Congratulations to President Obama!!!! As I'm sure you all are wondering, I WAS THERE! I was standing behind the first "jumbotron" (giant TV screen) on the left towards the middle of the crowd. I could see the Capital between the screen and the speaker if I stood on tip-toe. I went with my friend Robert (a frosh from Sacramento who lived next door to me last semester), his friend from high school who was visiting, and our friend Valli (who lived down the hall from us).
Monday night I arrived at American University at midnight and we left for the mall at about 1:20 am to arrive at downtown at 1:35 am or so (we took the second to last train of the evening). We all dressed warmly: I had on tights, two pairs of long-johns, my jeans, two pairs of socks, my long-john long-sleeved shirt, a turtle-neck, my Obama t-shirt, my AU sweatshirt, my feather-down jacket, a scarf, hat, and my leather, cashmere-lined gloves. Robert and Valli each brought a blanket, and some food, and I brought my waterbottle, a croissant and some granola bars.
We stopped at Starbucks for some hot tea then had to walk all the way around the Capital to get to the gates for getting into the Mall. We found the line at about 2:15 am and put the blankets on the sidewalk for a while to sit. After they made the line move down to 7th Ave (apparently the police had let us line up at the wrong gate), we only had room to stand, squashed like sardines - but at least it was warmer! The crowd was friendly and jokes were made, etc, until more people started coming and tried to cut in line. Then we all started getting angry. It took the police a while to do anything but by the time they finally tried, there were too many and our line didn't mean much.
They finally let us in at approximately 4:30 am or so and people started pushing and running. A gap appeared in the barricade and we started yelling to try to get people to stop trying to force it and push the whole fence down! It was a bit scary. We finally got in, found a good place where we could see the Capital and Jumbotron, sat down and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, people started complaining about how we were taking up so much space sitting down, etc, so it wasn't very restful. Oh, well. For the most part, people were nice.
We eventually had to stand up because our legs were falling asleep and it was warmer standing. We kept standing on the blanket though as it was warmer. The sun rose, it got more and more crowded, and they finally put Sunday's concert on the Jumbotrons. I almost fell asleep standing so sat down and napped for a bit. Flags were passed out, and when Garth Brooks' three songs from Sunday replayed the crowd reacted just like they did Sunday and we all started dancing and singing along. It was great.
At 8 or 9 am or something they started the Jumbotrons again. We heard a children's choir from San Fransisco that performed from the Capital steps, and then got to watch the ticketed crowd and all the senators, celebrities, and representatives arrive. We were very ready for it to begin when it finally did. Every time we glimpsed members of the Obama family, or Biden and his wife (and several other democratic leaders like Clinton, Al Gore, Senator Kennedy, etc), the whole crowd erupted into cheering and flag-waving. It was fun to hear the older ladies behind me admiring the Obama girls.
Everyone was SO happy when Obama was sworn in. We went WILD. I cried a little. The whole mall was silent, especially when he made his speech. It was so good. And it felt so amazing to be part of it. We all forgot our frozen hands and feet, our lack of sleep and our hungry stomachs. We were all part of it and felt it. Before the event and once or twice during, we all started chanting "O-BA-MA," and when we were standing in the lines, several people had started the "Fired up, ready to go" chant. The chants were definitely successful at making people happier and friendlier towards each other. =)
Most people started leaving the second Obama left the podium. We all headed for the metro stations. But this time people were slower and there were more standing around who were trying to figure out where to go, or who were looking for relatives. Trying to avoid the crowds and the parade route with its blocked streets, and get back to AU in a timely manner, we had to walk all the way from L' Enfant Plaza near the Smithsonian Castle, all the way around the Tidal Basin, behind the Lincoln Memorial, past the Kennedy Center, to Georgetown where we caught a bus. It was crazy. My feet were SO sore, and it was a GREAT struggle to keep my eyes open. On campus I got my stuff from Robert's room, grabbed some Sub-way and a donut, and headed back to Maryland. I almost fell asleep again but fortunately got to talking with a guy who graduated from Georgetown in '91 so didn't fall asleep (although they were kind enough to volunteer to wake me so that I wouldn't miss my stop, if I did). I then caught the bus home, took a fabulously hot shower, and eventually ate dinner with Tudgie and family when they returned home around 6 pm from their ski trip.
Stayed up to see the Obamas dance on TV (was disappointed with Michelle's dress - a lower waist and thinner, more elegant strap - at least - would have been nicer), and then slept 'till 11:20 am this morning.
So t's been a busy week: the Welcome concert on Sunday (where Josh Groban, Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder and others performed), volunteering at the nearby park to help clean up 200 bags of garbage (including 100s of bottles, five mattresses, several chairs, a bike, and a tire), a MLK peace and spiritual gathering that night with David Hartsough (where Vincent Harding, MLK's collegue and friend spoke, among others), and then the Inauguration. All together I participated in 75% of the Inaugural celebrations (did not go to any balls, or see the parade). But it was wonderful. I am so proud to be an American. I watched "Hairspray" tonight with Tudgie and Karen (my bio professor from frosh 1st semester, and his wife with whom I am staying). For those who haven't seen it, it's about segregation and ends with the triumphant feat of the integration of the TV show. Seeing their happy faces in the movie reminded me of just how amazing and wonderful it is that we finally have an African American president. He may not fix everything, but I sure think he has a good shot at doing something good.
Oh, I almost forgot - I got to text him my congratulations message. I said: "May you never loose the strength to do what is right. I am so proud to be an American today! Thank you. Keep the love and unity alive! I've faith in you! - Kaia Range" I didn't have much space to write, so had to keep it short.
Apologies that this is so long. I just wanted to get it all down in one place. Enjoy! Love, Kaia
We did it!
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| Inauguration 2009 |
