Thank you, Mr. President (part 1)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend the day with more than a million other people who wanted to watch history happen before their eyes. As my local newspaper said "it was like a million people all go together to have coffee on the Mall." I was honored, humbled and moved by the experience I had yesterday - and because my ever-wise aunt said I should, I'm writing down my experience so that I don't forget the details. I thought you guys might like a taste of it too.

I got up around 3:30 and drove to my sister's house in Annandale, VA. She and my brother-in-law had offered to take me to the bus station. It seemed to be a much more logical decision than trying to brave the Metro (our subway) to get downtown. I know it was wise choice, as I heard on my trip in that my Metro station was already parked to capacity - and they had only been running for 45 minutes.

It wasn't all that easy-going that morning. We had snow on Monday, the 19th, so the roads had iced over night and there were a ton of accidents going over the Blue Ridge into Loudoun County. I made it to Miki's safe and sound, around 6 am. By 6:30, Sean had dropped me off at the Metro Bus station on Columbia Pike and I waited for the 16S bus - the one that would take me directly into the city. I wasn't the only one on the bus, but there weren't any lines and it wasn't crazy. I feel a bit spoiled, because my trip was SO EASY, that it almost didn't even feel like I should have worried about it in the first place.

By 7 am, I was on the Mall, trying to see how close to the front of the crowd I could get. I noticed that by standing to the north side of the Mall, you were closer to the jumbo-trons - so I made my way across the Mall and to that side - then I walked toward the Capitol. I kept walking until it got too thick to get any closer. By my estimations, there were probably already 200,000 people there when I arrived. Not bad for a 15 degree morning.


So, there I sat - with a pumpkin muffin that my sister had given me and a latte that I picked up on the ride in. The book I was reading - "Change of Heart" by Jodi Picoult, wasn't exactly uplifting reading material - but it kept me occupied during the 4-hour wait.

I perched myself between a group of Boy Scouts to my south (right) and a group of high school choral kids from Michigan to my north (left). They were nice enough...but the choral kids thought it entertaining to sing the same songs over and over (and over and over) again until finally a guy in front of us nicely asked them to stop. He had a grandpa-gone-mad look to him, so the kids heeded his advice and took to screaming and giggling at the top of their lungs. Ah, to be young and stupid again. It brought back lots of memories from my days on the Speech and Debate bus...

The Boy Scouts were handing out American flags, which was a nice touch. They were stationed all around the Mall and it was an amazing sight, once things finally got going, to see all these flags waving at the same time.

While we all waited, the jumbo-trons replayed the concert from Sunday night @ the Lincoln Memorial. Everyone sang along to Garth Brooks and Stevie Wonder. We were this little collective re-run gearing ourselves up for what was about to happen. At one point, they started to show the motorcade on screen. This got everyone up off the ground and ready. The pulse in the crowd was evident.

Once they started seating all the dignitaries, things really started to get loud around me. People were cheering for their governors, senators and favorites. I found it interesting that of all the people that go the loudest "boo" from my section, it was Joe Lieberman. Some around us grumbled at Bush and Cheney, but I think it was understood that the end was SO near - that it didn't matter what anyone said.

And then, there he was. Looking dapper in his black suit with red tie. Looking a little bit grayer than he did when I first was drawn to his oratic excellence in 2004. Looking in command, in control and in awe of the moment. Barack Obama was on the stage and I knew from that moment that the world would never be the same.

Rick Warren gave the invocation. Those around me who were upset in Obama's choice let it be known. Although I, too, wish that he had different view regarding gay partnerships, he gave one amazing prayer. Aretha got up and sang "My Country Tis of Thee." She was good, not spectacular, and she was wearing the most obnoxious hat that anyone had seen in a long time. That monstrosity with the big gray bow - whew, I was just waiting for People to get a hold of that photo. Joe Biden took his oath - it was 11:54 am. At that point, we realized that at 12 noon, George W Bush was no longer our President. There was orchestral performance from Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. They were wonderful, but everyone was so anxious to see the swearing in, that it wasn't enjoyed as much as it should have been.

At this point, it's 12:04 pm. Someone mentions that Bush is no longer our President - that Biden is. It's a bit comical - because we had that 5-minute gap in time, where Obama wasn't sworn in, but Biden was. I'm glad he didn't choke on his Halls and throw the whole thing into a tizzy.

12:06 pm - Obama, with Michelle, Sasha, Malia, and the Lincoln Bible in tow, approach the podium. John G. Roberts, Chief Justice, starts the oath. He screws it up, which then makes Obama screw it up - but as Tom Brokaw said, "it still counted, folks." He finished with "So Help Me, God" - which I always took to be more of a request, than a statement. As a Christian, I like the thought of saying "so help me, God" after all my promises - as if I'm saying "Lord, I can't do this without you. Help me."

I was jumping up and down, crying, shouting, smiling, overcome with joy and pride. I had just witnessed the swearing in of our 44th President - a man who will go down in history for the man he is, not just the things he does.