Obama's inauguration: what a trip
- Feb 03, 2009
I mentioned to you before that I was heading down to Washington DC to cover Barack Obama's inauguration. What I didn't mention was that I went to DC with two film producer friends who decided to drop acid during the inauguration. Thus, though I personally shied away from the soggy Altoids and auras, our story is unique. It's hard enough to walk through a million people comfortably. But try walking through a million people while your friends are envisioning people with lobster claws instead of hands.
Meanwhile, throughout the day, my sober self absorbed the energy of the people covering every inch of the Mall and snapped shots as Obama's thundered over the loudspeakers. The children that day were particularly cute, mostly because you know they may not know the historical symbolism of January 20th in American history, but still they stood proud and shook their flags mightily with their tiny gloved hands, and giggled "Go Obama!" between speeches. Meanwhile, I shivered through Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman's performance, sympathetic of their freezing fingers during their performance, as they refused to record any of their tracks beforehand and couldn't play well with gloves. As Mr. Ma said to the NY Times, "I really wanted to do something that was absolutely physically and emotionally and, timing-wise, genuine. We also knew we couldn't have any technical or instrumental malfunction on that occasion. A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold." For the love of music and Obama I suppose....
I grew up in DC so I know it is one of the most racially segregated regions in America. When I lived there in the late nineties, you could literally draw a line down some of the blocks between where white people live vs. black people, rich vs. poor. Since I moved from DC eight years ago, the terrain has changed drastically, areas have been gentrified, Chinatown now looks like America's mall of the future, and there's Starbucks in SE DC. Impressive. But January 20th on the Mall was one of the few days in DC's history where no lines could be drawn between races. Blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos stood together amicably. I stood for a while behind a man wearing a Russian bomber jacket which proudly read (in Russian), "I Am An American!" All 100 percent of my half-japanese, French, German, Catholic self felt like I fit in with the rest of my American compatriots as we feted our first Black President.
We walked about 10 miles that day, starting at the frozen solid Reflecting Pool (which my LSD-inspired friends tried to skate over), passed the Washington Monument and the parade route, and weaved in and around the Mall. When we neared the pristine, iced-over river near Georgetown, the sun was glowing over the glacial river. As a grand salute, my compatriots literally got down to their knees, gazed out at the sun-flecked ice and prayed. While it shoudn't take psychedelics to see the godliness in things, seeing the sparkling sun over top winter treetops after President Barack Obama newly risen to office felt like the physical embodiment of all the hope that Obama had been urging on about for all these months. A metaphorical 'Yes We Can....'
That night, I doned my best dress to head to the Youth Ball, as I was pretty positive this would be my once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Kanye West and Obama in one sitting. But good things can only last so long; the ball was closed due to over-capacity per the Fire Marshall's instructions, and after an hour and a half waiting in the cold, I headed home without those celebrated Kayne or Obama sightings.
Overall though, the trip was a damn good trip, all puns intended. I'll remember the excitement in peoples faces surrounding the Reflecting Pool for years. I'll remember the heartfelt prayers. And I have pictures that will last a lifetime.
more pictures of the inauguration
