Constant Procession

Part 1- This is the first of four installments of a special Constant Procession miniseries series to celebrate the 200th year of the Erie Canal and how my creation of a documentary about the canal brought me closer to the Virgin Mary. During the movie shoots over a 5-year period I discovered that as I traveled to parts of New York State unknown to me, I found the Virgin Mary was always there. I became more sensitive to the real nature of her presence and I’ve continued to find her as I go on my overseas travels. Part 1 covers the reasons for the need of a canal in the early years of the United States of America. And the episode ends with the person responsible for making the project happen. Here is the beginning of the story: A big part of America's history almost never got built. Its builders ignored presidential advice, risked millions of dollars, and changed the course of America's society by building a ditch. Work was begun in 1817 and completed in only seven years. But it was not simply a matter of dig