Bearing Witness

I'm too cold and tired to write anything much now but I didn't want to go sleep without posting a few photos of the day. It was a remarkable day, and wonderful and crazy, inspiring, awesome and a hundred words I can't think of right now. You just can't imagine what it was like to be in that crowd of humanity and have such a warm feeling of hope and possibilities. History, people. History.

I'll have more to say when I have a chance to gather my thoughts. Until then, here's a few photos (some of which were taken by my brother, who had a longer lens than I did and was therefore, able to get much closer to the action).

The sun rises on a great day in the nation's capitol.

My brother with Blanche and Bessie, two sisters we met from Detroit.
Bessie was at Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech.

Like father, like son.

The Capitol

The podium was right in front of that red draped doorway.

President Obama takes the Oath of Office.

The crowd. Wow, right? I mean wow.

S.O.L. Goes to Washington!

That's right, sports fans. On the historic day that Barack Obama puts his hand on the bible and does solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution as the 44th President of the United States of America, I will be there bearing witness.

Thanks to my Very Important Brother the (Washington) Doctor, I have a ticket to the dance, baby. I'm going to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration. Bro nabbed the tickets from a patient, a Republican legislator who for some reason isn't hanging around D.C. for the big event.

His loss. S.O.L.'s gain.

I can't wait to be there, back in my former home town, watching history. And taking part in what is sure to be the World's Biggest Party.

You know, thinking about it has just put the picture in my mind of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts giving the oath of office to Obama, knowing that he's about to lose any chance of presiding over a Conservative court, which likely would have happened had a Republican won the White House this time. Poor guy. He's going to have to work really hard now to get his way.

From all that we've learned so far about Obama, you can put it in the bank that whoever he nominates for the court during his term is going to be one smart jurist, an independent thinker with a respect for the law and judicial temperament that has marked the most distinguished Supreme Court Justices. Not a crazy liberal or a strict constructionist or a member of the Federalist Society who believes the President should have unfettered powers to do whatever the fuck he wants. (See Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia). Ah, but why dwell on the heavy stuff now? Be plenty of time for that once Obama is finally in the White House and The Current Occupant as Garrison Keillor so aptly calls him, is on a ranch in Crawford doing damage to a tree stump instead of the damn country.

I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. Don't you worry, I will share the experience with you, my eight loyal readers. Stay tuned.