We awoke the next morning (with fifteen other people in a two bedroom apartment) ready to start a new chapter of American history. Reyhan's (reporter for the SF Chronicle) parents were gracious hosts. It was a beautiful, sunny, but cold morning in D.C.. Had Michelle and I not purchased hand and toe warmers in NYC we might have succumbed a toe or finger to the cold. Rather than take the metro we hailed a cab to the Capitol. Traffic was light and security was high.
Once we found the infamous purple gate we split from Jesse and Leta who went to scout another spot to view the swearing in ceremony. Imagine thousands of people trying to squeeze through one gate. We stood in a mob of people of at least one and a half hours and finally made our way through security. We were in! We heard later that many purple ticket holders did not get in and Senator Feinstein is conducting an investigation and now distributing special souvenirs to ticket holders who did not get in.
We could view the Capitol building and the obstructed jumbo screens. But as Amy Goodman said at the Peace Ball this event was not about watching the swearing in ceremony on a TV screen but to come together with millions of people from all over the world to show our support and hopefulness for the future. I'm not a fan of crowds but there was a sense of utopia that day in Washington DC. People were kind towards one another. If someone bumped into you they apologized. If they needed to get through the crowd they said excuse me.
We quietly anticipated the introduction of the 44th President of the United States. The cannons exploded and President Obama welcomed the world to new beginnings. Of course many in the crowd booed Bush and Rick Warren, but the focus was really around unity and doing our part for the planet together as a nation. Leaving the Mall Air force One flew over our head. Bush was leaving Washington. Everyone sang the song, na na na na na hey hey hey...good-bye. Here's to new beginnings!
Thousands of uplifted Americans crowded the streets of D.C. Music filled the streets and Obama souvenirs were everywhere...Obama cologne, Obama hand puppets, Obama puzzels. Basically, Obama everything. One of my favorite moments was watching a middle-aged white man in a suit dancing to the drums with an African American women. That captured the essence of D.C. on Jan. 20th.
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