This is the day after Inauguration Day and I am finally having time to write as I sit in the airplane from Norfolk to Chicago to Denver.  It was an exhausting trip, waking up before I wanted to every day since the trip began.   I could write about the many experiences I had on this adventure, but I will keep this short and only talk about what is my most memorable impression. 

 My intent for this trip was to witness the start of a movement towards greater transparency and truth in government, a movement towards more environmental and social consciousness, a movement towards a greater sense of global community.  Time will tell if I was a witness to all of that — I do hope so. 

What impressed me most about this journey was the swearing in of our great country’s first black president.   I wasn’t expecting to be awed by this, being surrounded by the immenseness of our Capitol,  but I was.  Throughout my journey, from the plane ride out, to my time at the People’s Concert, hanging out at the Mall, attending the Colorado Ball,  and many rides on the Metro, I was inspired by the number of African-Americans making the pilgrimage to DC for this historic event. 

I would estimate that at least half of the people attending the Inauguration were black.  Black people of all ages, shapes and sizes.  I suppose there were rich, poor, doctors, lawyers, cab drivers, waitresses and janitors.  Whatever their background, they came for many of the same reasons as I, but they were also there to celebrate dawning a new age, a new identity for their race.  I sensed a new found pride and confidence in being black.   The realization of our founding fathers’ vision that all men are created equal,  of  Lincoln’s proclamation of emancipation, Martin Luther King’s dream and the millions of other steps on this path over the past 200 years. 

Now when a black child says that he wants to be President when he grows up, his friends won’t put him down saying he can’t do that because he “ain’t white”.  When a black woman wants to be president of a  company, get a loan or get on a bus, there is nothing  to hold her back.

During the campaign, when Obama said that he wanted to “spread the wealth”, I don’t believe that he meant money.  I believe that he meant the wealth of opportunity.  I  believe that the doors of opportunity are now truly  open for every person in this country.  The doors are open for anyone to be whatever they want. 

When I stood at the Inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, positioned between the Capitol Building’s frozen reflecting pool and the Mall, I saw people of all color celebrating this moment.  We were all there for a common purpose.  When I turned around and faced away from the ceremonies, I saw a sea of humanity stretching for two miles, passing the Washington Monument and extending all the way to the Lincoln Memorial.  All I saw was an awe inspiring body of flag waving humanity breathing and pulsing as one –  One Purpose, One Nation, One Love — with one President to unite us.  

Peter Loris

Beautiful view

Prospective

We had a good view of the swearing in yesterday, but it was really crowded and people were bumping us while we were walking in.  In the background there was the Washington Monument and there were millions of people right next to it.  It went from the Capital all the way back to the Lincoln memorial.  there was more than 2,ooo,ooo people. We took thousands of steps to get there and it was really cold.  We saw Obama becoming President.  There was a big screen that we could see that showed us what was going on in the stage.  We almost fell asleep while we were waiting.  Some people were crying. We saw Obama’s kids coming down a hallway and going out to their seats on that screen.  One thing that happened that wasn’t good was that when President Bush came out the crowd was calling out boo.  Our mommy was embarrassed, even though she loves Obama.  

Danica and Jackson 

I really love this first photo, it really sums up the day for me.

An attendee of the swearing-in ceremonies holds up an American flag while taking in the views along the National Mall in Washington, DC on January 20, 2009. Logan Brown/2009

And a few other miscellaneous pictures.

The view from the farthest ticketed section of inauguration attendees on the National Mall in Washington, DC on January 20, 2009. Logan Brown/2009

Hundreds of people ride escalators to ground level from the Capitol South metro station in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2009. Officials estimate as many as 2 million people attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Logan Brown/2009

I recorded several short audio clips today on the National Mall that I would like to share with you. Enjoy!

obama-chant - The crowd on the Mall chants Obama – Obama – Obama, before the start of the swearing-in ceremonies.

obama-speech-1 - President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural speech on the steps of the Capitol Building on January 20 in Washington, DC. 

obama-speech-2 - Another short clip of President Obama’s inaugural address.

We headed out onto the streets in Rosslyn at 8:30 AM and it reminded me of that Disney cartoon where the ants invade the picnic–streams of people coming out of condos, apartments, houses, and hotels, with each stream joining another until we formed a river of humanity crossing the Memorial Bridge over the frozen Potomac.  It was bitter cold, only in the teens, with a biting wind chill, but everyone was in good spirits, dressed warmly, and excited about the day.  We passed by the Lincoln Memorial and went down the Mall  to the Washington Memorial but soon realized that the large video screen along the Reflecting Pool was not crowded and was close by.  So we abandoned our plans to join the throngs on the other side of the WWII Memorial, and parked right there.  It was a wise choice because we had no security lines and the crowd, although large and enthusiastic, was not as claustrophobic.  The video screen kept us entertained until 10:00 when the Armed Forces Band began to entertain, and the dignitaries started showing up on the screen as they were being seated.  The sun came out and warmed us into the 20′s and the wind stopped blowing, so it was pretty tolerable for those dressed warmly.  The crowd was in a good mood, and the electricity was similar to a crowd at Red Rocks.  We laughed when the young among us started humming the Emperor’s/Darth Vader Theme from Star Wars when VP Cheney appeared on the screen and there were a few boos and hisses as GW Bush appeared.  Later, as he was introduced as the President, there was a smatering of polite applause–once more demonsrating that in a democracy there is still respect for the office if not for the man.  The crowd cheered loudly for Sen. Kennedy when his smiling Irish eyes appeared, and there was a  smattering of applause for Sen. McCain.  As soon as Pres. Elect Obama appeared in the hallway making his way to the podium, the crowd burst into cheers.  Someone commented that he looked as if he had on his “game face.”  After he was sworn, the crowd hung on every word of his speech with few interruptions, but several memorable moments.  One of which was when he mentioned that it was time to choose unity over conflict and discord, whether we are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus or nonbelievers.  As each belief was mentioned, the various members of that particular belief standing around us shouted out, including several non-believers in front of us.  It really underlined the speech and brought home a realization that we really are a diverse nation which is often lost upon those of us living in the West.  It was an uplifiting speech but frankly a bit more reserved than his speech in Denver.  The crowd cheered widly as he concluded.  Then, as Rev. Lowery spoke the benediction, there were a few restless steps towards the rear until his wonderful cadence immobilized even those who were rushing to the gates.  They turned as he reached the end of his memorable closing by instructing “all those who do justice and love mercy” to say “Amen. “  The whole crowd in unison shouted AMEN.  That was the moment when I realized that real change was coming.  We headed back across the bridge, and this evening we enjoyed a celebratory meal with friends and relatives, toasting the day and the new administration as we sat among those in black ties and gowns who were headed for the many balls.  Tomorrow we catch our flight to Denver.  It’s been quite a trip.  Amen.

I originally wrote this post at 10am but couldn’t post it because the cell networks were so overloaded.

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The lines are truly insane. We arrived at the East Falls Church metro station at 7 this morning and had to watch two completely full trains pass right on by before we were able to eventually squeeze our way onto the third train that passed through the station.

What followed was 2 hours of stop and go movement, packed like sardines. But the upside was that we were a whole lot of happy sardines. I never once heard someone complain. We spoke with a young couple from North Carolina and two women from Boston and many others. The only downside seemed to be the lack of reliable information. At one stop the conductor would come on the intercom and announce the next station was closed -only to have us arrive at said station and people were able to depart.

The farther we got downtown, the more worried I became about us having issues topside. If we are this packed on the train will we even be able to make it out of the metro, I began to think.

Finally we pulled into Capitol South station and quickly departed our train car. We first thought we were lucky as bright blue sky beamed overhead as we ride the long escalator to the surface. Then we saw the pandemonium. If you’ve never experienced a million people in one place it is hard to relay the sights that stretched out in front of Ben and I.

Our task was get to the Mall, ideally to our ticketed zone, in view of the Capitol, close enough to a jumbotron, and most importantly in range of the sound system.

-Logan

We had a very long day beginning with the alarm at 4am. We managed to find a place to view the inauguration near the WA monument. It wasn’t too crowded there. Enroute we saw a dead body being removed from the crowd – presumably a homeless person who succumbed to exposure. This was a sobering reminder of how much this country is in need of drastic change. It was cold during the speeches but the crowd was upbeat. Obama mentioned the need for IT infrastructure, which was exciting. It took two hours to get off the Mall and find a place for lunch. We chose to view the parade on TV from the news bureau rather than brave the cold again. We are ending the day with a relaxing dinner at Brasserie Beck on K Street. I hope the trip back to the car isn’t too arduous.

So we ended up leaving the district. We were cold and tired and the sheer number of people made moving even one block quite the undertaking.
I wrote several posts earlier today but as the cell networks became jammed and eventually went offline I was unable to post them here.
I will do my best to get them, along with some photos, up here by evening Mountain Time.