Yes I Did - Purple Ticket Made It!

What an astonishing amazing experience! and what an amazing sequence of events that got me there!

Sunday Jan18th, 5:30PM -- Deirdre gets an email from a student, Jim McGreevy, cc'ed to two other people, A friend has a VIP ticket she can't use, does anyone want it? Well, Deirdre's off to California Tuesday AM, so she says to me, Julian, do you want to go to the inauguration?

I have recently made a vow that I am not going to miss any more once-in-a-lifetime events that I get the opportunity to go to, personal aversion to crowds notwithstanding, so the answer is YES -- how are we going to work this out? YES, says Victoria who has recently offered to take care of Reuben whenever; YES another Victoria who lives in DC NW has an unclaimed room; YES Jonathan can feed the cats; YES Washington Deluxe bus service has space at only $40 round trip; YES Carla still has the ticket and will leave it at the hotel for me to pick up....and YES I'm on my way.

Tori -- the second Victoria -- most kindly picks me up and schlepps me to the hotel where YES the ticket is waiting for me. On the way, and the other wonderful guests, including two starving teenagers, wait until we get back to go for a great Greek dinner. Then careful planning for the morning. Julian the designated alarmer sets the clock for the agreed upon 5:45 AM.

Up and att'em gang -- coffee set by Tori the night before, great breakfast prepared by Tori, long johns on, two pairs of socks, Obama fleece over Lands End jacket, earmuffs, hat, scarf, Maine mittens with fingers, two cameras.... and Julian's off, going "earlier" than the others because they're only going to the Mall..... Easy bus ride full of happy folks, debark at 14th and L, and a brisk 1.5-2 mile walk to First and --oh, wait, great souvenir, there's a mobile post office, I can get the commemorative stuff and mail it back to Dee and there won't be anything to take care of-- that's done, off again, which way, which way. No signs, no one giving directions. Quick reconnoiter and map check with wonderful Black family at First and E, okay straight on till morning, pass the EMT ambulance, arrive at First and D, 8 AM, the gates should be opening about now, here we are where we should be..... And we stop and wait. And wait. And wait.

Glimpses of purple signs to right. Large bus blocking further progress dead ahead. Wall of people in every direction. Bus decides to move. Cheers from crowd. Motion forward several feet. Halt. Wait. Foot stamping. Around me, activation of hand and foot warmers, and bending down to insert in shoes and re-tie. Note there is still room to bend down, to move feet, to keep warm, to joke and tell stories and laugh and be happy. Oops, people going the opposite direction, they had no tickets, yes we really do all have purple tickets.... 8:45 Traffic person on scaffolding at corner points left and suggests we go that way. A few people believe him. Not me. Mistake. They can actually walk easily, and they appear to be leaving the field. 9 AM, shouts of "Medic" to front and right. Pass word back to EMT. Siren wail from behind -- but where to go? Some climb car, we squidge to left, still jovial, let Ambulance through. Watch your toes! But Wait, no no, hoards follow in wake of ambulance, getting tighter now... Rumors: entrance is blocked by non-ticket holders who refuse to leave. 9:30, more emergency vehicles from right, more squishing. 10 rumors purple area is full, they have closed the gate. A handful of people bail. 10:15 a voice goes up "Jesse Jackson! It's Jesse Jackson." Cameras up and waving around "Well if it isn't it's his twin." Did Jesse Jackson pass through our humble crowd? No idea. Me, I'm too short to see. 10:30 maybe, getting almost too tight to reach cell phone and check time. Rumors: Silver tickets rushed the gate, security called off to Silver area, closed Purple to deal with Silver. Still no officials, no bullhorns, no real information. More people bail. 11 AM More emergency vehicles from right on D Street, okay we're not going backwards, push forward.... Everyone breathe in....They pass behind, more people in their wake. Now it's getting too tight, can't actually move very much at all. Feet starting to get really cold, almost impossible to wiggle them. People begin to show signs of panic. More people struggle to get out, go home, leave.

Just ahead of me a wonderful 6'8" Black man says, "I can see people moving up front, we can get to them." I believe him. About eight of us follow as he starts to plow forward, one white-haired woman reaching back to hold onto her husband who is holding onto their teenage granddaughter. We follow in the tall Black guy's wake, blood rushing back into feet, eventually break out into a relatively free area. There does seem to be some kind of line of folks, but we are in a loose crowd of people moving forward, so we don't actually believe them when they yell at us.

We stop at the back of a crowd about 40 people deep from the gate with the big purple sign over it. I can only see a hint of purple -- I'm short, remember? 11:25, perhaps, a fellow with red hair, a little taller than me, comes back through the crowd. "I've been on the front line," he says, "there's no way through, the gates closed. The entrance is over THERE." I believe him. I follow. Maybe twenty feet on the tall person next to me says "I can see the gate, it's about 20 more feet, they're only letting a few people in at a time." Now for the first time we can actually here instructions "Purple tickets only!" We all roar back "Purple Tickets!" and hold them up. Now we move forward steadily. More directions "Move all the way down when you get in!" We crush in, and blessed space, and rush obediently all the way down, only a few people deep at the security gates, they let us through rapidly, open only occasional bags to check. We open jackets, second jackets, and are through, bundling up again.

Rush past the port-o-potties, yes there is an empty one, quick pit stop. Didn't know I needed to go that bad. Onward -- almost there. Yes. 11:50. I hear Dianne Feinstein. Now where is the podium?

Another tall Black guy next to me is pointing a camera, a good one, DSLR -- Which way do I point? "I can't tell," he says, "I'm just shooting until I can figure it out." So up with the cameras, and I start to shoot too.

Rick Warren. Not too much hissing and booing, we are all too happy. A lot of Amen responses, mostly Black women's voices. Well I could have said Amen to some of it too. Only -- way too long. Isolated voices joining the Lord's Prayer.

Joe Biden, oath strong and clear. John Williams' music. Oh so that's why Yo Yo Ma wasn't in the Sunday concert. Then, muffled, garbled a bit? Obama's oath? And the announcement, the 44th President of the United States. WILD CHEERING!!!! We made it! We are all there!!

The rest, as they say, is history. Easy for us ticket holders to get out -- long walk, lunch at a place right near the bus stop, bus ride back to Tori's house. Folks talking about trouble leaving the unticketed area -- one person seen running across the tops of the port-o-potties! Got off too soon but short walk, turning corner to house, loud whistle behind me -- Tori and co! They were on the bus behind me.

What an amazing experience. And what wonderful kindnesses -- thanks to all the friends who made it possible for me to go, and special thanks to
The wonderful Black family
The first tall Black guy who could see where to go
The redhead (Irish?) from the front lines
The second tall Black guy who could see where to point the camera

And thanks to you, Barack Obama, for bringing us all together.