Hmm. By now, everyone and their dog has provided some reflection on this fairly major event of our time.....if they were there, it was about being there; if they were not, it was about not being there. That is the pitfall of fairly major events. It's difficult to say anything original when the whole world is talking with you.
But at the risk of copping out by saying nothing, I'll list two favorite moments.
1) This. Not having read ahead about what was on the inaugural program, this was a beautiful surprise...moreso than even Aretha Franklin's hat. A girl next to me in the crowd said, "I never thought I'd get to see Yo-Yo Ma perform in my lifetime!" Me too. At the time, my toes were icecubes from standing for 5 hours on the frozen tundra....and the sight of these folks sitting bare-headed and smiling in the breeze contributed to the chill (and the chills as coolness) factor.
2) This. Shortly after the ceremony, I stood on Constitution Avenue, waiting for Cousin J to finish using the port-a-potty....when I heard the whirring of blades and motor and looked up to see a gigantic helicopter directly above. The folks about me started waving and cheering, so I started waving and cheering too, not realizing that it was former President Bush (43) already on his way to Camp David....and on his further way to Texas.....within 45 minutes of the Obama's oath.
No one told me I'd actually get to wave goodbye to W. Definitely worth the 18 hours of driving....and getting up at 6 a.m. to bike into a crowd of 2 million people....and the resulting frozen toes....and being just plain cold for 5 straight days.
And, of course, worth being in D.C. for that one day....before everyone wants to know what Obama is going to acheive and how fast he's going to achieve it and what he will possibly screw up and who he'll screw over....where the prevailing emotion was joy.
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