The Inaguration of President Barack Obama 1/19-21/09

I arrived to Washington D.C. a little after 9a.m. on 1/19/09. The flight went very smoothly. It began with the Airtran pilot setting the tone in Atlanta with a good morning and welcome of, "Yes we can fly safely to Dulles" Once in DC, I got my rental car and headed about 10 minutes down I-66 to Manassas, VA, where I was staying at the Red Roof Inn. I booked my package around September, 2008, after having a personal revelation that Obama would win. I checked into the hotel and then proceeded to call and text several of my friends who told me they would be in town. My wife took a later flight and wouldn't arrive til about 9pm. So I just couldn't stay in the room, though while flipping channels, I caught a PBS special on the Emmit Till murder, Montgomery bus boycott, and Dr. Martin L. King Jr.'s rise in the Civil Rights movement. It took my attention away for about 30 minutes, then I watched some CNN, and finally decided I needed to meet some of the people who were in town.

So I jumped in the car and headed back toward D.C. and found a Metro station. It was cold and snowing but still reasonably visible outside. To my surprise there was a very, very, very long line just to get a Metro card (train admission). The long and short of it, is that I stood in line for 2.5hrs to get the card, 30 minutes in the snow, and 2 hours in just brutal cold. But it was very necessary to make the rest of the weekend go smoothly. I'm happy that I learned this lesson on 1/19, rather than 1/20. It would prove to be extremely beneficial. Many people had to stand in similar lines later that evening and also on 1/20. So, I finally boarded the train and left to connect with a friend in the Cleveland Park area of D.C. It took a little coordination, but we all finally met. We enjoyed some Mexican food and sangria and caught up with one another, shared stories so far and plans. By this time, I really hadn't done much, but after dinner, I left my friends and continued on the Metro line to the Green Belt station where I was closest to BWI airport where my wife Carmen was arriving. By now it's 8:30pm and I'm down to one bar on the phone, so I'm texting Carmen and leaving messages frantically to coordinate with her. My phone eventually died, and I had to use a pay phone, but she got my message and as an experienced traveler found the bus that took her to the station where I was waiting for yet another hour plus in the cold. (Someone should really consider heating train stations). Finally, Carmen and met, I helped her with her luggage, we caught the train and headed back to the hotel. To put things in perspective we were at the end of one line on the Metro and needed to go to the end of another line to get the car. (Imagine North Springs to the Airport x2). By the time we got to the car it was nearly 1a.m. on 1/20/09. Then of course we were hungry again, so we stopped for a food and drinks at a late night restaurant near the hotel and I began to regain my excitement about what would happen later.

We ate and went back to the hotel. We then planned out the next day, based on sleep requirements and CNN reports of crowds and left for D.C. around 6 a.m. We drove as far east as we could on I-66 and caught a train around 6:30a.m. that would ultimately pack to "fire hazard" capacity. We rode like sardines from Falls Church (VA Tech/U of VA) to Federal Center. It was unbelievable how many people were on the train and how many people wanted to get on the train at each stop. Imagine leaving a Falcons game from Vine City, but then everyone at Georgia Dome actually gets on the train with you. Finally we exit the train, and walk thru the Woodrow Wilson Center, very nice area if you ever visit D.C., then things became familiar to me again. We passed a few protests of people accusing Obama of "advocating abortion", but generally there were thousands everywhere just trying to see what they could see. It was about 8:50a.m. by this time. (Yes it took that long on the train). We took in a few more sights and then figured we had better take our place on the mall. There was no security check. We had heard so many rumors of "only being allowed 1 bottle of water, bag checks, etc." None of that was the case and I'm happy because it would've just complicated matters even more. We just walked through gates and took our place on the grass. We were about the 3rd jumbotron back from the Capital. We could easily see the capital but it was about 9:02a.m. and still freezing outside. The other direction of course was the Washington Monument in the distance and there was at this time plenty of space to fall in line. This is the hurry up and wait moment. The program wouldn't begin until maybe 1130a.m. with the arrrivals of official guests. So we sat on the blanket, bundled up and talked to the people around us. Some were playing cards, eating snacks, standing, sitting, listening to ipods, filming, photographing or just doing whatever to pass the time. By this point text messages and phone calls were not transmitting. You could feel the excitement in the air, everyone was jubilant, waving American flags. I explain it as somewhere between Christmas Eve and Mardi Gras. Finally the dignitaries began to arrive, and the temperature began to warm a little, and the sun came out.

I will say, there were mostly cheers but definitely a few jeers. I think the only people who were booed were V.P. Cheney in his wheel chair after suffering the injury from moving boxes (go figure?) and of course President Bush. I don't like Bush, but by this time there was no need to disrespect the office of the President. Presidents Carter and Clinton got a lot of love from the crowd. And any citing of Michele and Barack caused an uproar of cheers with the waving of American flags. It was a special sight to see. So finally it's about 12:03pm. and I'm telling the guy next to me that technically he's already President according to the constitution, (the high noon) part. At any rate once he said the oath and became President everyone lost it, people were hugging, kissing, crying, cheering and jumping up and down and screaming. It was such a big release of emotion that for me had been built up since I first saw him live at Georgia Tech, April, 2007. It was then that I decided he was my candidate and I needed to dig in and help get him elected. As an Obama fellow I organized house meetings, voter registration drives, door to door canvassing and phone banks. At that moment all of the hot days and long nights flashed before my eyes. The debate parties and primary results viewings, and DNC convention, and election night all came to past. I got emotional. I witnessed history. I was part of making history. It felt good. We listened to his inaugural address and I really appreciated his words. The poem wasn't all that to me, but I enjoyed Rev. Lowery's benediction. So then we got the big idea to defy CNN's challenge and tried to make our way to the parade which was scheduled for 2:30p.m. It was by now 12:40p.m. We left the area, and had a good jump on the crowd, and immediately met chaos when the street toward the Woodrow Wilson area was now fenced off. It was probably 20 people deep just on the sidewalk. Once we got out of that jam we faced it about 2 more times and then found an underpass to escape. We basically walked in about a three city block square only to find yet another blocked exit. Now I'm feeling caged like I did in NY during "Y2K" in 1999. So I asked one of D.C.'s finest and he was cluest, but did offer that since the Smithsonian station was closed (bad idea on D.C. planners), we should try L'efannt which was another 6 blocks away. But we were by now like okay, whatever it takes, because we just wanted to leave the area thinking we needed time to rest up for the Southern States Ball which we would attend at 8p.m. So we get to the station and it was madness. We were about 20 feet of people from the entrance and people were moving in all directions. There were National Guardsmen on the scene for crowd control. They were encouraging people to remain orderly and not push. It was now kind of funny to me, but the line was moving. Apparently, they had several trains in a row and it was working but it took some time. So that took another 30 minutes in the cold before we reached the escalator and we were on the train. Once you get to the train, everything is fine.

We made it back to Falls Church station in about 20 minutes. It seemed so much faster going back and we got to our car and grabbed a bite to eat. We watched the parade on CNN and a local NBC station just for comparison. I think they all had the same feed from the back of a Toyota pickup truck but the commentators were stationed in different places and gave a little different detail. We took a much needed nap and that would turn out to be a good call for later. When we woke from our nap, ironically the parade was still on and we began to get ready for our first formal inauguration Ball. The Southern States Ball was held at the D.C.
Armory and I got tickets through the Georgia Democratic Party. So please join, donate, and support them. We were meeting friends and decided to head out for the train about 7p.m. There is a Stadium/Armory station on the train line so that really worked well for us. When we arrived there were National Guardsmen at the exit of the station checking tickets before you even got into the general area. Once passed that it all seemed like wonderland. There were really nice, I mean nice portable restrooms. The kind with faux wood, that smell nice and were clean. So after coat check, we immediately took the official photo with the Presidents seal in the backgroud. I can't wait to see it online. It's a must buy. We then entered the arena which was very well decorated, warm, with plenty of cash bars. I must say the snacks were a little lacking, basically hors d'oeuvres, fruit and deserts but plenty of it. It wasn't what I expected but again that excitement was still in the air. The first famous person I met was Avery Johnson, former coach/player of the San Antonio Spurs. I saw him with his wife and camera and took a photo for them, and then we posed for another. He's a really nice person. I ran into a few Georgians who I knew personally. Then there was Evander Holyfield and Bishop Eddie Long. I also met my fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi's Grand Polemarch DeWayne Murray. It was just that kind of night bumping into who's who. There was very little dancing but Susan Tedeschi was the entertainment. She's kind of a blues/country mix. Not too bad, but like a Sheryl Crow-lite to me.

So my wife and I mingled with friends and ate and drank until the rumor mill reached a climax about what time Obama would arrive. First a bartender told me 2:20am., then a friend said 1:00a.m., another 1:30a.m. We were all hearing different times. Finally one guy told me that he saw several secret service members and it was now about 12:15a.m., so I stayed close to the stage and sure enough a few minutes later the program began. First V.P. Biden and his wife Jill came out. He spoke to the crowd for a few minutes and they left. Then a color guard appeared about 10 minutes later. Next a miliatary brass band about 3 minutes later. Finally what we had all been waiting for President Obama and Michele Obama entered the room. It was so cool. He looked great and so did she. We were Ball #9/10, so the stories of them arriving in the late hours were incorrect. He gave a quick 3 minute speech, really good words and then they danced. Cameras were flashing and recording. It was so beautiful. And then just like that they were gone and despite there being another band ready to play most people left. We then headed for the train and made our way back to the car. By now it's about 1:30a.m. and it was freezing outside. I didn't have a hat and it was so windy. But we didn't care because we again had connected with our President on a personal level and he left me feeling really special and excited about the work we have to do as Americans to get the country back on track. So we made it back to the hotel, a little after 2:00a.m and got ready for bed. I had a 7:00a.m. flight but Carmen, my wife, had an 8:30a.m. flight. At any rate I had to drop her by the station around 5a.m. which is when the first train began running and then return back toward Dulles to drop off the car and take a shuttle back to the airport. It all really went smoothly. I was checked into the airport and eating breakfast by 6a.m. My flight took off and landed on time and I arrived back in Atlanta around 8:30a.m. I was exhausted and could feel a slight cold coming on. But I was so excited looking at the the Washington Post and Times covers. I would later buy USA Today and the AJC as souvenirs. While getting my luggage I saw a local news crew at the airport, I think Channel 2. I kind of avoided them because I was still at the point of not putting into words my experience. Only now can I do so. I will never forget it.