I've always wondered what it was like to be there when history happens. Those great moments like when Charles Lindbergh showed up at Le Bourget in the Spirit of St. Louis or when Nehru gave his speech about making a tryst with destiny
Or when Alexander the Great sacked Persepolis or when the wall that divided East from West fell, unifying West Germany and the GDR into one Germany once again or at Juno Beach on 6th June 1944. Sometimes, the participants scarcely know that history is in the making... but other times, it is well known and keenly anticipated. This week, I got to go hang out and watch history being made. I am of course talking about seeing the inauguration of the first non-white man to the office of President of the United States.
It was probably the largest crowd I was ever in. They estimated around 2 million people on the mall to see the inauguration. And I was one of them. It was incredibly cold standing out there for over 6 hours waiting for history to happen. I was surrounded by a sea of humanity, people with hope in their eyes, people who cheered every word he said, people who cried and hugged each other and people who were incredibly well behaved. I had concerns getting into the middle of such a large crowd, but it was all good. It was a bit surreal standing there amongst a crowd of Americans (seeing as I am a foreigner and had no say in this man's election) and listening to him as he said things that made sense. He spoke in English with little double-speak and such wonderful words as ...we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals...
I hope this man delivers enough to deserve and maintain the hype he has generated. So far to date, I think he has. He has ordered the closure of that hell hole where people were tortured, and I hope he corrects America's standing in the world. This is a great country, I don't think anyone doubts that. The question is, is it great for the right reasons or not.
A couple of days prior to the inauguration, I went to see the concert on the Lincoln memorial. This was where the stars of the day came to celebrate the Obama victory. People like Tom Hanks, Bono, Tiger Woods and so on were there. We were fairly up front, so it was great to be able to see all that. Mind you, I ended up being out there in the bitter cold for over 9 hours. That part was not so much fun. It was quite amazing though that the crowds then were also so well behaved. People did try a bit of silliness; climbing up trees to take pictures and some folks were less than generous with their space... we had one family who decided to sprawl on the floor on their blankets whilst wearing fur coats... anyway, those little things aside, it was a great concert. Here are some pictures from that.
So, all in all, a great few days, nevermind that my shoes are covered in dust, I probably froze some of my exposed appendages and now I am sick. Here are some pictures of the inauguration
And in case the powers that be ever see this, could you try and hold the inauguration sometime when its slightly warmer the next time history is in the making? Thanks.
Or when Alexander the Great sacked Persepolis or when the wall that divided East from West fell, unifying West Germany and the GDR into one Germany once again or at Juno Beach on 6th June 1944. Sometimes, the participants scarcely know that history is in the making... but other times, it is well known and keenly anticipated. This week, I got to go hang out and watch history being made. I am of course talking about seeing the inauguration of the first non-white man to the office of President of the United States.
It was probably the largest crowd I was ever in. They estimated around 2 million people on the mall to see the inauguration. And I was one of them. It was incredibly cold standing out there for over 6 hours waiting for history to happen. I was surrounded by a sea of humanity, people with hope in their eyes, people who cheered every word he said, people who cried and hugged each other and people who were incredibly well behaved. I had concerns getting into the middle of such a large crowd, but it was all good. It was a bit surreal standing there amongst a crowd of Americans (seeing as I am a foreigner and had no say in this man's election) and listening to him as he said things that made sense. He spoke in English with little double-speak and such wonderful words as ...we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals...
I hope this man delivers enough to deserve and maintain the hype he has generated. So far to date, I think he has. He has ordered the closure of that hell hole where people were tortured, and I hope he corrects America's standing in the world. This is a great country, I don't think anyone doubts that. The question is, is it great for the right reasons or not.
A couple of days prior to the inauguration, I went to see the concert on the Lincoln memorial. This was where the stars of the day came to celebrate the Obama victory. People like Tom Hanks, Bono, Tiger Woods and so on were there. We were fairly up front, so it was great to be able to see all that. Mind you, I ended up being out there in the bitter cold for over 9 hours. That part was not so much fun. It was quite amazing though that the crowds then were also so well behaved. People did try a bit of silliness; climbing up trees to take pictures and some folks were less than generous with their space... we had one family who decided to sprawl on the floor on their blankets whilst wearing fur coats... anyway, those little things aside, it was a great concert. Here are some pictures from that.
Comments