The Presidential Party

It all started here! I mean for this day to be possible. Sacrifices of so many civil rights leaders.

Yes we did! After much back and forth we finally made the decision to make a trip downtown to watch the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. I am glad we did but I am not really sure I would do it again after the fact. The crowd numbered close to a couple of million. We did not have tickets and in a way glad we did not, it negated us having to stay in long lines which were the major choke point for a lot of folks.

Roads jammed!

We live in the suburbs well connected to the city by public transportation and decided to make maximum use of it, not that we had much of a choice anyway. We took the bus to the metro station after being surprised that the park and ride lot still had parking spaces around 8:00AM. The seat we sat in was dedicated to Rosa Parks - symbolism!! The metro station was not as crowded as we expected it to be. The train skipped the station we were planning to get off though a bit upset - the station was closed because a passenger fell onto the tracks, luckily she was saved by a transit worker from Texas. Got off at station further down were there were plenty of buses plying to near the mall. The shuttle buses took us to the thick of things. We walked briskly to an open federal building for a pee break. There were huge lines here for security checks before they'd let us into the bathroom. So by the time we got back and got in line the roads leading to the mall area were packed, but we did make it close to the Veteran's Memorial and parked ourselves close to one of the jumbo trons.

Made it!

It was truly a unique sensation to be among a million or more taking in the historic events. The emotions and joys reflected in the faces of the folks who had come out was truly special. They were loud shouts of Obama Obama whenever he came in view. I felt a slight tinge of disappointment of what could have been when I caught a glimpse of Hillary and Bill Clinton followed by a huge applause from the crowd. I have never seen that many people in one place. It was chilly, cold and windy but millions were there braving it all in the one of our most favorite spots in the mall. Several times while making our way through the crowd we were glad we had not dragged the kids along. DD who was very keen on coming was a little under the weather and when we told that there was absolutely no chance we would catch a glimpse of the new president she quickly agreed to stay at her friends house. We might have several other occasions to catch a glimpse of him living as we do in the shadow of the nation's capital. Though the crowd was orderly and everyone was courteous and concerned it would have been difficult to drag them along and walk briskly. I was truly in awe of those who brought their kids along.

Taking it in.

The huge crowd fell silent when the oath was administered and when the new President started delivering his address. The speech was cautious and measured about the progress that can be made and a request for patience was made. We had planned to make it back once the oath and speech were done. We walked briskly to the nearest metro station and were lucky to get into the train without much of a wait. A few minutes here and there we would have part of the crowd that was frustrated with the delays at the station. We made it back home in time for the parade. As the bus was nearing our park and ride lot it started to stall and was about to stop. "Yes we can" rang out "Get down and Push" rang out much to the amusement of those on the bus. Get used to it we will be hearing a lot more "Yes we can"s. Luckily the bus started and we made it to our destination.

The new president has a lot on his shoulders and expectations are through the roof. Let us Wish him All the Best, not just for his sake but all our sakes.

I am ofcourse proud of my city which did it all in style. Thanks goes out to the numerous city, federal workers and volunteers who made it all possible.