The Inauguration

Wow! What an extrordinary day yesterday was. I'm a registered democrat so it comes as no surprise that I was hoping that Mr Obama would win the election. He brings intelligence and the ability to articulate clearly back to Washington. A breath of fresh air.

I wasn't going to watch many of the activities but turned on the t.v. and was totally hooked! For the first time I had both the time and interest to watch. The crowds were amazing - the paper today gave the number at 2 million. The picture of the crowd totally filling the mall blew my mind - keeping in mind that it was cold and windy and many of those people had to get there very early to have a space.

Watching the crowds and listening to the interviews I teared up. When I first came to the U.S. there were still segregated schools, drinking fountains, cafes, bars, ...... Once, when visiting in Oakland in the 60s we made the mistake of walking into a black bar. What did we know? Innocents from Canada. We weren't served and everyone in the place glared and stared. It took a bit of time before we figured out what was wrong. My takeaway was that blacks and whites had quite different cultures. I first got to know black people after I moved to LA. Seemed to me that they weren't that different than me so didn't get what all the fuss was about. Still, there were and are people who don't feel that way. Having a black man in the White House will not change their minds but clearly they are a minority in this country.

I admit to a bit of apprehension. Was someone going to make it through the security barriers and kill him? The only other president that touched so many people was Jack Kennedy. I remember the feeling of hope that he brought to the country even thought I was still in Canada. I also remember when he was assassinated. Yvonne was toddling around the living room and the tv was on. They announced that he had been shot and I started to tear up. For me a dream for a better world died with him.

Back to today. Such an amazing day it was and it is my sincere hope that Mr Obama will restore the rule of law to our nation.