So, Chris B. will have his own story about Inauguration 2009. Here's mine...
After we positioned ourselves in probably the Best Seats We Could Get, we just relaxed and took in the show. First Lady To Be Michelle Obama was shown on the screen, and everybody went crazy. I have to say, with all-due respect to Laura Bush, it's nice to have a borderline pin-up First Lady for once. Guess it's time for me to take down my Barbara Bush centerfold that's currently tacked to the ceiling above my bed...
The presidential party and guests were announced: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Then, they introduced "The President of the United States, The Honorable George Walker Bush." Now, however you feel about President Bush, Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, at approximately 11:45 am was not the time to air it out. Believe me: I was no fan of Bush. He had some of the worst policies ever, time and again he picked business interests over the interests of the American People, etc. etc. But you know what? I didn't travel 500 miles to boo George W. Bush. I traveled that distance to watch Barack Obama get sworn in. And it seemed to me that a lot of people were there strictly to boo George W. Bush. You know what, folks? You will have the rest of your lives to try and bring charges against his administration, and you will have the rest of your lives to protest him wherever he goes. For one friggin' day, JUST LET IT GO. But a lot of people didn't. A cacophony of boos rose from the crowd. It was ridiculous. It was a good thing about 10 seconds later they showed me flexing on the screen, because those boos quickly turned to cheers. Wait, did I say me flexing? I meant Obama walking through the corridor.
When he walked out onto the balcony...the place went bat-shit crazy. Weird how he was wearing a "Wolf Buddy" t-shirt from Teen Wolf, but still....he waved a few times, and then all the formalities started. Dianne Feinstein read a few Hallmark cards, Lil' Jon came out and pumped the crowd up, etc. Then, they swore in Vice President Joe Biden. Immediately after he was sworn in, he was escorted to the Amtrak station to catch the 1:20 home to Delaware, because that's what Joe Biden does. Joe Biden is a man of the people, and if Joe Biden wants to shout every sentence, well that's what Joe Biden's going to do, JoeBidendammit! Joe Biden!
A quartet of famous classical musicians, the only two of which I've ever heard of being Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma-Ma, played "Air and Simple Gifts." Chris B. quickly retorted, "They'll be performing Air Supply." And sure enough, Yo-Yo played the opening chords to "I'm All Out of Love," much to the crowd's - mostly comprised of Australians - delight. Then, Aretha Franklin scaled the top of the Capital building, and after she batted down a few airplanes and ate 15 hoagies, she screamed out "My Country 'Tis of Thee." It was pretty good, I guess. Midway through the song she fell asleep, but John Kerry quickly slid a Porterhouse steak down her gullet, and she belted out the last few lines.
Then, it was time for The Big Moment. That's right: Chris B. and I slow-danced across Third Street. No no no, I mean The Other Big Moment: Chief Justice John Roberts administered the Oath of Office to Barack Obama. Now, everybody's heard this story about how Roberts screwed up the oath. And from our vantage point, it appeared somebody screwed it up, but at the time, we weren't entirely sure who it was. You see, there were rows of Jumbotrons and speakers all the way back to the Lincoln Memorial. And every row would receive the video and audio about a second after the row in front did. So, you had tons of overlapping sound going on, and it was clear that Roberts and Obama were talking over each other. Some people started laughing. I really wasn't sure what to think. We couldn't tell who screwed up. But we clearly heard, "So help you God?" "So help me God."
I couldn't tell you what it was like in New York City on September 11, 2001. I wasn't alive when John F. Kennedy was shot. But I'll tell you that I was witness to one of the most encompassing experiences of my lifetime.
Roberts just managed to get out, "Congratulations, Mr. President," and - jeez, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it - the place EXPLODED! Chris B. and I agreed that the sight of 2 million people just overjoyed with about 750,000 miniature American flags waving in the air was one of the most powerful sights we've ever witnessed. People crying, hugging each other, hooting and hollering - it was unbelievable. This phrase is overused, but there are absolutely no words to describe it. I wasn't even looking at Obama by this point. It was crazy. After a few minutes, everything got real quiet, as Obama started speaking. He started off by thanking President Bush for his service to the country, and the boo-birds were out once again. This time, though, they were significantly less, and a lot more people were shushing the haters. One older woman standing next to me summed it up best: "Come on, it's over, let it go. It's over." Chris B. was correct: have some respect for the office. You may not like him, but he was the president.
ANYWAYS, Obama's speech went on for about 20 minutes or so, and I listened to every word. It was a very, very good piece of public speaking. Obama has this voice - and it's actually quite a change from most of our former presidents - that has a bit of a lilt in it, and as he talks about depressing things, like the bad economy, war, etc., it softens a bit. But when he starts talking about how we can face any challenge, his voice starts building - just like a reverend's - and the crowd starts buzzing more, and eventually everybody just starts going crazy again. I could go for eight years of this, by the way.
After President Obama's speech, there were a few more, but the crowd started dispersing. Byrne and I made our way to the frozen reflecting pool, and ice skated across it. The damn thing started cracking as we made our way across. The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. We visited some vendors, met up with Brian, who told us about his ridiculous interview with Don King, and made our way back to Woodbridge.
I have some more serious feelings about the experience, which I'll save for my next post.
By the way, one final story: As we made the rounds with the vendors, there was noise everywhere. Guys shouting their prices, sirens everywhere, the parade going on down Pennsylvania Avenue (no, we didn't go watch the parade), just a Wall of Sound (and Sass) everywhere. About halfway down, out of nowhere, this guy's walking up the street, and he shouts at the top of his lungs:
"DOES ANYBODY HAVE A CIGARETTE?"
It was ridiculous. I think the parade actually stopped for a few minutes so somebody could find this poor guy a Marlboro Light. Needless to say, I almost lost control of my bowels.
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