Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inauguration Day
Open Thread, Photos, Reflections


This popped up at noon today at whitehouse.gov.

In the early hours of today, I finally decided not to brave the cold morning weather, packed subway station, to merge with an ocean of a crowd. I know if I were half my age, I'd have been there at the crack of dawn...

My daughter Cassie might be there already... hope so, because around 10:30, the area was filled to capacity and it's been closed off. If so, my next hope is they can get close enough to bring back photos worth posting. That place was already packed by 6AM.

Today I'll be updating off and on, with interesting Inauguration photos as I run across them.


Yesterday, young brothas on the Mall,
celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday.
They remind me so much of the great kids I grew up with in DC.
(Hat tip: Matt Lutton)


Folks camping out the night before.






Pre-Inauguration readiness at the Nation's Capitol.



Beginning the morning with God.
Barack & Michelle arrive at St. John's Episcopal Church
in DC this morning.



Early morning parade route



Barack & Michelle, en route to the Inauguration!



What a crowd!



Close up crowd view.



Crowd view of Barack's dad's country, Kenya.



The big view.



The Amazing Google GeoEye Satellite View!




Joe Biden sworn in as VP.



Barack Obama taking the Oath of Office!
YES WE DID!



Kudos to the new First Family!



Love this shot I snagged from one of my fav bloggers, BagNewsNotes
It says it all, doesn't it?




Secretly sending GWB to Guantanamo Bay!
(Hahaha, just a joke.)



The Obama's doing the traditional Parade Walk.




10:20 PM Update - My Unforgettable Moments

Somber moment: At 6AM, when I admitted to myself that I probably would become seriously exhausted if I went to Inauguration. The combination of cold and standing all day would have made me ill. After reading this NY Times article tonight, I'm glad I respected my body's limit's.

Music to my soul moment: Aretha Franklin singing.

Favorite jumping joy moment: Barack being sworn in. Not a dry eye in fam with anyone, male or female, over 40.

Saddest moment: Sen. Ted Kennedy taking ill.

Scariest but most thrilling moment: Barack & Michelle doing the Parade Walk. I was worried to death for his safety, but thrilled they did it and looked so great!

Moment that made me narrow my eyes: When George W. Bush left. He shoulda been impeached long ago.

Hope in my heart moments: That the younger generation of my people will have a far better chance in having a truly equal chance, and the races, for the most part, will think well of each other. And, that radio and tv programing that is fixed and racist will not be funded by advertisers.

Hope for the future moments: That Barack and his family will remain safe, and that he will remain true to his promises to the best that events allow him to.

Favorite post I've read so far: Inauguration Day: A Strange Light Appears In The Morning Sky, profound satire, by The Peoples News.

Funniest moment: Getting a tip from my man Rippa that Huffington Post published this article, "Bush Pardoned Osama bin Laden". I read it in shock, then do what they should've done: checked for other sources.

I'm convinced it started as a joke video at Air America. Given that HuffPo ain't as racially progressive in their stories or staff writers as they like to pretend - and got suckered big time - I couldn't stop laughing.


Here's a toast. Cheers to the new Commander In Chief!


Open Thread:

I posted these pics and shared my feelings about this day so I could look back on how I felt about it. If you've done the same at your blog, let me and readers here know so I can visit you there.


20 comments:

  1. Kit, nice pics! What a day! I wouldn't have wanted to be in that crowd either unless I was right up front, so I don't blame you.

    YES WE CAN! YES WE DID!

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  2. Shoot, I am probably half your age and still wasn't messing with all them people and the cold LOL.....

    But when I saw PRESIDENT OBAMA enter the luncheon around noon, I knew it was real...and that feels good as hell!

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  3. I spent most of my day so far in class--but I got out just in time to see Obama take the oath. Oh my God......there are no words. I just kept singing "It's A New Day" by Will.i.am in my head it. It is damn sure a brand new day.

    I do wish I was in the crowd in DC. This is will be one of those in history where my children will ask "Where were you when....?" And part of my wishes I had a better answer than sitting in Wooten Hall at school watching on a little TV." On the flip side, at least I lived to see it at all.

    And about how that speech? That was a fucking awesome speech!!

    It's a new day baby, and we gotta get to work in this new world! Thanks for all you do! YES WE CAN!

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  4. I'm too emotionally raw to even write about it today.Perhaps tomorrow I can gather my thoughts and sum things up. I had no dry eyes while watching....it was so beautiful to see so many people of color engaged and involved in the process.

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  5. Hey Kit the visuals of the event in this post was awesome. I can't wait to see more of them floating around the web. They are truly indicative of what this event was all about in my opinion.

    I have not been online all day as I sat here at home taking it in. I wanted to go down to the National Civil Rights Museum to take it in, but I did that yesterday for MLK Day.

    You know what was funny for me today? Actually there were alot of funny moments and I'll write about that soon. But one of my funny moments was sitting in front of the TV to make sure I saw Bush's plane leave with his ass on it. I wanted to make sure his ass wasn't gonna try and hang around.

    I just read over on Huffinton Post that he has pardoned Bin Laden at the last minute. I don't know how true it is, and I think its a joke. But if he did? He needs to be locked away in a prison cell and have his balls be kicked at least three times a week by the relatves of our dead soldiers.

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  6. Everyone, thank you. It was a grand day!

    Rippa, I googled the news and checked Huff Po but didn't see that. Must have been a joke and would make a helluva cartoon. I'll keep a lookout for it anyway.

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  7. Here's the link...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-rees/breaking-bush-pardons-osa_b_159272.html

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  8. Rippa, Huff Po got suckered. Took me a couple minutes to find the source on the web, and I'm convinced it began as a joke on Air America! Sucks for the moron at HuffPo!

    Here's the satire video:

    http://airamerica.com/content/bush-pardons-osama-bin-laden-his-help-november-3-2004

    That would have been a helluva story, though!

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  9. Great picts and loved your moments Kit.

    I thought about blogging while watching, but it was simply too overwhelming for me. I feel like I've lived my whole liberal socially conscious life just to see today. A president I can believe in. A president who won't compromise our ideals.
    Finally. . . . finally.

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  10. Seeing Obama finally being sworn in felt like a too-good-NOT-to-be-true moment for me. I was all grins and claps throughout! And when I saw Bush on screen, I chanted "na na...na na na na...hey, hey, hey, good byyyyyyye!"

    The road is long and hard from here on out, but I hope & pray all the best for Obama's administration, and for all of us because we have to do our parts in keeping the change coming.

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  11. Sagacious, Finally, finally..." Amen to that!

    V-Knowledge, LOL! Man, I didn't know your generation knew about that song! Heh-heh... it's perfect!

    And you hit on such an important point, about wanting to work with Obama in doing your part. It hit me that things got so bad with Bush that what was the point? He and his cronies would do anything they wanted, which worked at cross purposes for good governance or sound business practices on Wall Street.

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  12. Thanks for the shout out, Kit. I'm glad you liked our Inaugural Day post. It truly is the dawning of a new day. Thanks for reading.
    ~Bill Matthews, Editor-in-Chief, The Peoples News

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  13. but have we as americans changed and i love history great pics

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  14. thanks for sharing... the inauguration of BARACK OBAMA had something for every american. i am so glad that i journeyed to DC from the ATL, braved the elements (it was very cold and we got there at 8AM), and made my way to the Mall to witness HISTORY!

    my most special memory of the day: today when my 7-year old daughter (who braved the cold with my wife and me) said she remembered Obama taking the Oath! i almost cried... again!

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  15. Plez, Wow, that's great. Thanks for dropping by and sharing that.

    Monk, Thanks.

    Torrance, Great question, and we shall see...

    Bill, No prob, loved your post and had to tell everyone; it was that good!

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  16. Love this post and the pics. Like Blackgirl I'm just so overwhelmed by everything I've seen in the blogosphere and news sites that I'm too full to write about it.

    If only my dad could have been here to see this (sigh).

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  17. Great Inauguration Day post. Great photos

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  18. Debo Blue and Urban Scientist, Thanks. Glad you enjoyed them.

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