Where did we leave off...Oh yeah, heading onto the mall. Our first stop was an amazingly long line of port-o-johns that stretched as far the eyes could see.
Being as I still hadn't had anything to eat or drink at this point I took this opportune time to wander a few feet off and smoke. Come on, are you really surprised by this? Didn't think so. Soon we are all back together and heading in to the main event.
The view was amazing, the people were passive, the energy bubbled at the surface. It was all very calm and unhurried. People took their time, some followed the curving walkway, some cut through and over the tiny chain rope fences. We all streamed towards the hill that the Washington Monument sits on. As the family crested the hill we looked down into what I can only describe as a sea of people. Unlike any concert or festival I have been to it was as though there were nothing but other humans around me.
We decided to walk forward to see what we could and found ourselves at a road that didn't appear crossable. It was being kept clear for emergency vehicles and we couldn't see a way that pedestrians were crossing so we decided to go back to our original position by the monument (about 2 miles back from the Capitol I believe) and camp ourselves by the nearest jumbo tron.
The crowd filled in around us as the minutes ticked by. At 10 the music started, kids singing, trumpets blaring, but to be honest I wasn't paying that much attention. I just kept looking around at all the people. Old, young, groups, single folks, black, white, and every shade in between. No one arguing, no one jostling, no one being rude. It was surreal.
Then the processions of dignitaries (and some not so dignified) started arriving on the big screen. In retrospect probably one of the coolest things about being there live was that there were no reporters I had to listen to. No commentary from some asshole telling me what I am supposed to be feeling or thinking. Just the image of these people arriving and an open mike somewhere that every once in awhile let through a "Hi, good to see you" as people shook hands on the screen.
The crowd cheered when familiar faces graced the screen. Gore got one of the hugest responses with yells of adoration and feet stomping of approval. The kids and Michelle might have been the next loudest. Bush got booed which was no surprise and the combo of Gore and Quail just make people shake their heads at such opposites. I looked for Blago when the Governor's were announced but didn't see him. And I wondered what had happened to Cheney (and then realized I didn't care).
When the actual proceedings began the crowd became quiet like nothing I have ever seen before. I was afraid that the huge speakers lining the jumbo tron would be drowned out by the thousands of people standing around me jostling and talking, but it was like the very workings of our voice boxes had been whisked away by the magic of the moment (my mind quickly flitted over the episode in season 4 of Buffy, Hush, but then came back to the present).
It quickly became apparent that there was a delay somewhere in the massive electronic system. The sound was a few sentences behind the visual. By the time Obama's speech started I simply trained myself not to watch his mouth because it just became to confusing. What was hysterical though was during Biden's inauguration the sound was off just enough so that when you saw Biden's face you heard Stevens voice and vice versa. The end result was that it looked like Biden was swearing in Stevens.
Cheers and applause erupted at each critical moment. Steps behind the visuals we reacted to the sound. Chants of Obama's name sprung up again and again throughout the process (but never overriding if someone was speaking). During the invocation I took the opportunity to look around at my fellow bystanders. Not being a religious person (and pretty much being against Rick Warren with my whole being) I paid him little mind. I was amazed however by the number of bowed heads surrounding me. However when he mentioned the girls names and suddenly became a stereotypical southern baptist preacher I don't think there was anyone that at least didn't giggle if not laugh out right.
By the time Obama was sworn in I thought my heart was going to explode. The crowd let out a sound like one I've never heard before. A release from the past 8 years, a breath of hope and faith, a new beginning. As corny as it sounds it was what I felt in the air around me.
I listened to Obama's speech with as much attention as I could but have to admit I will have to find it online again to really absorb it. I was especially impressed with the well designed bitch slap that he delivered to Bush ("First let me thank you, and second let me tell you exactly how wrong you have done everything in the past 8 years"). The masses cheered at all the appropriate parts, and some around me cried through it all (I myself got a bit teary I have to say).
When the speech was done it was like a giant hand came down and turned the whole crowd around and whispered "go". The poem and the speech that came after Obama were lost to us as thousands of people in front of us started the flow away from the mall and back to their lives. This crowd, while still mostly decent, was not the same group I felt I had walked into this historic event with. These people were a bit more anxious, a bit more forceful, a bit less "love thy neighbor" which made me sad. But there were equal amounts of people verbally expressing their desire to not be pushed, or shoved, and that we will all get out when we get out so there was no need to rush.
Will finish this in one final post about the process of extracting oneself from a crowd of one million and add pictures when I get home.
I am just all about the blasphemy today.
