The day after Barack Obama won the elections, G. caught me telling the kids, "We're going to go see Obama get sworn in as president!"
"No way," she said.
"Why not?" I asked, thinking that DC can't be that far from here in MA and imagining a three hour drive or something. Everything is so small here on the east coast.
"We don't have the money, that's why."
"Oh. Well, how much could it cost to drive down there for a day?"
"A lot. First of all, there is gas," (alright, she had me there). "Second of all, there is no way in heck we could put the kids through a drive there for seven or eight hours..." (SEVEN OR EIGHT HOURS?!) "...stay there for all day, and then try to drive back. You are talking about at least two overnights."
"Oh. Well, what if we slept in the car? Or we could camp. Come on, we could bring a cooler full of food and it would be a really memorable adventure."
"Sleep in the car, or camp with two small kids, in January?! Are you serious? No, there is no way in heck I am going for that. Besides, I already said there is no money for gas."
"I guess you've got me."
So I looked up stuff on inaguarations and learned that you usually can't see anything anyway. There are so many people there, there is no way you can actually see the president. And apparently its hard to see even the parade, which is really the only event designed for "common people" like ourselves. My kids would be sorely disappointed to go all that way and not even get a glimpse of Obama.
This made me feel a lot better about not going. I guess I had just wanted to be there with my kids on this very historical and amazing day. It's a day I feel like I've waited for my whole life.
But did you all get the email from the transition team, that more than ever before, Obama wants to inaugural events to not be just for big donors, but for the whole nation? Hmmm. The itch isn't back in full force, but it sure did make me stop for a minute.
Speaking of the inauguration, while I think the g/l/b/t community provided tremendous support for Obama and I don't fault the disappointment of people like my wife regarding Obama's decision about the invocation, the Rev. Ketcham had a good point here. But on the other hand, the Rev. Ford has some good points here too...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
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4 comments:
If you decide you are crazy enough to drive down for inauguration, then you also may be crazy enough to crash on a boat in January. In other words, you and your family always have a place to stay in the DC area.
:)
You are super sweet. Thank you! Meeting you and your family and staying on your boat for a day or two actually makes me want to go even more (my goodness you are brave to want all of us over in your little boat), but I feel dw's feet are firmly planted on this one. And rightfully so, but ugh, I'm just disappointed (so close yet so far away!).
I went to Clinton's inauguration when I was young. I even managed to sneak up to the front and sit with JFK Jr. and some others. Let me tell you, even though we live here I would not do it again. Why? Because it's JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!!
You'll still experience the magic from the warmth and comfort of your home. :)
Thank you so much for posting that...it makes me feel a whole lot better!
I also was listening to NPR today and it sounds like this inauguration is going to be *huge,* which makes me think that it will definitely not be likely we'll see much of the events at all. Also, there seems to be some talk of tickets, so...?
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