To begin, I guess I should probably post my long-lost inauguration pictures. I actually would have put them up earlier, but I was trying to figure out how to do a montage, which - as you will see - didn't quite work out. Hopefully you'll appreciate them anyway.
We'll start with my favorites...
...I got such a kick out of watching my city become something like a scene from Titanic...
...people... masses of people... literally flooded Washington's streets on that January morning, trying to make it to one spot on the Mall or another...
...the District didn't plan all that well for the non-ticketed crowd and left us without a route past the reflecting pond in front of the Capitol Building. That's when everyone started jumping barriers and streaming over (and under) the commuter highways that run through the middle of the city. Those big orange dump trucks were originally intended to block the use of the roads from foot traffic... haha.
It was fun to see the city that way though... not a car moving, people shuffling along Independence Avenue or 6th Street SW - some half-awake, moving silently; most in a festive mood, singing "Kiss Him Goodbye" and proudly waving tiny American flags.
Despite the numbers (that was without a doubt the largest crowd any of us will ever be a part of as long as we live) everyone was friendly, helping each other over barriers, giving sporadic high-fives, holding up crowds so a family of five could weave its way across the street. I was only mildly surprised to find out later that no one was arrested that day in DC.
After about two and a half hours of walking, I ended up at the base of the Washington Monument - usually a 45 minute jaunt from my house. There was no way you could see the Capitol Building from there but off in the distance there was a Jumbo-Tron, and believe me... the crowd back there was as psyched as the folks in the front... if not more so. The crowd sang in unison, jeering at some officials as they made their way onto the stage and cheering for others... an air of triumph was impossible to ignore.
With all of the noise we were making, I was shocked when everything went absolutely silent... as the music played and Joe Biden took his oath, there wasn't a peep from the nearly 2 million standing in our nation's back yard. Cheers went up after Biden was finished, then all was still again. As Obama took his oath, some people cried and everyone cheered and we hugged our friends and family and the strangers next to us with equal vigor.
During his speech, there were loud affirmations from the crowd, and when he was done no one wanted to leave. People drifted from place to place, trying to get a better vantage for a photograph, heading off to watch the parade, giving interviews for the press. Some simply sat down, tired after a long morning of excitement.
And then Bush flew overhead...
...and we knew that it was finally over...
...so everyone went over to skate on the reflecting pond.The end. :O)
1 comment:
Thank you for these photos...made me cry all over again. Such a great day for this country! How wonderful that you were such an integral part of it. Subsequent days have only made it more obvious that President Obama is truly a great President...and it's early days yet.
Post a Comment