Barbara Flynn Currie.

29 January 2009

News from Springfield..................by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

Getting from anywhere in downtown Washington to the Mall Tuesday morning, January 20, 2009 meant confronting an obstacle course. The streets were jammed and the intersections were impassable. At each foot another hawker: Every possible image of the President, of his wife Michelle, and his daughters Malia and Sasha was displayed on every possible surface. Want a blanket? A photograph? A poster? A cap? A tee shirt? A sweatshirt? A placard? A mug?
Yours for a price. Just be sure you stop long enough to buy.
And they did.
It was difficult to steer a course to the entry points—and then to find the appropriate color-coded security line. People stood for long hours in Yellow, Orange, Blue, Purple, Green and Silver lines. The signage was poor: some discovered that line they thought was for Yellow ticketholders was in fact for Orange.
So start over.
But it was worth the wait.
My son and I were in Yellow. We couldn’t quite see the platform. The jumbotron to the left was obscured by tree branches and the one on the right by a stalwart, stationary, military chap with USHER plastered on his sleeve.
Did it matter? Not a bit. We were thrilled to be there as history was made. We heard an amazing inaugural address from our own neighbor, President Barack Obama.
We’re still pinching ourselves to make sure it’s true.
And it is.
From his first moments as President, he set the nation to the task of undoing the extraordinary damage wrought at home and abroad over the last eight years. So much is in need of repair, from our transportation infrastructure to our image overseas, from respect for the rule of law to respect for the Constitution.
Like an ocean liner, the country won’t turn on a dime.
But isn’t it nice to know that one of our own is the captain of the ship?
Barack Obama, President of the United States of America!

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