Good morning.....well OK...good afternoon. It's another cold --20 degree--day in the Nation's Capital. Speaking of cold.....our feet were frozen last night as we waited for taxi after the Gala at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue......So, Sunday night the people were out, the gowns were glittery, and the taxis were impossible to find (even when we called 2 companies to request).
That One! Inaugural Gala featured Omar Edward, tap dancer extraordinaire and star of the Tony Award winning "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk and NBC's "Showtime at the Apollo" as the master of ceremonies for the short program honoring Hill Harper and Beverly Bond.
Omar was assisted by Wendell Pierce, actor from the HBO series "The Wire" and movies Ray, Bulworth, Get on the Bus, Malcolm X , Waiting to Exhale and I think I Love My Wife. Hill Harper you will recognize as an actor author, activist and founder of a foundation to enpower, encourage and inspire underserved youth to succeed. Hill was also a Harvard law school classmate of our new President-Elect Obama.. Another award recipient was Beverly Bond, renowned DJ and Founder of Black Girls Rock, a mentoring outreach program targeting "at risk" teenage women of color which encourages dialogue about images of women in hip hop and music culture to improve the images protrayed in mainstream media. John Rhea, a banking senior executive and member of Obama's National Finance Committee and newly sworn in Illionis Senator Roland W. Burris and Kimatni Rawlines, and an automotive multi0media and marketing portal entrepreneur were also honored.
The music was jamming.....the jumbo-tron screens were huge and continually scanned the crowds and gave everyone a bird's eye view of all the action on multiple levels of the mueseum. Dave's eyes lit up at virtually every song from 70s and 80s and hips were moving as he spouted off the name of the artist, the year it was released and music trivia about each tune to keep me entertained.....The women were bejeweled and young!!! The men were decked out....the fur was flying.....fur coats that is.....sported by men and women..........
TAXIS.....NO WHERE TO BE FOUND......
We walked the red carpet going in and used it to keep our feet from freezing on the way out as we waited for a ride back to the hotel. Finally, after hours of waiting and dozens of calls to cab companies, we offered a young women whose car was valet parked $20 to drop us at the nearest hotel where we figured, there were bound to be cabs...................Found a willing good soul who,with her 2 girlfriends gave us a life (refused the money!!!) and wished us well.....She was born and raised in the same Queens neighborhood as Dave......the things you discover when hitchhiking in black tie attire in Washington DC....They too were in town for the inaugural festivities and were only too glad to help us......So we get out and of course....it's 1:30am and the hotel lobby is locked unless you have a room key...It's a Marriott...we're staying at a Marriott...albeit another one in different state!!....but no luck.....doors don't open...security guard looks at us like we have 3 heads.....So we head across the street to McCormick & Schmidts restaurant hoping to snag a cab there....we meet up with a young couple headed to Arlington, VA like us and agree to share a cab................which we do and discover in yet another "un hijacked transportation scenario" that she is from Grand Rapids and he is from Columbus, Ohio.....So we met 5 new friends and good Samaritans in 1 night.
HEADED TO CAPITOL HILL TO PICK UP INAUGURATION CEREMONY TICKETS AND PRACTICE METRO RUN TO GET THERE IN THE MORNING......STAY TUNED FOR REPORT ON TONIGHTS'S DINNER, GALA...................
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