Washington D.C. Inauguration Day

Okay...so here's the deal. We awakened at 1:00 am and showered and loaded our suitcases on the equipment truck which was being driven to Jersey by another volunteer. Then we said goodbye to the kids who were full of energy and nervousness and departed for Washington D.C. at 2 am. Me and Vicki rode with Patti, Tina, Dave, Christine, and Ron in Dave's minivan. We arrived in Silver Springs Metro Station outside of Washington and parked in the parking garage. it was already cold and we bundled ourselves in layers then took off for the metro station. We had already bought tickets ahead of time and there were lines already. We got onto one train and had to disembark because some stupid people broke the doors trying to jam in...this happened a total of three times!!!!! We had to disembark three times and get onto another train. Finally we arrived at Union Station by 5:00 am. We stayed there long enough to use the restrooms and departed for the intersection of D street and 3rd...where we had to go through a long ass security checkpoint. We waited in lines crammed shoulder to shoulder with other like minded non-ticket holders for several hours until they began to process us through cattle pens. They permitted 50 people at a time to go through the checkpoint. We marched along like little penguins shuffling in baby steps, waddling from side to side and pushing our neighbors in front of us until we reached the checkpoint. I have to admit I was shoving Ron into Vicki (who was in front of us) and she kept yelling back for the crowd to stop pushing, but it was really me because I wanted to get outta there. I pushed us up rather quickly and then got us through. We had to unzipped our coats, prove we had nothing of risk, and be patted down by secret service. Vicki tried to go through several times because of that. Unfortunately Paul, Vicki, and I were separated from our other buddies as well....They experienced a frightening event when the crowd was told the National Mall would no longer take any more people...Mind you it was already full with millions of people by 8 am!!!! The crowd surged forward and broke through the barriers in anger, sweeping dozens of people off their feet and stampeding. Several people were injured and Christina, rightfully so, was shaken up and they retreated. They went to a different checkpoint several minutes later--on 13th street--and got through easily. they actually ended up in bleacher seats for the day down the street from us.

Vicki, Paul, and I went down to Constitution Avenue with the Capital building clearly rising up in awesome fashion to the left of us. We could see the grandstand, the flags draped over the porticos, the crowds of dignitaries and hear the bands playing for the crowds. We were there and it was amazing. We stood along the barricades that were lined with police from all over the United States. The ones from Texas were the kindest and most helpful--even volunteering to take photos for us! We stood in this location because we were right beyond the fringes of the ticket holding crowds and watched and listened live, in person, as the oaths of office were administered to the VP and President Elect. We also watched as President Bush departed via Marine One. It was incredible to hear the millions of people cheer the new president...and impossible not to get emotional or caught up in the excitement of making history.

We then moved down to the corner of Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenue where we had an ideal location for watching the parade...which started very late because there were Senators dropping left and right at the luncheon...plus the Capital Police told us that Obama cannot be on time for anything...kind of like Clinton was...so no big surprise that everything ran late. The crowds were a bit peeved by this because by then the temperatures had dropped significantly, the sun was not warm at all, and the winds had picked up. There was absolutely no food or drink permitted into the checkpoints and except for tiny snacks...and there was no vendors to sell it there. That meant millions of people stood for hours on end with no food or drink in the bitterly cold elements. I sat down on the pavement, covered up my head with my hooded jacked, tucked myself into a ball and took naps. Vicki kept kicking me and nudging me awake because she was afraid I was falling into hypothermia and would not wake up...She was also concerned because I hadn't had anything of substance to eat or drink because we mistakenly believed that food and drink would be available since they were not permitting us to bring it in. Well...I am much tougher than Vicki thinks and I was managing to survive. In fact, I preferred sleep to being awake because then I was not so aware of the freezing cold. At least at Times Square I could dance with the ladies from Japan to stay somewhat warm and energized.

As the hours wore on it became increasingly difficult to ward off the shivering and the aches in our joints. by the time the parade started we were all shivering. Our cameras could not even take clear pictures because our hands were shaking so bad. We endured another hour and half of that kind of shivering and cold because our students were marching in the second division. The marching bands and military units were impressive to say the least and we at least could enjoy the parade despite the cold. As soon as the Sanford Marching Band marched by us--to our complete delight and excitement--we departed the city. Vicki and I had a tough time walking as our muscles and joints were so stiff and unable to bend. We met up with our fellow commuters and left the city, grateful for a warm minivan and the prospect of food. We heard as we drove out of the city that a student of ours had collapsed from mild Hypothermia (she is all right) and that a couple of others had fallen out of step with the band and were taken care of as "official stragglers" by the U.S. secret service. They were taken to warming tents and held until the end of the parade and processed back to their bands eventually.

Everyone has made it back safe and relatively sound. It was an amazing journey for all of us...made, perhaps more memorable and poignant by the willingness of millions of people to endure the elements to watch the swearing in of our 44th President who, regardless of our personal politics, has inspired us with his speeches, captured our hearts with his beautiful family, and summoned the hope of all Americans that tomorrow might be a brighter day NOT because of who he is but because of who we are. Today as blacks, whites, latinos, gays, straights, Democrats, Republicans, Muslim, Christians, Jews and so many others stood together, side by side, turning our hopeful eyes towards the symbols of our country's freedom; placing our faith in a man many of us did not vote for; we were all one people who are stronger for our diversity and differences and who are truly the most powerful country on Earth for those reasons alone.

It has been a wonderful experience for me, all the other adults, and of course the students to have been able to participate in making history. It was worth every single minute of this trip and as crazy as it sounds I would do it again...and again...and again...just to be able to say, "I was there."