Shaking off the Dust....

Well! I think I've recovered from the Inauguration. I got myself all prepared for it (fortunately I didn't have to work or anything). I had two knitting projects, a BIG box of tissues (knowing myself as I do), a pot of tea and a notebook and pencil lest I should have any impressions.

Oh - I also had the husband buy me some DVDS....I'd never recorded anything on a DVD but I figured it was probably not a good idea to tape it on VHS. So there I was, and the whole thing unfolded. There were about 9.4 bazillion people in Washington - and I venture to say that there were probably not many people in the country not watching. Well...I know some people had to work and couldn't, and some really didn't have the means, and of course there were people who felt as *I* did for the last two Inaugurations - not worth watching.

But the whole Witness to History thing got to me big-time, Civil Rights Worker that I was/am. I guess my thinking now is that we have a man singularly appropriate for the job at hand, a man wise enough and young enough and bright enough to at least be able to sort OUT the nasty knot that the country seems to be in, and because his message is that we are ALL going to have to work on it, I'm betting that.......in time.....with a lot of crossing and pulling and tugging and following loops to their ends, that we'll be able to put back the skein into some semblance of order.

I pretty much wept through the whole thing, but I downright CRIED when I saw the ancient Tuskegee Airmen standing there, or saw Dr. King's son (who looks much like his father). And I cried over things like seeing the President {yay} and the First Lady {yay} hold hands as they walked along the parade route. Later in the evening I watched some of the Balls that they had to go to (I imagine by then they BOTH wanted nothing but a glass of orange juice and a hot bath) and I watched them dance together and it struck me that anyone watching them, who maybe didn't even know who they were, would still have two impressions: 1) those are some TALL FOLKS; and 2) they really do care for each other, deeply.

The contrasts between the "current Administration" and the last are as glaring as being taken from icy water into a soft, warm blanket.....and I've been reading blog comments all over the place and it seems to me that by FAR the greater number of "my fellow Amurricans" are saying things like "hope" and "optimism" and "relief". And you know - if it was the SELF-SAME guy, and even he wasn't black, I think we'd be saying the same things.

I can't stand Ashton Kucher. (How's that for a topic change?) Anyway, I never liked "Punked" or any of that stuff. But he (!) said something that I found one of the most inspiring things said during all that long day. I'm probably paraphrasing, but what he said went something like this:
"I've seen Presidents hand off the baton to Presidents -- but this is the first time I've seen the President hand the baton to the people." It's true, the whole message is that we're in this grim, sticky, war-filled pool, watching the whole economy not only fall into the toilet but hearing it flush, and yet -- by gum, if we ALL put some effort into it, we will be able to get out!

I love that there are children in the White House again. I love that our First Lady wore a gown designed by some 26-year-old kid (whose name will now be preserved.....with the gown.....in the Smithsonian). I love that she orders stuff online.

I love that Obama took a train and hung out the back waving at people (like Lincoln). I like that he used Lincoln's Bible to take the Oath on. I like that he ate pheasants from Wisconsin at his fancypants Inaugural luncheon (and that it was somehow like Lincoln's too).

And I like the fact that we have a President in whom I have some faith. But it makes me wonder....what are John Stewart and Stephen Colbert going to talk about? (In the words of me aul' mother o' blessed memory, "may that be the worst problem you have all year!")