Part 3: "A Moment That Will Define a Generation"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I slept through my alarm that morning. I set my alarm on my watch instead of the hotel's clock radio as my roommate was already in bed. I thought we were meeting for breakfast at 6, set my alarm for 5:15, and woke up at 6:57.
Luckily we were supposed to meet at 7, and there was at least one other person who didn't get there until 7:30. Then we headed out on our circuitous route to the National Mall. The group halved early as the people in the front walked quickly and didn't look back.
Our half of the group stopped at the expectant crowd gathered near the Hay-Adams Hotel. It was customary for the president-elect to pray at the church across the street and Obama was scheduled to arrive soon. His motorcade rolled in just as we were giving up. I didn't see Obama directly, but I did see Joe & Jill "Went-Up-the-Hill" Biden, and I can say that I was within 200 yards of Barack Obama.
We continued our trek to the Mall, momentarily ducking into a hotel for warmth, and finally entered by the WWII Memorial. We moved forward to the Washington Monument towards the cafe tent before our subgroup split. Four of us chose to go (and stay!) at the Hard Rock Cafe for warmth. Sara and I elected to stick it out. We headed back to higher ground at the base of the Washington Monument.
We tried to stay warm, talked to a family from Louisiana, and snapped pictures. Some highlights:
The signs. ("No more Bushit" and "From King to President")
The crowd's reaction to Bush. They booed when he was presented. Folks closer to the front sang, "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye." When Bush the Elder was introduced, a lady behind me yelled, "Your son sucked as president!"
I swear the entire Mall laughed at Rick Warren's exaggerated pronunciation of "Ma-LI-a and SA-SHA!"
Aretha's still got it. The photo must not have turned out well, but she looked exactly as I pictured her, ridiculous hat and all.
"Air and Simple Gifts." John Williams, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Aaron Copland. 'Nuff said.
Way to go, Justice Roberts!
Reverend Lowery's benediction was hilarious. "...when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what's right." At the time it was hard to tell if he had planned on saying that or if he was just trying to get the crowd's attention. Most of us, myself included, were headed out, as the benediction followed that hideous poem ("Picking lettuce"? Of all the crops that you could have chosen--oranges, apples, strawberries--you chose lettuce?) and Obama's inaugural address.
The part of the address where Obama discussed all of the problems we're currently facing was a major downer. Now, I understand that he needed to knock us down to bring us back up, and he needed to lower expectations.
The speech, as a whole, was amazing. There was one particular turn of phrase I enjoyed: "...we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Brilliant. Throughout the speech, I kept nodding my head and thinking, 'Finally, a president who gets it!' My eyes welled up, but I didn't cry.
It was, unsurprisingly, chaos getting out. But I think it was particularly symbolic that the huddled mass of which I was part coped by singing "Lean On Me" and "I Will Survive." I wanted to start a rendition of "Don't Stop Believing," but I didn't think I had the support.
Sara and I didn't get back to the hotel until 3. What normally would have been a thirty-minute walk or so took two and a half hours. But that's what happens when you're one of two million people and they decide it's a good idea to send in a line of buses to block the foot traffic once it's over.
I had been out in the cold for seven and a half hours. My lower lip was literally white. I ate the pretzels they handed out, watched the parade on TV, and called people. It was impossible for anyone to call in when I was on the Mall. The cell phone towers were overwhelmed. I managed to get a text message out, but I didn't get the response until after I had left.
Around 6:30, I started changing into my tux for the UPIC gala. The buses took forever to ferry us from the hotel to the gala in the traffic-clogged streets. The gala was split between the Air & Space and Hirshhorn Museums.
The ball was a major letdown. The gala wasn't official, and no VIP showed up. The live band at Air & Space sucked and the DJ at Hirshhorn just played nightclub music. I don't know what I was expecting him to play, but suffice it to say that I didn't do any dancing. I went off with Teddy instead and explored the lower floor of the Hirshhorn. Some pretty interesting stuff. The fact that you could see my reflection in some of the pictures I took just adds another level of post-modernism to the works.
The buses going back to the hotel were even more nightmarish than to the ball. They weren't coming back frequently enough to accommodate those who were leaving. So Teddy and I took the Metro from L'Enfant Plaza back to the hotel. I turned in and left the packing for morning.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I packed, went down for breakfast, texted my newfound friends goodbye (Heck, I would have slept in too if I could), and caught the bus to Reagan, making sure I had plenty of time to spare that day. One flight and three bus rides later I was back in my apartment in Ann Arbor.
DC was cold, crowded, and exhausting, but it was completely worth it.
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