Wednesday Oct. 18 was a beautiful day in Cypress, where a dozen of us gathered around 5:00 pm to agitate for universal, single-payer healthcare as part of OneCareNow’s 365-City campaign. We started by holding signs and banners at Cypress’ busiest intersection — Valley View and Katella — and as usual were greeted by plenty of enthusiastic honks and waves:

But it was hard for us to stay away from the Pacificare Headquarters which are only a block away; naturally we have a morbid fascination with the huge corporations that our bill will destroy!

Naturally it wasn’t long before security came out and questioned Vern about why we were taking pictures in front of the building; as the guard explained, they need to be careful “because terrorists do the same thing.” The guard had to stand there much longer than he wanted and listen to a dissertation from Vern on what a good thing for everyone single-payer will be, and how SB840 provides retraining for insurance employees, all the while nodding his head and mumbling into his wrist-walkie-talkie.

Naturally it wasn’t long before security came out and questioned Vern about why we were taking pictures in front of the building; as the guard explained, they need to be careful “because terrorists do the same thing.” The guard had to stand there much longer than he wanted and listen to a dissertation from Vern on what a good thing for everyone single-payer will be, and how SB840 provides retraining for insurance employees, all the while nodding his head and mumbling into his wrist-walkie-talkie.

Then around 6:00 pm, at the suggestion of certain locals, we drove off to another section of town where we would be able to set up tables and meet local residents out for their evening walks:

We actually met several very interesting people, who signed our petition and want to join our campaign. We also had a few chances to sing our song “This Plan is Your Plan” a few times before it got dark. Here are Vern and EJ Smith during the last performance:

All in all, the Cypress event was very pleasant - but not as spectacular as our events will be once this election is out of the way. Thanks for showing up: Vern’s cousin Mary Pat Carothers and her son and daughter; the omnipresent Dean Inada; Green Jane Rands; Pat Goodman and her husband; Mary & Frank McAuliffe and Michelle Smith of the League of Women Voters (Michelle not in the pictures because she took them); Michelle’s daughter EJ - a real trooper; a couple of ladies from the National Council of Jewish Women who helped with the tabling, and… sorry to a few people I know I’m forgetting!

NEXT STOP, PLACENTIA FRIDAY THE 27th! See you there!