Early on Tuesday morning someone close to me completed his cancer treatment in a Belfast hospital after several weeks and got to ring a bell to signal that this difficult chapter of his life was over.
As he rang the bell his family stood watching with pride while patients and staff applauded him for his bravery, tenacity and determination. He never gave up, he never dropped the ball. It was an emotional moment because others are not so fortunate to reach this stage, and I could not have been prouder.
That’s why this man, a hero in his family’s eyes, was very much on my mind a few hours later when hundreds of people gathered in Enniskillen to stick up for people like him.
What began with one man and one voice ended with one community of all ages, faiths and backgrounds calling for change and demanding that our politicians get back to work and help those in need.
Dancer Dylan Quinn choreographed his finest act when he assembled the large gathering on a rain soaked Tuesday night outside Enniskillen Castle, a place that has in its long and illustrious history seen its fair share of battles. 
One wonders if Hugh ‘Hospitable’ Maguire was around today if he would marvel at how one man rallied the troops from a video he shot on his mobile phone while standing in the middle of a field. Over half a million views later and a movement was born with Mr. Quinn showing what few elected representatives have done in the past 18 months – leadership.
As he led his troops of parents, students, teachers, nurses, doctors and others there was a profound sense of togetherness, a community not divided but united and a community that has become tired of continually getting the raw deal. 
And with no Stormont the reality is that rural Fermanagh could not be any lower on the pecking order. Just ask some of the people who took part the other night.
Whether it was the single mother who rushes home each evening from work to get the dinner on for the children, the young father who juggles two jobs to keep food on the table, the nurse left exhausted all the time after long shifts, the vulnerable man suffering with his mental health, or you reading this article. These are the people left flabbergasted by the antics up on the hill.
While MLAs continue to get paid those who live day by day, struggling to keep the bills at bay are not so fortunate as they plummet further into the red and their overdraft. 
It is not surprising that they and so many others feel sickened by the ridiculousness of it all and the impact on our economy, health, education, environment and infrastructure.
That despair is felt as much in homes from Belleek to Ballinamallard as it is in offices, classrooms, hospital wards, community centres and shops as well as every car journey on every pothole filled road.
All of us are in awe of those people working in front line jobs in our police stations, schools and health services who need help and are working every hour they can to make a difference to the lives of others. 
Yet there are decision makers who can make a difference to their lives and ours too by getting back to work.
Retired teacher Edna Topping stood in the rain the other night not for herself but for her three grandchildren who are in primary school.
“School principals are trying to provide their pupils with everything they need, while coping with budgets which need addressing,” she told this newspaper.
“Everyone suffers. Support staff worry about their jobs and paying their bills but our MLAs don’t care. Their bills will be paid because they got a pay rise,” she said.
Hospital worker Jill Weir said she and her colleagues are “being let down” while Julie Hoy who had major surgery last year is still waiting for a follow up consultation and after growing tired of waiting for her children to be seen went private and had an appointment “within days.”
The troops continue to be in position and if Tuesday night was anything to go by they are not backing down, not by a long shot. Our newspaper will always provide a platform to those people who need a voice, perhaps now more than ever before.
Change is needed for Enda’s grandchildren, for Jill and her colleagues, for Julie and her children and for that fine man who rang that bell after completing his cancer treatment, for many people like him, and for you.
The needs are getting greater and the voices are getting louder because the people of this county deserve better.