IT IS THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY....A NEW ERA...A NEW NATIONAL LEVEL OF:
- CIVILITY
- CLASS
- INTEGRITY
- COLLABORATION , with a
SENSIBLE, RESPONSIBLE, FOCUSED GOVERNMENT! YIPPEE!!
The ceremonies yesterday spawned this new culture of commitment to the people and to the tenets of the Constitution and democratic principles and ideals, respecting in cultural, individual and civil rights! What a change. We particularly loved the warmth and attention the President and First Lady paid to Dorothy Height, to John Lewis, and others even though it was their big day......especially nice touch was the gift to Laura Bush from Lady Michelle as she greeted them leaving the White House, graciously seeing off the Bushes as they boarded the helicopter and countless other gestures that show their sophistication, class and tact. We are proud to be Americans again.
THE BEST LAID PLANS.........WERE DELAYED...
So, we woke up to sunshine on January 20, 2009, Inaugural Day here in Washington.....a first since we arrived......the clouds dissipated and the sun rose slowly shining brightly just before noon warming the crowds and signalling perhaps a preview of warmer days ahead in every respect. Its a metaphor that was hard to miss in light of the last 8 years and in light of the new dawn of Obama era. The sun's warmth was palpable.....it brought out the goodness, the good natured humor and civility in everyone in the crowds. It brightened the day and signaled a brighter future as well. It was still chilly.........but the sun was a salve!
We had all intentions of hopping on the Metro downstairs underneath our hotel and zooming to get processed through security at the gate where our precious inaugural tickets were accepted......well.....It was not to be, but just as well....as the day could not have been more perfect. The metro trains were packed when they arrived at the station so no one was getting off and no one could get on............Not to worry....they were so organized that a booming voice over the loudspeaker told us to take escalator up and buses were waiting to whisk up to Pennsylvania Avenue......no sooner had we ascended, we boarded and they took off. All those closed bridges and streets were actually open to the Metro buses so within 10 minutes we were at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue deposited in the enclosed areas open only to pedestrians (actually---practically the whole city was fenced in and gated with only selected exits/street crossings that mandated you stay within its bounds and required ingenuity or conformance to escape the bounds).
WE SUDDENLY BECAME PART OF THE BORG/THE COLLECTIVE SEA OF PEOPLE
Just as we descended the bus, literally a sea of thousands of people were approaching the same area. You could overhear people saying that they had been turned away from the viewing areas in the National Mall about 1/2 mile away near the Reflecting Pool, so they were being directed to the Mall area past 14th Street. Within moments were were enveloped in this crowd of people that just moved as one slowly toward the next opening into the Mall. There was no swimming upstream to be done here. There were 2 feet tall concrete barriers to keep you from going straight into the mall, but people were jumping them and the 8 foot fences to escape the swarm. Since my mom is 80 and can't jump as high as she used to, we kept moving with the crowds.
KIDS' LIMO FANTASY
A lone limo was stuck among us in the sea of thousands, inching slowly toward a possible escape route at 17th Street. Many little kids walking among us thought it was President Obama inside the limo and were taking photos of it as it inched along trying not to bump people surrounding it on all sides. Parents were too kind or too unknowing to tell their children that it really was not the President in the surrounded limo......
ESCAPING FROM THE BORG
Finally at 17th Street there was a huge opening that allowed us to un-glue ourselves and freely enter the grassy mall area around the Washington Memorial. So, the next question was....how on earth were we going to cross the mall area and find an opening that would take us across Constitution or Pennsylvania Ave so we could just head to the Willard Hotel in hopes of enjoying the ceremonies from the comfort of the ballrooms and banquet rooms the New York State Society had sponsored....? We started a trek across the Mall area only to be told the nearest open crossing intersection was 18th Street.......An hour later we had made little headway---about the equivalent of maybe 6 blocks and still were no where near the exit of mall area---- and the ceremonies were starting. My mom happened unto some friends from our hometown, Canton, Ohio...as we trekked the mall....so another big shout to Gwen Singletary and friends. What a pleasant surprise!
SEIZING THE MOMENT......PRIME UN-TICKETED SPOT!
We stopped and garned a spot right in front of where a huge jumbo tron was projecting the live feed and sound--without commentary by talking heads--of all the comings and goings and the behind the scenes readiness.....Unfortunately, as you'll see in the photos...some brilliant technician set the jumbo screen up right behind a huge tree so there's a branch covering part of the screen! OK, if you haven't been to the Mall area....it's barren.....open......It's probably the size of 10,000 football fields.....There must be a dozen trees in the entire Mall area.....Why, oh why would somebody pick that particular spot!!!!!The wonders and curiosities of life?!!!
The open area quickly filled in and by the time 11:15 came, there was not a spare inch around us . The entire mall area was packed to capacity. Those estimates of 1.8 million people have to be underreported.....There were people everywhere .....Everyone was waving flags.....people were polite....saying "excuse me", "thank you" and "pardon me" as they tried to move or pass.....the portapotties were plentiful, but didn't see many lines for them.....
CROWDS' REACTIONS TO TELEVISED CEREMONY
As the dignataries were announced and seated, the crowd roared especially loudly when Sasha, Malia and Grammy Robinson were escorted to their seats, and erupted uncontrollably when the President Elect and Mrs. Obama were announced and arrived with the Bushes.....There was a surprising collective thunderous booing and hissing when Dick Cheney was wheeled in. Have you ever heard a million or two people hiss and boo at the same time? It's quite a roar.
While that moment of booing and hissing was uproarious and loud......to the contrary.....during the President's speech....you could hear a pin drop.....We all stood rapt and attentive, clinging to his every word, just as many of us cling to hope for a brighter future. His remarks were prophetic and signalled non too subtly that it is indeed a new era.....for Americans who can expect value added services from its government...no matter what the size.....The new focus is on what it can efficiently do to make our lives better, not on superficial metrics like size. It's going to be a new era in international politics and affairs.....we will befriend those who support democratic principles and stand firmly and unapologetically against those who don't respect others or them. He has laid down the gauntlet.....and set the bar high for individual responsibility and action and for government action to societal ills...
Obama's daughter's "thumbs up" is the consensus of the crowd around us.
WE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE WILLARD...........
So, at the end....we morphed back into the swarm/borg of thousands and 3 miles and 2 hours later....found our way out of the crowd to an open street area on 18th and H and circled around back to the Willard to watch the rest of the festivities in relative comfort.......My mom was a trooper and stayed up and made the entire 8 hour trip with only a few stops to learn and rest although she reports that all her "...itis [arthritis...bursitis....etc] relatives showed up to join her and sap a little of her energy......She also miraculously ran into some hometown--Canton, Ohio--friends on our trek across the Mall area.....Shout outs to Gwen Singletary and friends........Thanks to the buffet chefs at the Willard of scrounged up some food and great omellettes for us to enjoy as we recuperated from our morning ordeal and watching the luncheon and afternoon events on TV in the Peacock Lounge.
So...........we resisted the temptation to buy any one of the thousands of Obama souvenirs being hawked by vendors up and down the sidewalk....We'll have more time today to pick up some souvenirs...
A SHORT RIDE "HOME"
The packed Metro ride back to our hotel was quick. A big shout out to the elderly African American man who let my mom lean on him since she could not reach a place to brace herself once inside the packed Metro car....and for alerting us when he thought she was fainting...Actually, she moved away from him as a place to hang on became available. Needless to say, the sight of the comfortable beds and flat screen TV was welcome! We decided to chuck changing and making it to any other balls..............This turned out to be a good decision since the President and First Lady stayed only a few minutes at each one.....We'd have our fill for one day. A bed-side view from the flat screen was the perfect ending to an absolutely wonderful day and experience....
More later......
I'm sure we forgot quite a lot of events...but as we think of them, we'll update the blog again....Thanks to all of you who emailed us and called or commented on the blog during the last few days......We loved every minute of it and hope you enjoyed it as well wherever you were.
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