 It was similar to today. A few hours later, I'm walking back to the village hall, which was across the park, and this gentleman, well into his 70s, came up to me and said, thank you. I grew up and was born and raised here in New Paltz. Now I can leave this earth knowing that I came from such a beautiful place and such an historic day. So thank you for doing this, he said. And that's what we have to do in life, inspire people and always have hope. But you have to be organized and persistent.