Tuesday morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. est (2:00 a.m. pst back at home in
Los Angeles) and made the trek to Capitol Hill along with hundreds of
thousands of faithful Obama supporters, political junkies, and first-time
voters. In the dark of an early D.C. morning, I, along with a herd of folks
wearing all of the winter clothing their closets have to offer, jammed into
lines in the streets and tunnels of our nation’s Capitol. The maze of lines
throughout the city that led to the “exclusive” purple, blue, orange,
silver, and polka dot entrances all led to one thing – a mess!
After being
turned away, thousands of hopeful attendees resorted to watching the speech
from local bars or missing the ceremony entirely as they wandered the
streets of D.C. I spent four hours in the 3rd Street tunnel where our group
was resorted to such a cabin fever that children starting inscribing “Free
the Purple Ticket People” on the smut-covered walls. When we finally emerged
from our cave twenty minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start, we
were told that the gates were closed since folks had cut the line by
knocking down barricades. After some persistence and patience, I found a
way in and spent my afternoon on the Capitol lawn, just a few hundred yards
from our new President.
I stood with the masses who had flocked from all
across the country, in hopes of hearing and catching a glimpse of Obama.
Whether it was to praise, criticize, dissect or just hear what the President
had to say, we all joined to be part of history. Now we each have our
personal opinion of what our new Commander in Chief said, but the energy of
being immersed in a sea of people who all felt the hope that our country
will overcome the dire times we are facing was most memorable.
It was
peaceful to think that our country will once again be able to provide us and
our future generations the resources to achieve the “American Dream”, which
to many is simply a concept we were told about in grade school. We voted for
our new leader in the hopes of a “happily ever after”. Others who aren’t as
enthusiastic about our new President entered this relationship with him as
well. We may be divided as a country, but looking at the different faces
that filled the Capitol Mall, we are a lot more like each other than we give
credit for. We’re in this commitment together for at least the four years.
Personally, I’m excited for what tomorrow may bring since I wasn’t keen on
the last person we entered this relationship with. Vows were taken and now
the honeymoon is over, but I have a great feeling about this one…
(Notes
from the Western Regional Ball or, as I referred to it, adult prom with a
political twist: the Obamas showed up close to midnight and looked
absolutely amazing. The President was unsurprisingly in an upbeat, energetic
mood that revitalized everyone in the room who have been standing for five
hours in dress shoes. The crowd enjoyed live music, including performances
by Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, reasonably priced cocktails, and the
company of friends who live in the same state but you only see in D.C.
Finally, a word of advice to those who will attend a future inaugural ball
– do not coat check! I can’t even begin to describe the madness that made
the mobs at the swearing-in look tame and free-flowing.)