Inauguration: Tuesday, Early Morning

Tuesday, January 20, 2008, 2:22 AM

Washington, DC - Less than ten hours...

The miraculous thing that is easy to overlook about Obama is that the president elect (say it again, it gives me shivers!) was not a default choice. That is: we are not just happy that the Bush white house is gone - though we are - but we are happy with who we got instead.

Washington is stuffed. Friends can no longer get down here because the transportation is clogged to capacity. Tomorrow some many millions of us will march to the mall and listen to a speech that can hardly help but inspire us.

But how much? I mean, really, how much? We are facing a war without a clear purpose or end; the greatest economic catastrophe since the depression; renewed conflict in Gaza with the same hatreds but a limited sympathy with our traditional ally; and crises of poverty or genocide in tens of countries around the world.

So good luck speechwriters.

Ticket trading has reached an absurd point and if you have an extra good one you could probably dine out for a week on it. We have some thirteen people sleeping on the floors, couches, and footstools of our apartment and we have planned to arrive half an hour before the security checkpoints open at 8:30, which should make us among the last people who will arrive at the mall with the hope of actually getting in.

It's late and I have to be up in a few hours. Less than ten hours...

Comments

[SaralehB]

I was up early this morning, posting into my own blog to mark this incredible day. There’s a sense of something new in the air, and for me - still in the midst of experiencing the newness of this retired life - it’s just one more thing to marvel about. What a day! I’ve spent so much of my life working for social justice; my doctoral thesis explored the limits put on gifted women and many of my publications and most of my academic work have been an exploration of what it will take to turn bigotry into something we study in a history class rather than experience in our neighbourhoods. This is definitely a time of great change - change that we all need, change that will bring us together and enrich all of our lives.

These words, slightly adapted from the Obama campaign, sum up - for me - why this is such an incredible day.

Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk.

Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run.

Obama ran so we all can fly.”

So we all can fly. Ah - what a call to action! Where do you want to fly? Where do I want to fly? Key question as we move on in our lives. For today, I’ll likely not fly much beyond the warmth of my own home … but tomorrow … tomorrow’s another day. “For the first time” again and again.

What are you up to today? Where