian child who can smile today due to the rice she had for lunch. Did you know that half of children under 5 are malnourished in Haiti? It is also a fact that approximately 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will abandon school before sixth grade. Read more here.