What were your fave inauguration moments?

[panda08]

Mine were:

1. Sasha giving Obama "thumbs up" after his speech. So cute! She''s such a ham!

2. The Obamas dancing to At Last.

3. The last portion of Rev. Lowery''s benediction when he said: "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back . . . when brown can stick around . . . when yellow will be mellow . . . when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen. Say amen. And amen."

It was pretty awesome. I had to watch it at home after work. The internet was jammed when I tried to get on this morning!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 1/21/2009 2:03:03 AM
Author:panda08
3. The last portion of Rev. Lowery''s benediction when he said: ''Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back . . . when brown can stick around . . . when yellow will be mellow . . . when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen. Say amen. And amen.''

I thought I was crazy that that moment was my favorite of the day. Particularly when Obama cracked a wide smile and started chuckling a little. Perhaps in amazement at the incongruity of the passage showing up at this event & yet how perfectly abusurdly apt it was.

 

[swimmer]

Hi! I''m back home from DC and wow, it was amazing!

fave moments:
1. When walking in the dark towards the Mall yesterday some young men, sort of hipster cool white guys, helped an African American woman who was with all of her grandchildren. She was saying she had driven them all from Mississippi and these guys just picked up her sleepy 3-5 yr olds and carried them. This was not unusual, everyone I bumped into had a smile and was kind. Several times we saw elderly people gathering small crowds, telling them about what it was like so recently when racism was overt and legal.

2. At the concert a few days ago, standing so packed in I couldn''t raise my hands when everyone started cheering for Stevie Wonder. Also the total silence while Samuel L. Jackson spoke. Sort of strange in retrospect, but 500,000 people shut up to hear him and we couldn''t really hear/didn''t really care about any of the other Hollywood folks.

3. The smiles from strangers! Everyone was so happy and celebratory, so happy that our nation turned towards celebrating reading and science and reaching out to communicate with the rest of the world.

4. Obama''s speech yesterday. It was hopeful and yet harshly condemning the insanity of the past 8 years, on the part of both politicians and the US people. We can not expect that irrational spending without savings will ever work...we must work together to get our country back on track. Focusing on helping "the least among us" and those who need the most help...and I don''t think he was talking about banks and multi-national corps.

5. Sasha and Malia!

Still can''t feel my toes, but it was totally worth it! Wishful, I was thinking of you, the only violence I saw all weekend was when a handful of protesters against homosexuality were being heckled by a large crowd chanting "Jesus loves everyone!" I have pictures if you want for your research paper. lmk if I can help you with that at all, did you notice who got tepid applause? And who did not?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:11:00 AM
Author: swimmer
Hi! I''m back home from DC and wow, it was amazing!

fave moments:
1. When walking in the dark towards the Mall yesterday some young men, sort of hipster cool white guys, helped an African American woman who was with all of her grandchildren. She was saying she had driven them all from Mississippi and these guys just picked up her sleepy 3-5 yr olds and carried them. This was not unusual, everyone I bumped into had a smile and was kind. Several times we saw elderly people gathering small crowds, telling them about what it was like so recently when racism was overt and legal.

2. At the concert a few days ago, standing so packed in I couldn''t raise my hands when everyone started cheering for Stevie Wonder. Also the total silence while Samuel L. Jackson spoke. Sort of strange in retrospect, but 500,000 people shut up to hear him and we couldn''t really hear/didn''t really care about any of the other Hollywood folks.

3. The smiles from strangers! Everyone was so happy and celebratory, so happy that our nation turned towards celebrating reading and science and reaching out to communicate with the rest of the world.

4. Obama''s speech yesterday. It was hopeful and yet harshly condemning the insanity of the past 8 years, on the part of both politicians and the US people. We can not expect that irrational spending without savings will ever work...we must work together to get our country back on track. Focusing on helping ''the least among us'' and those who need the most help...and I don''t think he was talking about banks and multi-national corps.

5. Sasha and Malia!

Still can''t feel my toes, but it was totally worth it! Wishful, I was thinking of you, the only violence I saw all weekend was when a handful of protesters against homosexuality were being heckled by a large crowd chanting ''Jesus loves everyone!'' I have pictures if you want for your research paper. lmk if I can help you with that at all, did you notice who got tepid applause? And who did not?

I love hearing this. This is how it should be, all the time.

Could you hear Tom Hanks? His was probably one of the most moving parts for me. Here''s the link in case anyone wants to hear it. He did a terrific job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRHbjOOgq28



Luck you, I''m so glad you got to go!

 

[WishfulThinking]

My favourite moments:

1. I feel like this sounds trite because of the importance of the day overall, but I thought the Obama girls were just adorable. The happiness radiating out of everyone, and the respect and grace that so many parties showed all day was heartening.

2. This sounds awful, but when Chief Justice Roberts messed up the swearing in thing. I really despise that man.

3. Remembering that this country has done something I am truly proud of. Not for the first time, but in my lifetime this stuff has been scarce, for sure.

Date: 1/21/2009 7:11:00 AM
Author: swimmer
Wishful, I was thinking of you, the only violence I saw all weekend was when a handful of protesters against homosexuality were being heckled by a large crowd chanting ''Jesus loves everyone!'' I have pictures if you want for your research paper. lmk if I can help you with that at all, did you notice who got tepid applause? And who did not?

I don''t count heckling as violence! I am really not sure why people thought it would be appropriate to protest my existence at the inauguration? Seems a bit random to me! Thanks for thinking of me. <3 And yes, I did notice the applause thing. It was pretty much all I really noticed about the Warren portion, since I had my back turned. I figure I can look up the text of the speech later as fodder for my paper. I had a teensy moment of chairdance before bringing myself back to trying to enjoy the rest of the day. Unfortunately I can''t use pictures, but you should post them in the thread anyways! It''d be awesome to see some PS-taken pics of the day.

 

[swimmer]

OK, some inauguration pics!

Ben''s Chili Bowl with an inflatable President Obama or possibly MLK on top. This is walking back after the festivities while we were all frozen.

 

[swimmer]

Grrrr, trying that again!

 

[swimmer]

"Frederick Douglass" and young students as "Union Soldiers" in the 54th (did you see Glory?) in front of CVS.

 

[swimmer]

The famous Jumbotrons! During the swearing in.
Hope this helps you feel like you were there. Just imagine the roar of a crowd of 2 million and your extremities freezing while crying with overwhelming pride in your country for daring to dream big and think creatively. I have never been so proud to be an American. (paraphrasing the First Lady)

 

[HollyS]

I like the way the President smiled and encouraged Chief Justice Roberts after the flub, and didn''t let it be a moment that took away from ''his moment'' in history. Michelle also never blinked, never moved a muscle in her face, but kept right on smiling. That showed a tremendous amount of class; I can''t think that the Clintons would have been so gracious.

The girls were simply adorable. The special music was sublime, and played by the world''s best. The poem was silly, redundant, and full of non sequiturs. The view of the mall, filled with people, is always an awe inspiring sight, and makes you realize just how important and how miraculous our democracy truly is. Never mind whose guy won.

 

[Miscka]

Mine was hands-down the first dance. Oh man, was that incredible. I had tears in my eyes and was blubbering like an idiot! Didnt help that I love Beyonce and that song. What a moment! I love Barack and Michelle together, seeing them makes me really happy!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 1/23/2009 9:52:02 AM
Author: Miscka
Mine was hands-down the first dance. Oh man, was that incredible. I had tears in my eyes and was blubbering like an idiot! Didnt help that I love Beyonce and that song. What a moment! I love Barack and Michelle together, seeing them makes me really happy!

Darn! I missed the *first* dance ... but I saw them dance at the Youth Ball & could swear there was some smoldering intensity going on between them ... I actually blushed. DH said "Do you think there could be some BABY MAKING going on in the White House?" And I laughed ... Michelle''s what ... 45? So I said "Proooooooowly not -- but they may be the first couple to *get busy* on Inauguration Night".

(And yes I know the word is "probably"

)

 

[Selkie]

Date: 1/23/2009 8:33:38 AM
Author: swimmer
''Frederick Douglass'' and young students as ''Union Soldiers'' in the 54th (did you see Glory?) in front of CVS.

Oh, now that is awesome! What an appropriate moment to reenact.

 

[swimmer]

More pics!
This was during the "We are One" concert. Everyone was really excited about Stevie Wonder!

 

[swimmer]

And Obama speaking at the concert. There was about .5 a million people there and it was hard to get my arms up to take the pic.

 

[CDNinNYC]

I had a few favourite moments but one that stuck with me was during the musical performance before President Obama taking the oath.

He sat with his eyes closed, taking in the moment and enjoying the music, when Michelle reached over and gave his shoulder a loving squeeze. Loved that.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Great pictures, swimmer! Thanks for sharing them.