Inaugural Thoughts

I have been absent from here for too long and there is much of my life to fill in here and I will do so, but I just felt inspired to write something here this evening. Also, I have a few moments to actually reflect and write so I will.
Today, I did something that I didn't really expect to ever do. I went out to the mall for the inauguration. It was a little crazy, I suppose. We left around 8:30 so not that early and walked around the south side of the capitol to get onto the mall. We ran into a few super-crowded snaggle messes, but all in all it was an orderly, though crowded, march toward the mall. We were told by the police and volunteers that the 14th street entrance was still open, but when we got there, it was (recently?) closed. Long story short, we ended up jumping the fence and only got a short ways onto the mall before we were essentially body-locked into place. The good news, of course, is that all those bodies made for some supplementary heat.
But, it was definitely worth it. To have lived in DC and not have attended at least one inauguration would be regrettable, but this one, with such historical presence would have been especially unfortunate to miss. I wasn't sure how I, as a firm fence-sitter, would react internally to be surrounded by so many excited Obama "fans", die-hard liberals and Bush haters. I did have a few uncomfortable, maybe even embarrassed, twinges when both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. were boo'd. I did have a lot of respect for a mother nearby, though, who responded to her teenage son's booing by saying, "Don't boo. He's still your President for 45 more minutes."
But, of course, all of that was subsidiary to being there to see and hear the swearing in and speech of not only the first African-American President, but the first President identifying with any ethnic minority group. Naturally, many of the people on the mall were excited to see our last President be ushered out and the ideas, policies and hopes of the new administration ushered into Washington. As for me, I'll wait and see.
Some things I already know, though. I know that I felt the weight of today. I know that I teared up. I'm not entirely sure at what point I teared up, but I do know that it was an emotional reaction to the significance of a non-white man taking the highest office in the land. If this is even a smaller step toward a country free of bigotry and underserved prejudice, then this was a wonderful, wonderful day. I do hope that today marked even a bit of social progress.
Racial prejudice hits me very close to home and it is so painful, frustrating and at times infuriating to think that some people I love have trouble accepting other people I love merely because of their skin, background or culture. I can only hope and pray that this is a step in the right direction to join divided people.
Man, I could write so much more, but I really must get to sleep soon. Happy new administration to all. And to all, a good night!