Do You Know..........Conchita Picciotti???

I was recently looking through some old photos and came across one that I took of my son on a trip to DC back in 2001. I remember this photo, because we were downtown visiting the White House and I was stunned to see this woman, Conchita Picciotti still there!! She was there when I went on my High School class trip in 1986, she was there in this photo in 2001 and she's still there in 2009! Apparently, they've moved her from Lafayette Park to a location not directly across from the white house, but she's still drawing a lot of attention to this day.
Conchita Picciotti is a U.S. Citizen of Spanish decent and has been holding an anti-nuclear peace vigil in front of the white house every day, 24/7, since 1981!! She sleeps sitting up, because it is against the U.S. Park Police regulations to lie down sleeping in the park. She's been such a fixture in this park that friends and neighbors bring her food and drink so she doesn't have to leave her post. She's friends with the pigeons and most people who work downtown DC know her.

I remember Ms. Conchita as being very friendly, cheeks red and weathered from the sun and wind. she wore and still does a helmet wig, that she keeps covered with a bandanna. Both times I saw her, she enjoyed telling about why she does what she does. As you can see my son is a little in awe of Ms. Conchita! You have to click the photo for the close up to really see his awe! LOL
She gets picked on and ridiculed as you can imagine, sometimes named the "cooky lady" at the White House. Personally I truly admire this woman. This is what I consider true dedication to a cause and I"m proud to have met her.

We'll be visiting DC next month, and I plan to visit her post to say hello. If you've met Ms. Conchita, please leave me a message and tell me about your experience.

Unveiling special people in the world,
Dee