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Madison vs. Waynesville
Glimpse of history beckons residents
Local folks are ready to brave massive crowds and security checkpoints in 9 days to see Obama take the Oath of Office.
More on these families:
- John Long and Katherine Kennedy: Inauguration proves 'God's answer to our prayers'
- Julia Ewing: Elated grandma to journey with granddaughters
- Kriss and Debbie Gang: 'Campaign parents' become guests in D.C.
- All Inauguration Day coverage and content
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Streets will be closed, parking will be next to impossible, and visitors hoping to use the subway to get to the National Mall have been warned they will ride in "crush" capacity, with platforms jammed with thousands of people and long waits before boarding all day.
On the one hand, that sounds awful.
On the other hand, it's a chance to witness something no American in the history of this country has ever seen: the right hand of a black man on a Bible as he's being sworn in as president of the United States.
The fact it will be the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln provides yet another touch of iconic symbolism.
For millions of people, the chance to witness history — to be a part of it — is outweighing the incredible hassle involved in getting there. Crowd estimates for President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration start at a million, and go up from there — to 4 million or more.
Julie Ewing briefly considered watching the whole thing from the warmth and comfort of her Dayton home until her teenage granddaughters quickly put an end to that watch-from-the-sidelines thought.
"Don't even try it," they told her. Now Ewing, and granddaughters, are heading to Washington.
"When I started talking about going to inauguration, my spirit told me, 'take them,'" she said of her granddaughters Tobi, 16, and Brielle, 13.
Kriss Gang of Centerville hasn't had any second thoughts.
He knew he had to go.
Gang was devastated four years ago after working full-time for John Kerry. He didn't think it was possible, but 2008 restored his faith in politics.
"Somehow this country at the right time always produces the right leaders," he said. "It's history."
