DC Happenings

The juxtaposition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and tomorrow's Inauguration of Barack Obama has the media swirling. While ordinarily I'd be prone to thinking there's a lot of overkill happening, I admit to being captivated by a number of stories. Many of these stories have made me realize that while to me the sea change signifies the hope and change in direction our country drastically needs, to many people, Obama's election and ascension to the Presidency signifies a moment they never thought they'd see and one that's been too long coming.

These stories deserve to be told. One that had particular affect on me was an interview by NPR's Michele Norris with Lynwood Westray, a former White House butler. Mr. Westray had so much dignity in reflecting upon his years in the White House it made me smile just to know he would see Obama take the Oath of Office. Another story was portrayed in an interview with Rep. John Lewis conducted by (the often overly dramatic) Brian Williams--Williams captured Lewis' absolute incredulity that he would witness a black man as President, reading Lewis' comments from election night, when he was overcome by emotion. Lewis has a long history as a Civil Rights leader and has suffered many times for his beliefs and actions; it is hard for me to imagine the emotion, resolve, and pride he must feel on this historic day.

While I don't have such a compelling personal story, I am nonetheless hopeful about the direction we're headed and once again will look forward to traveling abroad without having to steal a Canadian flag for my backpack! I won't be able to attend the inauguration (duty calls), but I've got my finger on the pulse and some "contacts" in the field (hope for a guest post).

And for a turn to the lighter side, I have to mention one of the not-so-trumped-up inaugural events happening in DC (though kudos to Rachel Maddow, see below): the saging of the White House. Fantastic! Whatever we can do to get the bad juju out works for me.

Of course this event brought out some characters to Dupont Circle and even provided the chance to throw a shoe (a la the Iraqui journalist) at Bush! To paraphrase my friend JD, "You know we've all wanted to be that shoe at some point over the last 8 years!"