A JOURNEY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS

By Joseph S. Amster

When Mitch Goldstone and Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Chris Mears began organizing Economic Patriotism in Irvine and Coast to Coast (EPICC), they hoped it would be big. With over 5,000 people participating from 175 cities and 23 states, it went beyond what they imagined. "The thousands of people showing their economic patriotism were not seeking fanfare and group parties to celebrate us. It was about the airlines and New York City," said Goldstone. "The National EPICC Campaign celebrated them by traveling from states across the nation on airlines to support our neighbors in New York City during the Veteran's Day Weekend. It was about boarding planes again, going to theaters, dining in restaurants, returning to hotels, buying holiday gifts at New York retailers, and hugging the people we encountered. It was about them."

The November 9-12 trip was a sentimental homecoming for Goldstone and partner Carl Berman, both New York natives. "Everyone throughout the city was polite. As a New Yorker, for me to categorically describe everyone as being polite suggests the world has changed. In restaurants, nightclubs, every place, people were polite; people don't honk; they were gentle with each other," said Goldstone. "There's a wonderful cartoon in this issue of the 'New Yorker'. Some guy says 'I can't wait to get back to normal life when I can start hating people again.' That sums everything up."

Goldstone was struck with the amount of patriotism evident in New York. "Everything is patriotic; flags are all over the place. Pastrami is patriotic. People just wanting to support the city. Wherever you go, you see memorials to those who were murdered," said Goldstone. " For Carl and myself, seeing the memorials in front of St. Vincent's Hospital was especially traumatic and emotional, because St. Vincent's was where the first AIDS patients went to. We knew what went on in that hospital so many years ago. That was one of the main hospitals for the World Trade Center, also."

Overall, those who traveled with EPICC had a wonderful time in New York City. "The spirit was tremendous and the theaters were packed; there were no empty seats. If people thought they were going to get in the front row for 'The Producers' or the off-Broadway shows they were wrong," said Goldstone. "The experience was so positive, it was great. The best feeling is knowing that people were going back to 23 states around the nation, sharing these identical stories with others."