If you were anywhere near a television set the past few days, then you saw crisp images of the hoopla surrounding Barack Obama’s inauguration. The TV cameras took you onto the Lincoln Memorial steps with Bruce Springsteen and Mary J. Blige and Garth Brooks. You got cozy views of outgoing President George W. Bush and incoming President Barack Obama. Biden, Cheney, Affleck, Lucas, Hoffman, Winfrey, Washington, Clinton (both of them) — you saw aerial shots and crisp zooms. And you heard stories of people traveling across the country and getting up in the middle of the night to land an unobstructed view of an historical hour.
During the next few weeks, more inspiring stories and images will emerge. Who needs more?
The images that follow, instead, present the story of me, a former C-U resident recently transplanted to D.C. who, basically, missed all the highlights of Obama’s inauguration. I put a few specific inaugural events on my calendar: the most popular among them, the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday and the actual inauguration on Tuesday. But I left the concert a few minutes before the performances began because the NFL conference championships were just an hour away and, as Smile Politely’s NFL guru and a diehard Steelers fan, I knew where my priorities needed to be.
On Tuesday, I arrived near the Mall a little after 7 a.m. with an invitation-only ticket in hand — but as it turned out, this wasn’t good enough. The crowds were already thick, and entrance to the Silver section (where I was headed) was already stemmed by a line nearly half a mile long. With less than thirty minutes till the swearing in and not more than 100 feet to go before we could make our way to our seats, the gates were closed. No more admittance. Half frozen and just a few blocks from the Capitol steps, I missed the event altogether. I was this close to bringing things full circle. In Feb. 2007, I stood in the frigid cold outside the state Capitol in Springfield, Ill., listening to Obama announce his candidacy for president. That day now seems like ages ago.
My inauguration story is one of crowds — crowds relaxing at the Lincoln Memorial, crowds teeming at the edge of the Mall, crowds on sidewalks and subways and the exit ramps of major freeways that had been shut down to motorized traffic. And, incredibly, there was never anything unruly about these crowds. Despite delays, disappointments and a dearth of personal space, people were smiling everywhere. People were optimistic and happy. And that includes me, though I really would’ve enjoyed making it through those gates.
SUNDAY
It was odd how D.C. felt like a ghost town on Saturday. So many residents had left town to avoid the chaos of the inauguration, and the full swell of visitors had yet to overwhelm. On Sunday, I made the trek to the Lincoln Memorial for the big concert, which provided me my first glimpse of the crowds to come. Some 500,000 people were anticipated for the festivities on Sunday. The grounds surrounding the Lincoln Memorial were soon to be swamped with people waiting — a recurring theme.
Some had messages to share, like this woman, who was pushing for peace.
Others were simply there for the memories. And there was no shortage of memorabilia …
… or toilets …
… or watchful eyes …
… or signage. Obama and Reagan share a wall outside the Corcoran Gallery in downtown D.C.
Some took to greater heights to snag a view of the We Are One concert. Not me. I headed home for the night to watch my Steelers defeat the Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl.
TUESDAY
My home is only about five miles from the U.S. Capitol buidling. Typically, the commute is no problem. But Tuesday was anything but a typical commute, and the lines that awaited me near the nation’s Mall were anything but short.
First, I had to get there. The I-395 tunnel is often bumper to bumper with cars, not people.
Upon making it within a mile of the Mall, I was met with … more people. A crowd of thousands waited outside one of the gates to the ticketed areas of the Capitol grounds. Despite being less than a quarter of a mile from the Capitol stage and despite having tickets, most of these people — myself included — didn’t make it inside.
Keep in mind, I made it to this point five hours prior to noon, the time Obama was supposed to be sworn in. The Capitol dome in the near distance represented a goal for me and the thousands hoping to enter the ticketed areas of the inaugural grounds.
All in all, my trek was long and hardly worth it. The following map details the journey from my home to the Mall. First, the green signifies the journey by metro. The blue portion was walked. The red equals the distance of the journey spent standing in line. The big red dot marks the spot where I finally had to give up. The subsequent dotted red line is the relatively short distance I had yet to go to reach the grey square, my final ticketed destination.
Better luck in 2013, I suppose.