Inaugural Strategies

Saturday, 17 January. 4pm

Some of Julia's friends have came over for lunch. Everyone was so excited and discussing strategies for how to get to the Inauguration, where to stand, how close can you get, will there be enough PortaPotties, etc. Do we take the bus to the bridge and walk? One bus goes over the bridge from VA, where I'm stayinng. Do we take that? What if we walked the entire way?

I remember talking with a white woman a couple years ago who was in DC for the March on Washington in 1963, when she was 12. She described her strong memory of seeing family after family, almost all black, walking to the Memorial. She noted they were all dressed as if for church, in their finest clothes. She noted that they were beautiful to her. It was as if she was watching a dream.

I don't know how this Inauguration compares to that March. Maybe there's not real similarity. So I have an image of crowds of people, black and white and all shades in between, walking together to the Inauguration.

It's supposed to be cold and snow on Inauguration Day. We may have to stand a long time. Someone worries that there might be a terrorist attack. We discuss how to survive in a stampeding crowd. A moment of worry creeps in. Then back to planning. Talking about all the good this new person might nurture. And all the challenges he (and we) face. It's fun. Exciting.