My Inaugural Experience....

One of my tickets.

Four years ago, as the nation was making history on the National Mall, inaugurating President Obama, I was eat lunch in a Chinese restaurant with my Dad, after we did not get to use our tickets. We had purple tickets, and ended up stuck in the famed "purple tunnel of doom." Yes, there was a tunnel, and yes the section was doomed. Not only did we not get in, most others didn't either. They said there was a security breach, or that the scanners didn't work, or something. I just think DC has trouble putting on events. Either way, all I got for the trip was this cool picture from the day before.

January 19th, 2009- the U.S. Capitol.

So this time, I just decided to go a week or two before, because frankly it's hard to get overly excited about an event that disappointed you once. Why go stand in the cold when you can watch inside in the warm, right? Right. About two weeks out though, I decided to write to Congressman Cartwright's office for a ticket. Did they respond? Heck yes they did, and impressively fast. They got me a ticket, and I was to pick it up on the eve of the Inaugural, January 20th, on Capitol Hill. I did, and was on my way, with my "gold" ticket behind the reflecting pool, all set for the next morning.

The commemorative ticket.

Of course I was going out that night, and was at an event with a lot of old DC friends. I met up with two former co-workers, and as we were making plans for the next morning, a dilemma came up: my one friend needed a gold ticket for a girl coming with him, while the other friend had two green tickets and no one to go with, since she wasn't even going to go until that day. We did what any logical people would do- I gave the gold ticket to my buddy for his friend, and I took the extra green ticket. It's nice having friends in a city you used to live in.

The view from section "green."

So of course in the morning, my friend didn't feel great, and didn't want to go out in the cold. So, I got up and went anyway, knowing that I knew some other people with standing room seats in section green. How bad can it be, right? I got to the Capitol area around 8 am, and was probably inside the security check by 8:30. It was a huge difference compared to 2009. As I got in deeper though, I realized something- they were not taking our tickets, and there was a back-up of people. Oh crap, they gave out too many of these. I finally did reach the Capitol lawn, inside the green section, but quickly realized that the people who got there at 5:30 am and were in at 7 am when the gates opened, they were the people who could actually see the podium, or at least the jumbo-tron TV's showing the inauguration. It was packed tighter than a can of sardines up there, and the only green space with even enough space to comfortably stand in was way off to the side- far enough off that you could not get even a decent angle at the TV's. By about 9:45 am, I decided that it was nice that I had got in, but that this wasn't worth the trouble. See, while the gold and yellow sections aren't close, they're straight away from the podium mostly, so you can see. Over to the sides, you can't see anything. I decided to leave and go get brunch somewhere on Capitol Hill, and enjoy the speech.

It's still a pretty cool sight.

I walked about, and thought about going to visit some Senate offices where friends may be, but decided against it. Then, I turned a street corner and ran into an old-friend and Mayor of a city in the area, and struck up a conversation. By now it was about 10:20 am, and in the course of the conversation he asked where I was going. I told him my plans, and he told me he had one extra ticket in the red standing area, right behind his seats. I contemplated for about 1.6 seconds, then agreed to join him and his wife in line. In we went.

On the way in.

It took until about 11:20 am, but we got in. We entered the red section and parted ways at that point. The mayor and his wife were going to their seats, and I was going to stand. At first, it wasn't bad, it was certainly better and more spacious than the green section had been. Then something funny happened. As James Taylor began to play (which was awesome), the people who had been herding people into their sections began to stop. They let us move into the area that had previously been the walk area to get to the seats. Suddenly you could see better (you could move more towards the middle and a more clear view), but you also had room. This was awesome.

The moment.

Around 11:45 am, Vice-President Biden took the oath of office from Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, and around 11:50 (yes, it was early), they brought up the President. I am not someone who generally gets at all emotional about my patriotism, however I've really never felt as proud of the country I live in as I was in that moment in which he was being sworn in. It's not even just that I like the guy who took this oath of office. I mean, we take it for granted, but we peacefully bestow power onto our leader in this country, and to be able to watch that, as a common citizen, is amazing.

The oath on the jumbo-tron.

Fortunately, this time the President and the Chief Justice were able to get the oath right together. Then the 21 gun salute when on, as the music played, and the crowds cheered. It's a joyous moment in the crowd, as so many people who cared so passionately about the campaign got their moment of joy in return for it. It was one of the happiest scenes I have ever seen.

Finally, the President's speech was passionate, and in depth. I loved it, and will get more into that later. It was amazing to listen to a speech that is such a part of history. To hear the leader of our country speak to the world, and to lay out where he wants to take us, is a powerful moment, and one that is not often given as much credit as it deserves.

Four years ago I left Washington disappointed in the inauguration. Today, I will say this- go. Do it at least once in your life, and frankly, go every time if you can. It was an amazing experience that moved me.