So you want to know how it all went, the juicy details, the tidbits and stories picked up while traveling to our nation's capital to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
Well, most of the story you already know. A movement was born 23 months ago, the hard work of millions led to the most important election of our lifetimes, and our side won! And before us lies the daunting task of rebuilding our economy, our esteem abroad and our confidence in ourselves.
We little know the big picture of what lies ahead. All we can surmise at this point is the first impression our new president gave to America and the world, and it was a mighty strong one.
Getting there, on my part, involved getting on one of Walt Dixie's two buses in the parking lot of a grocery store on Syracuse's East Side. We left just after 8 p.m., driving through the chilly night in good spirits and great fellowship, even in the wee hours.
Walt was quite right in saying that the easy part was getting to Washington. Though you had lines in the New Carrollton Metro station, we got on board quite easily, with special tickets featuring the picture of our new president, and arrived at L'Enfant Square before 6 a.m.
What followed, on my part, was a whole lot of walking in a feeble attempt to get to the security checkpoint on Constitution Avenue. Turns out, having a purple ticket wasn't all it was supposed to be, as the numerous stories have filtered out about waiting in lines and never even getting into the viewing venue near the Capitol.
The walking part consumed two hours as the sun rose over the gathering masses. Quickly, I had to decide - battle the security, or just surrender. As it turned out, the choice was quite easy.
Around 8:30 a.m., the ticket quest ended and I waded into the gathering vigil of hundreds of thousands of my fellow citizens in the National Mall, wedged in cardboard-covered grass between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. They were of all ages, all races, and every background imaginable. And every person I talked to seemed to come from a different state, welled up with pride about what they were about to witness.
Never mind that the ground we occupied stood a solid distance from the nearest Jumbotron, or that the audio from the speakers took some time to get cranked up, or that...well, it was quite cold (thank God for the sunshine). Everyone waited with anticipation, armed with the vast army of hand-held Stars and Stripes handed out by volunteers.
As the dignitaries came out to the podium, they got varied responses. Colin Powell got a nice cheer. The Carters and Clintons were warmly greeted. Dick Cheney, wheelchair-bound in his best Mr. Potter imitation, was not. And any sighting of the outgoing president triggered boos and a lot of "Na na na na Hey hey hey goodbye" singing. They were still doing it when Michelle Obama was being introduced! Not that classy, in my book.
But when it culminated with Barack Obama, splendidly attired in a dark suit and red tie, walking out to the stage, the roar was unleashed - and so were the flags. What a sight for the whole world to see - Americans, even in this down time, proud of their country and proud of their soon-to-be president. It was moving stuff, and no one had said a word yet.
Much of the ceremony itself passed like a blur. Dianne Feinstein said some great words. Rick Warren's prayer fit the moment. Aretha was..well, Aretha. Joe Biden got through his oath just fine, and yes the other musical number was mimed....but it was also 20 degrees outside.
Then, at 12:05, the moment....Barack Obama on one side, Chief Justice John Roberts on the other, Michelle, Malia and Sasha between them, Obama's left hand on the same Bible Lincoln used on March 4, 1861....and Roberts screws up the words! I knew so, and flinched a bit, but few around me likely noticed that the exact oath put in the Constitution 222 years ago was not said.
No matter, though - when Obama said, "So Help Me God", the roar was deafening, the flags waved again, and the wondrous act, perfected in our country, of a peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next had renewed itself once more. But it had never, ever meant as much as it did right now.
If you read Obama's inaugural address, it is quite beautiful. Mentions of scripture, an honest assessment of our many crises, a firm resolve to meet them, both here and abroad, a call for shared sacrifice and service from all of us, and a final evocation not of Lincoln, FDR or JFK, but the words of George Washington himself in the midst of the Revolutionary War. They faced long odds and prevailed. And YES WE CAN do the same.
The poem was nice, and Joseph Lowery's benediction was awesome. But the end part really got me. As the Navy Sea Chanters sang "The Star-Spangled Banner", I found myself singing it, too, loudly, like never before, and almost coming to tears. Never had that song, heard thousands of times before, meant so much. Never had I felt so proud to be an American than on this glorious day.
After a couple of hours drinking in the moment, it was time to head out. Getting back to Maryland, for my part, wasn't too hard (though quite cold), but it took a few hours for everyone on our buses to get back....so the drive home was mostly a lot of sleep, but we got back safely, just after 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. No parade, no inaugural ball...but we had experienced so much anyway.
When my parents called later, I recalled some of the hang-ups with the purple ticket, but Mom was right - at least I was there. I wished every American who wanted to could have been there. It felt like a pep rally for our entire nation, and when I read about how people around the world stopped what they were doing to watch this, it only made the moment more special.
Now back home, all of us, as citizens, have to live up to our part of the bargain. President Obama (it feels so good just to type those words) will do all he can, but we must do the same in our own communities - by being active in our communities, by volunteering, by doing anything we can to help our fellow man. Only by doing this can we pull through this trying time.
And there will be lots of time to hash out the issues. But if nothing else, we all got a chance to share in one of the landmark events in America's history, an event we all helped to make possible.
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