-On Tuesday, I attended the Presidential inauguration in Washington, DC.-On Tuesday morning, JTH and I awoke at 4 am to take the Metro to downtown DC. The Metro was open earlier and stayed open later on this day to accommodate the throng of people who descended upon DC for the event. We left our car parked on LMM’s street. She worried that it might get towed. I was confident. Every police officer in the area was downtown for the Inauguration.
-I wore many layers as we would be standing in seemingly subarctic temperatures throughout the day. I wore thermal underwear, a Barack Obama t-shirt, a grey hoodie, and the coat I had bought for the trip. I was also decked out in my Obama beanie and of course my Hands 4 Change. (Note: I have no idea what I was going for in this photo. It was taken just after we woke up so I was not fully cognizant.)
-We were pleased that the Metro was relatively uncrowded when we boarded. We had bought passes for the day on the previous day in case many were in line. We exited at the Metro terminal closest to the street we were assigned to go through Security. We were to be situated in the Purple Section. (See Map.)
-When we arrived, we walked outside. This is a photo of a man awaiting the festivities in a tree. Despite the layers of clothing, and utilizing both hand and foot warmers, we were cold. The best analogy I have is that of walking into a walk-in freezer with a fan blowing all of the cool air directly on you. Remember Leonardo DiCaprio’s death in Titanic? Pansy!-By the way, the feet warmers which were beneath our thermal socks proved virtually useless.
-Our ticket said our gate would not open until 9 am so after standing aimlessly in the cold for some time, we went back into the unheated Metro to at least avoid the wind for awhile. Buses continually arrived, all full, carting a seemingly endless stream of people into the city.
-One celebrity got out as camera light bulbs flashed frantically. It was on the opposite side of the Metro so we could not identify the person. We also saw a man wearing a jacket labeled “secret agent” and brandishing a machine gun in plain sight. We suspected his presence was intended to send a message. (This photo was taken as JTH made me laugh in the Metro station.)-We left early to have plenty of time to get to 1st Street where we were to pass through a security checkpoint. For a little over three hours we were cramped together on the street with the Purple gate in sight. The mass of humanity was so thick that I could not even get the phone out to take a photo. Over the course of three hours we traveled the distance of a Ford SUV. We know because one was sitting there.
-The heightened secuirty was obvious. The street was monitored by security cameras reminiscent of the film Eagle Eye. Armed military personnel stood atop all of the buildings near us.
-We began to get alarmed by the delay so JTH texted ALK who was watching on television to see if the place was full or if anything bad had happened. ALK’s mother felt we were asking foolish questions. I would like to note that ALK asked us if it was cold!-As time passed, ambulances tried to get through the crowded street where we were standing. Three got stuck. It reminded me of something that would happen in Grand Theft Auto. You would think that after the first one failed, they would have stopped. Fool me once... We were amazed that they did not use some of the closed streets as emergency lanes.
-We were on First Street throughout most of the Inauguration. We saw very little. We learned the following day that UT President John Petersen was one of the many who had tickets but was not admitted. I guess we were in good company.
-No one was arrested all day and the people we were around were disappointed but happy to be there. In truth, we experienced the bulk of the Inauguration about as much as we otherwise would have. The crowd was the site to see. Many around us had campaigned for Obama. All I could say was that I voted for him. JTH could not even say that. (He abstained.)-We bonded with many around us. We stood next to a guy who was on the Vanderbilt soccer team when it disbanded. He transferred back home to the University of Georgia. They do not have a soccer team. A couple from Montana who had been to all recent inaugurations were also amazed by the event. This Inauguration was different.
-After standing for hours, we reboarded the Metro and headed back to our car, which, thankfully, was where we had parked it. We also picked up LMM’s book case which we agreed to take back to Tennessee so LMM would not have to sell it. In addition to all of the souvenirs, we would now also be transporting a massive book case home.
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