Incidents in the life of.....

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Barack and Roll!!!!

OK, I'm back from the 56th Presidential Inauguration and it was great! I had such a blast, but I must admit: I wish I could have done more. Ok, let's start from the beginning. In November, I said I was going. I called Light Bright and told him I needed to stay at his apartment. He was all for it! ;) Once, I had Elizabeth, I decided I didn't want to leave her and I didn't know how my body would feel by then. So, Jan. rolls around and I'm still saying I'm not going. Light Bright keeps telling me to come on; I keep refusing.
Being the spontaneous person that I am, I wake up Friday, Jan 16 and decide to go. I call KHallmon and basically beg her, to no avail. She ain't budging. She's still holding it against me that we didn't go to Cali! :) At this point, I'm desperate, but my road trip buddies are denying me. Pearly Gates tells me no, but I can stay overnight at her house if I need to rest up. I set my Facebook status to: "I'm headed to DC. Anybody need a ride" I get a few responses, but nothing significant. Finally, I text all my friends between MS and DC. I get two responses: Kels and Keke, both of whom are in Atlanta! JACKPOT!!! I call Light Bright and he tells me it is ok to bring two perfect strangers to his house! Looks like everything's a go! YAY!
I leave Sunday morning for Atlanta at about 830. I'm grooving, talking to my besties, imagining all the fun I'm going to have, just in my zone. My dad calls and I ask him if he wants to do lunch. We decide on Wendy's. (My dad was on his way to Atlanta. He had a hour head start; I was trying to catch him!) He tells me to stop at Exit 41 on I85. Deal. Well, I'm in my zone and drive past him! By the time he calls me back to ask where I am, I am ten mile past the exit. LOL!!! I backtrack, eat, laugh, joke, and gas up. He compliments my new Pocahontas look, but tells me to bump it a little. Jerkface! For three years, he's been telling me to get a relaxer. When I do, he still complains. MEN!
Finally, I get to Keke. We pick up Kels, and it's on!!!! We arrive in Alexandria at 230 a.m. I'm sure we could have gotten there quicker, but we stopped at some random Target! I guess we couldn't help it. Anyway, when I get there, I am so glad to see Light Bright. He looks so handsome with his grown man weight. He's still not cute, but handsome nonetheless. We stay up until 5 talking. This is not a good idea because we are back up at 8 trying to figure out a plan to tour The District. We decide to see Howard, The Vietnam Memorial, and the National Mall. (Sadly, we never made it to Howard. I didn't get to see the infamous Miner Hall or get my ivies. We never made it to Arlington either. Light Bright gets called in, and we have to get back to his apt. so he can go serve the country. We're not upset because it's cold and we're tired.) The mall is great. The Memorial, the Monument, the World War II thing (sorry), the Capitol. All of the major networks are there: CNN, MSNBC, ABC. (Notice I didn't mention Fox. They are too republican!) We're taking pics and trying to get on the news. We notice a crowd of people by the CNN booth. Then Light Bright spots him, Mr. Black Political Analyst Roland Martin. I can see him so clearly and am almost close enough to touch him, but I can't get a good pic. No problem, Keke gets a close-up. You can count the teeth in his mouth she's so close. Moving on.
INAUGURATION DAY, JANUARY 20, 2009 We wake up slightly after 5 and start getting dressed. I call JB at about 530 to see where she is and what time her fam is leaving. She's already there and the crowd is building. WTH? We finish getting dressed and I call Sharina. We are supposed to meet at the Huntington Metro at 6. We leave the house in plenty of time, but the traffic is horrendous. It takes us 30 minutes to park. Sorry, Sharina. As soon as we walk up, she spots me. I'm shocked because she hasn't seen me since middle school. It's great to see her. She has such a beautiful spirit. We get on the metro and everything's looking good. None of us can stop smiling. By the time we get to Pentagon City, there is no room on the subway. People were trying to get on, but there was nowhere to sit or stand. Sucks to be them! There are so many people that people are taking pics of the crowd. Finally, we get off and head to the National Mall. Sharina is looking for someone named Nicole. I'm kinda mad because I don't wanna wait, but then I remind myself that she waited on us for 30 minutes. I put my impatience in check and enjoy the moment. She gives up on finding her and we head to the Mall. Once we get there, we are freezing but cheesing hard. It's 730 and the thing doesn't start until 10. No prob. At about 830, there's a prob. It's 22 degrees and we've been outside for an hour. Nine o'clock rolls around and I'm ready to go. So is Keke. Kels says no because "we've come so far!" We suck it up. I sit on the cold ground. I know that's crazy, but I'm tired of standing. After I sit down, the guy in front of me lies in my lap and goes to sleep. I'm laughing because this is crazy. I tell Keke he's lying on me like my man! I think he hears me because he gets up. I beg him to lie back down! I need the warmth of his body! He does and I go to sleep. (Almost sounds sexual huh? No deal, he's about 60 and his wife is next to him! Did I mention he's white?) Finally, the clock strikes ten and everyone feels a sudden burst of energy. I stand to my feet, wave my flag, and cheer as loudly as humanly possible in 22 degree weather with two pair of pants and three shirts on! The scarf is wrapped around my mouth and nose, so my outside voice is muffled.
People start coming out. Joe Lieberman gets booed. So does Dick Chaney, even though he's in a wheel chair. Tough crowd, I suppose. Then George W. Bush comes out. I think he's about to get booed as well. Not happening. Millions of people start singing, "Na Na Na Na, hey, hey, hey, Good bye!" Terrible, yet funny as hell. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I definitely think he's an idiot, but at this point, he is still the leader of our country. It feels like treason! Then, my third favorite politician (behind John Lewis and Barack Obama) Colin Powell comes out. Everyone is screaming. We all love him, democrat, republican, man, woman, black, white, atheist, Christian, and everything in between. We can't help it. It's something about that man. Then Michelle Obama walks out in a gold suit looking simply amazing. She's so dignified. The crowd goes wild. Oh my, then we see the girls, Sasha and Malea (SP?). They are gorgeous and so cute. Yes, there's a difference. I think we are more in love with them than we are with their father. After hours of famous people parade in, we finally see the man of the hour. He looks so debonair and serious and humble. I cannot help but wonder what he is thinking. He looks like he is praying. He looks like he considering how to handle the business at hand. He looks like my president! Biden takes the oath and we all wave and cheer. Then Justice Somebody gives Barack the oath and screws it up. He's so smooth that he just stops and lets the justice get it together. Once he's sworn in, we yell louder than ever imaginable. We are yelling and screaming and smiling and hugging and crying. We are elated. We have just witnessed history in 20 degree weather with over a million strangers. We cry and listen to his speech. I promise I am listening, but all I can think about is that speech in Houston. Then I hear, "we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get back to the business that is America." I scream again. I, we, needed that. He goes on and people continue to shout, but I'm in another world. I'm amazed that he is black, that his wife looks like me, that his girls could possibly one day be my girl's role models, that the country has a love affair going on with this man, that his daddy is African, that he is the true definition of African American, that he will lead us, that he won a decisive majority, that I get to tell my baby and friends and family about this day, that I left my camera in the car, that I'm here with Kels and Keke and Sharina, that I'm here, that I'm here. Wait, I'm here. I'm witnessing this first hand. I'm amazed. The speech is over and I don't remember but three lines. I missed it. I couldn't focus. I'm not upset because in my mind, the speech is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. I honestly wouldn't have cared if he didn't give a speech.
It's time to go. The four of us link up and rush to the metro. We are half listening to the benediction. When Rev. Lowry finishes, we hear the people singing the Star Spangled Banner. We join in and sing all the way to the Metro. The crowd there is crazy. It's much worse than it was upon arrival. We rush to the the yellow line arm-in-arm and Kels gets pushed and starts screaming, "It's an ovary there!" It's too funny! We are one of the first people to load the subway and get great seats. We head home in silence. Everyone is taking in what just happened. When people ask where I watched the inauguration, I'll smile and say, " I watched the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama at the National Mall between the Capitol and Washington Monument with two million strangers."
Thanks Kels, Keke, Sharina, and Light Bright. I'll never forget this experience as long as I live.
Barack and Roll!!!

Posted by Nik :: 1/24/2009 :: 1 Comments: