Sunday, January 18, 2009
Left Philly at 8:30 am
A speedy 2 ½ hour ride from Philly to D.C. No traffic, no delays. WOW. All sorts of warnings were posted though for those driving down on the next two days.
Now on to the Opening Ceremony at Lincoln Memorial. This would be my first encounter with the crowds – a rehearsal for Tuesday. 
Not bad. The metro ran every three to four minutes and the crowds moved out steadily. Most everyone was patient and orderly. We reached the public entrances to the Lincoln Memorial by walking several block down 17th Street. As we were about to cross Pennsylvania Ave. (which was closed), we saw the national guard, who were stationed every few yards, starting to shout at people to get out of the street and to stay on the sidewalks. I first thought that they just wanted everyone out of the street for safety. But there was no traffic! Then the crowds stopped advancing. Everyone and everything stood still. A few police on motorcycles sped by. The people closest to the curb side of the sidewalk started raising their cameras. Then I realized something was. 
And as quickly as that thought occurred to me the long black presidential limo raced by toward the Memorial. We all threw our cameras into the air, hoping to get a fleeting picture of the man who would be our next president.
A few seconds of awe & silence were immediately followed by everyone spilling into the streets in pursuit of a place to watch the ceremony on a jumbotron; for surely the people who were there when the doors opened at 8 am had already filled up the front areas around the pond in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
All along the way, there were local people hawking just about every kind of “Obama” memorabilia you could imagine: Obama magnets, t-shirts, caps, hats, posters, plaques, oil, binoculars,earrings, buttons, bookmarks, perfume....
Expectedly, we found a line to the 17th st. & Constitution entrance and volunteers telling us that there were so many people, they weren’t letting anyone else into the Lincoln area. 
We simply crossed the street to the Washington Monument portion of the mall and stationed ourselves in front of a jumbo tron and watched with the tens of thousands of people that were rapidly joining us to fill this mall back to the capitol.
In events like this, perfect strangers become quick to talk and relate how and why they are here: we were all sharing a common hope for our country that began nearly two years ago when Barack announced his candidacy.
We cheered and yelled for each singer and speaker; we rocked, clapped and sang along with all the familiar verses of the many inclusive music genres and 
styles that represented an inclusive image of America: folk, country, rhythm and blues, rock, gospel, patriotic, classical.
As we were filing out into 17th Street, a news reporter from Italy introduced himself and asked if he could interview me. He had spied my Obama pin on my hat and asked me what this meant to me? Did I campaign for him? Will I be disappointed with his Presidency? “No. He is only one man. It is up to all of us to change our country and the world. His presidency is a symbol of the progress America has made - a symbol of hope shared by most of the world. We can only be disappointed in ourselves.”
To see more pictures from the inauguration, click on the slideshow below. Also, view next blog postings.
No comments:
Post a Comment