At The Inauguration - Day Three

Inauguration Day: January 20th, 2009

Both the ordeal and the joy of Tuesday had been exhausting. I had set out at 7:30 am, navigated the Metro downtown to my appointed stop and walked with anticipation toward the Purple Gate. I expected to have to get into line, but was startled at the realization slowly dawning on me as I walked back and forth trying to make meaning and sense of all the people. The line for those “holding purple tickets” travelled several blocks back from the Gate, and then moved into the Third Street Tunnel. With growing fear and incredulity about what this meant, I entered the tunnel searching for the end of the line. The thought gripped me - “I’ll never get in. I have a ticket, but I’ll never make it in”. I walked a mile before stepping into place at the end of the line – almost out the other end of the tunnel . Even though the line should start moving in 30 minutes, and even though we had 2 ½ hours to make it in before they shut the gate, there were tens of thousands of people who had to go through the security check points just inside the gate. Almost 100,000 people agonized for two hours in the Third Street Tunnel. We would find out later that the Purple Gate never opened! At 11:20, ten minutes before the gates were to close, suddenly the line was moving very fast. The line broke down; people from the back were rushing forward. The mob now filled the entire width of the tunnel, inching forward together. I could now easily see how someone could be trampled to death in such a crowd. But on this day, though we all wanted to get in, there was no panic.

We could see the light, signaling our emergency from the tunnel. Once out on the street, people were dispersing everywhere at the news that the Gate was closed and no one would be let in. Wails of dismay and disappointment were everywhere in this thick crowd that now had nowhere to go. Thousands pressed around the gate, starting a chant imploring the guards to let them in. I could hear the introductions being made of the Vice President-elect. The ceremony was beginning and I was still on the outside! Had I come this far only to miss everything? I heard a young woman standing atop a stone pillar reference the Yellow gate. In a flash, I knew what to do. I implored Susan and Alan, the two people that befriended me in the tunnel, to run with me to the Yellow Gate. I knew it wasn’t far – just up the hill and around the bend – I’d scouted it too on Monday – it was the gate for those privileged to have tickets closer up to the podium. We climbed the hill and ran through the empty gate - no lines, holding our tickets high so as not to be deterred. We were waved through, threw open our bags and emptied our pockets at the secrutiy checkpoint, flew back down the inside hill at the direction of the guards and into the Purple Ticket Standing area…”and now the President of the United States."

We were in, and immediately wrapped in the now cheering wildly, then listening with the millions in hushed silence to every word.

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