Obama Day-The Novel

I am writing about yesterday's activities from the car on our way home. I’m using Robb’s mini.

I wish there was one word to describe the last four days, nothing comes to mind that is grand enough. Perhaps “unbelievable” is where I am now. So many times during the trip, we said to each other, "can you believe we are doing this?" I’m still not certain it has hit my brain the enormity of where we were are and what we saw……I’m not just talking about Jon Bon Jovi either. Needless to say, the trip has been so awesome, but we are both homesick and missing Jackson. We headed out around 9 this morning. We grabbed muffins and coffee (because that’s what you do in DC, eat and run.) Like most tourists, we headed out, got on the beltway and headed in the wrong direction. It was like the scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation: “Hey look, there is Big Ben. Hey look, there's Big Ben. Hey look, there is Big Ben.” So, enough about that let me tell you about yesterday!

The Journey to The Capitol

We got up at 5:30 on Inauguration Day. The alarm on my phone was set for 5 but was on vibrate - duh. It took 30 minutes of vibrating to wake us up. We knew we were going to have to hurry (something else you do in DC.) We got dressed: six layers each-we looked like the little brother in A Christmas Story. We were in a cab by 6. I really wanted to take the Metro because there was a Starbucks on the way, but Robb insisted that we “get there as soon as possible.” We got in a cab and asked if he could take us to The Capitol. He was Jamaican and said, “I cun makuh you no promises mon, butuh muhbe I can gut you to R stet.” The next thing I knew my body was slammed to the back seat and all the lights on the street went by us like white lines- you know, like hyperspace in Star Wars. This was my first experience with light speed. I think I did pretty well. Needless to say our cabbie knew the back streets and got us all the way to the last open street before The Capitol, which I think was New Jersey and K Street. During the light speed drive to The Capitol we listened to NPR. One of the reporters was already at The Mall and reported more than 1000 people already there. I suspect many camped out on The National Mall. Coming home from Maryland Monday night we saw several folks with camping gear heading into the city. I thought the taxi speed would make up for time so we could stop for coffee. We found one more Starbucks near where the cab dropped us off. The line was three people wide and backed to the street. I wanted coffee like a vampire wanted blood. Robb was willing to wait with me but I knew time was precious so I sacrificed my Joe for Obama.

Our tickets were for the "Blue Gate." We were on the other side of The Mall and couldn’t cross so we had to walk three blocks down and walk through the 3rd Street Tunnel. I think it was 18 degrees when we left the apartment so the tunnel felt great. The streets were all closed, as was the beltway. Nobody was getting into the city. The tunnel was six lanes wide (I think) and full all the way across with people. We got within 20 yards of the gate at 6:45ish. We could see a huge banner four lanes wide that said “Blue Ticket Entrance.” Somehow we’d made it to the right place.

We were surrounded by thousands of people. Now, let me just say this, I would not have wanted to be in 20 degree weather jammed crammed with any other people on the planet. These were the happiest and friendliest people I'd ever met. I can't exactly explain how tightly packed we were, but if I had dropped something, I would never see it again. I could not raise my arms. I had no idea if my hands were in my pockets or someone else’s. We were like this for more than 2 hours and it got tighter and tighter.

We could see the gate in front of us and the white tent where we'd be searched (more about that later.) We could not find where the crowd behind us ended. I shouldn't say “we” because all I saw were people's backs. Robb could see over the crowd. People kept saying, “Hey tall guy, what do you see?” He'd share that there was movement in the tent but that was all the excitement we got. Now, back to these people we'd become so intimate with. They made it bearable, maybe even enjoyable. There was a middle aged African American minister from Alabama who (with another woman from Atlanta) led us in every hymn we all knew and some we didn’t know. We talked politics and guess what, we all agreed. That makes sense considering why we were there. The minister wore a silver, snakeskin knee length jacket; I’ll never forget that jacket. He was one cool dude. Between the two of them, they led us through every Negro Spiritual out there and he preached. If we didn't know the Lord when we got there, we would by the time we were shoved through the gates. This was such a neat way to pass the frigid time we had standing. When we made it through all the spirituals, we sang patriotic tunes and some oldies but goodies like “My Girl,” only the words were changed. “I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way, Obama, Obama, OOOOObama.”

Everyone within eat shot sang and shouted “Amen” and “Praise be to God for this day,” while we sang. Honestly, I’ve never seen so many happy people standing in 20-degree windy cold having such a good time. I felt love!

Somehow the crowd shifted although the gate had not opened, so families were getting separated. Robb and I, at one point, had three people between us and that was a little scary but we found each other again. I barely moved my hand behind me to grab the hem of Robb's coat. That way we could stay together. Well, it wasn’t Robb’s coat hem that I grabbed and it wasn’t Robb either. Fortunately everyone was frozen numb so nobody noticed a thing. Let me say again, we were tight in that group. There was no one person shoving or moving. The entire group moved because of the sheer number of people at this one location.

When someone lost a member of their family, they would call the missing person and tell them to look for the tall guy waving a red scarf or a yellow bag or something used as a visual. Many times Robb was the one waving because he’s so tall. The funniest thing was a woman who got separated from her daughter. The mom had been squeezed to the front near the gate, but the daughter got left behind. So at the front someone had a box of Raisin Bran and was holding it way up in the air. The mom was on the phone with her lost daughter saying, “Go to the Raisin Bran baby. Walk toward the Raisin Bran.” Finally a young girl who was maybe 12 started pushing her way through the mob, holding a cell phone and shouting, “I'm the Raisin Bran kid, please let me through.” When she made it to her mom the crowd cheered and another “Glory be to God. Thank you Jesus” went up.

We continued to sing and another lady took the lead on a sermon. I was frozen and crushed but I wouldn’t have been any other place in the world. At the point we made it to the gate, I almost got scared. I knew the danger and power of this many people. There was a narrow walkway to get through the gate. I was unable to see what the barriers were but apparently they were solid. I was so squeezed between people through this gate that I literally felt my lungs being crushed. If I could have picked up my feet, I would have been carried. Fortunately it only lasted a couple of minutes. I was numb from the cold but I felt that. I feared a stampede but these folks weren't like that. Several times someone would yell, “Hey, don't make this another Wal-Mart,” and we heard the response, “Your child is right Jesus. Put your loving arms around us all here today.” Who wouldn’t find safety here?

So, once we were through the gate Robert said, “I feel like I have been through the birth process again. I've been born again!” Everyone laughed at him. I expected another “Amen.” We walked to the security screening (the white tent) which, like most of The National Mall was flanked by Porta Johns. The officer kind of asked me to empty my pockets and I did. I had a phone, camera, and a metal lipstick case. The guard fidgeted with my camera but didn’t look at anything else. I was stopped in the metal detector by a smoking hot Marine. Sorry, I have to be honest here. Surely my belt or watch or the metal plate in my head would make him need to search more thoroughly. No such luck, he said, “You’re good.” No kidding dude, what a disappointment!

We were on our way. We made it to the south lawn standing area where we should be based on our blue tickets. We had only 20 minutes or so before the show started. We were in front of a jumbo tron (also known as Obamatron) and I could see it perfectly. We were both so excited and kept saying, “Can you really believe we are here?” Heck, I was just happy to have survived the ringer washer I'd just squeezed through. Within 5 minutes more people poured in and seeing the jumbo tron became an issue for me. I kept looking up at Robb to ask what was going on. Basically, if there was something to see I did my best on my tiptoes to see it, if it was something I didn’t have to see, I just listened.

The process went like this. The jumbo tron showed the inner hallway inside The Capitol building. We saw the people as they walked down that hall but the announcer didn't announce the names until they were outside on the platform.

I know this is not going to be exciting reading, but I am trying to write who and what we saw so I won’t forget. I was simply too tired to write when we got back to the apartment. I can’t remember what order we saw the celebrities and presidents but I can tell you whom we saw. We saw President and Mrs. Carter, President and Madam Secretary of State Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. Gore. The Bush family seemed to come out together. Vice President Cheney was in a wheel chair. Senator Kennedy got cheers from the crowd, as did Colin Powell. Joe Lieberman and Clarence Thomas were booed to the point that I almost felt sorry for them. Lieberman was especially booed. It went on and on. He was booed from the time we first saw him on the jumbo tron until he was outside on the platform. I did not boo, I remembered who I belonged to and they might be watching me on TV.

Rick Warren prayed before the crowd. He ended with leading us in The Lord’s Prayer. I can’t imagine another time I will be with two million people praying the same prayer. I shouldn’t be surprised. We all seemed to be best friends. *Let me add another editorial comment here. Yes, we were standing on The Capitol lawn which is federal ground. Yes, we prayed The Lord's Prayer. Yes, the Supreme Court Justices were there and saw and heard my fellow 2.5 million friends pray as well. Why do we waste so much energy thinking our children can't pray in school? I pray in school everyday. Nobody can take prayer from anyone. End of diatribe.

We saw Oprah, Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce, and someone we think might be P. Diddy-I don’t want to admit to my 8th graders that I may or may not have seen someone I think may or may not be P. Diddy. Yo Yo Mah, Itzhak Pearlman, Anthony McGil and Gabriella Montero played “ Air in Simple Gifts” arranged by John Williams (of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame.) This was one time I didn’t have to see. Hearing was all I needed. It was beautiful. I suspect this might have been Robb’s favorite part of the trip……if it wasn’t Beyonce, or his “rebirth” HA! The United States Marine Band also performed beautifully. The governors, and senators and The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and The United States Supreme Court Justices were brought out in various groups.

Sandra Day O’Connor got cheers from the crowd. Aretha Franklin sang and she was, just that, Aretha. Need I say more? I can now check off another box on my “bucket list.” The first Obama we saw was Michelle. She came down the hall with Laura Bush. They both looked so polished, elegant and graceful. The Obama girls came down the hall with their grandmother. They were all smiles. There was a woman in front of them who we thought might be a nanny. She wasn't a secret service agent.

When we saw (then) President Elect Obama come down the hallway the entire crowd went nuts with cheers and applause. Although he was inside, I'm sure he heard it and possibly felt it. As long as I live, I will never forget his face as he walked down that hallway. He looked serious as if he really understood the enormity of the tasks before him. He seemed proud, yet prayerful. He was poised and seemed to want every single step he took to be memorable. I think he knew history was being made. Perhaps if I ever meet him, I’ll ask.

We noticed a snafu with the swearing in but from where we were it sounded as if the speakers on one side of The Capitol lawn were echoing the speakers on the other side. Keep in mind, we watched zero TV before or after the event (other than the parade) so we still aren’t sure what happened.

Vice President Biden was sworn in first. After the swearing in, each time we saw President Obama, he was smiling. President Obama’s speech was short and stern. He was clear and to the point. He offered hope but assured that he couldn’t fix it alone. It would take hard work by every single American. I was proud of him! I was honored to be there. I was frozen.

Now, I no longer have to write in lists. I can share a few things I noticed on the days before and during the inauguration.

First: The Crowd. There were millions of people at the inauguration and there were thousands and thousands at the concert on Sunday. From my perspective, most of the folks in DC were white, 30 something, middle class-like me, only taller. I saw many elderly African American men and women. They walked slowly. Some used canes and walkers. Most were alone. All were proud. As melodramatic as it sounds, I couldn’t help but look at these ladies and gentleman and imagine their “history.” Like President Obama said in his speech: he was standing on the Capitol steps speaking to us and only 75 years earlier he wouldn’t be able to join us equally. I can tell you this: these elderly folks were slower and it was frigid, but come hell or high water they were going to see President Obama become the 44th President of the United States. As we walked we were stopped many times by African American men and their families. They wanted to shake our hands, ask where we were from and thank us for coming. No, I’m not joking. I think we were all excited.

Second: The Protesters. There were none in sight. I did see one anti-war demonstrator. He was near Federal Triangle (I think) with a loud speaker telling passersby that war was hell. No argument here. Does that count as a protester?

Third: The Comments. We spent about ten hours over three days in a mob. Just the nature of the situation means you will hear some interesting things. This is something I just have to share. If you are easily offended, stop reading here. While we were on the lawn of The Capitol Building this woman said, out loud, “Bush better be glad it’s so cold out here or he’d be getting’ a shoe thrown at him.” When the laughter died down, someone else shouted, “Hell, he’d get 2.5 million shoes thrown at him.”


Also, when President Clinton came out, someone mentioned Monica. Robb whispered to me, “Oh no, he went there.” Monica was mentioned positively, if you can imagine. A shout came from the crowd to him, “I’d pay for Bush to have a Monica if we could get the peace and prosperity of the Clinton years. Shoot, I’d do it myself if I had to.” How can you not laugh at that?

One, pretty young lady in front of us was very worried that folks might boo Bush. She kept saying, “It’s over, please just respect the office.” Someone said to her, “It ain’t over. I’ll take 16 years to clean up the mess he made in 8.” Someone else said, to her, “If it’s over, I want my money back.” Bless her heart. She was a delicate little thing; I hope she didn’t get her feelings hurt. This was the closest thing I saw to a negative situation.

Fourth: The Vendors
On every street corner and many between, folks were selling Obama items. If you can imagine it, they had it with President Obama and/or his family on it. Robb bought the Obama cologne and a really big gold watch with President Obama’s face on it. OK, only kidding-he didn’t buy it… he didn’t have enough money. After the inauguration there were vendors selling so many types of food. The downtown smelled wonderful. Robert said President Obama had already helped the economy because these folks were making a killing. If I weren’t brain dead right now, I’d tell you the other things that were for sale. Maybe I can remember tomorrow.

We made it to the metro station and rode back to Cleveland Park and found a restaurant for a late lunch. The restaurant had banners outside that said "Your Inauguration Headquarters! Half Price Pitchers!" Too funny. We stayed there to watch the parade on the big screen. The Guillions joined us and we had such a good time with them, as always. When President Obama got out of the car on the parade route, the folks in the restaurant went nuts. The president got a standing ovation in the restaurant. I saw The Pride of the Southland Marching Band...got some goose bumps over that one.

Bottom line, we are so fortunate to have spent these days in Washington, DC. There is just too much to tell. It’ll take days for me to write and show pictures of everything we did. I kept telling Robb, in my best Forrest Gump voice, “I am happy to be in our nation’s capital with you.”

Good night for now, Liz and Robb