Fresh Loaf

Jan. 20, 2009, 11:51 a.m., at East Capitol and First Streets N.E., Washington, D.C.

Neither the cold nor the crowds were as bad as people projected. Sure, the lines stretched for city blocks. Yes, the temperature was well below freezing. But, this was history. Frosty fingers and long wait times would not deny me the right to say in my old age “I was there.”

I decided on November 4 that I would be in Washington D.C. on January 20. I didn’t know how I would get there, where I would stay, or if I could get remotely close to the main action. During the months in between, I begged, borrowed, and dealt my way. By a few days before the inauguration I had hopped in a backseat of a car headed to D.C., commandeered a couch in Georgetown, and found a gleaming golden ticket to one of the closest sections to the capitol. I felt like Charlie in the chocolate factory, or rather in the Chocolate City.

Armored with several layers, I went into the cold on the big day. The trains were crowded but not impossible. I waited in line not too far from Chris Tucker and his mother. Throughout the festivities (and I do mean festivities) you could smell alcohol on the breath of some, reaffirming the sense that this was a college homecoming. When Bush came out, the people closest to the Capitol building sang out “na na naa na, hey hey hey, good bye.” Like Obama who would take Bush to task later, we let him know once and for all how we felt, dismissing him to irrelevance.

Looking down the Mall to the Washington Monument, I felt a like a drop in a powerful sea, turning the tide of change and roaring “O-BA-MA!”

(Photo by W. Hassan Marsh)

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Yesterday, the nation’s first African-American president was sworn into office. Today, a chance to reflect on the moment.

Here’s a glimpse:

For older blacks, inauguration a dream fulfilled (Associated Press)

Across Atlanta, a sense of pride and deep reflection (Wall Street Journal Blogs)

Metro Atlantas celebrate Obama inauguration (AJC)

Watching change (Gawker)

News sites see massive demand for online news (The Boston Globe)

Today’s front pages from around the country and world (Newseum)

A tale of two prayers: Rick Warren’s and the Rev. Joseph Lowery’s (Crooks and Liars)

The first blog entry at the White House’s official website (WhiteHouse.gov)

Bush to Obama: A private letter (Los Angeles Times)

Bush daughters offer advice, in the form of a letter, to Obama daughters (Associated Press)

After a day of crowds and celebrations, Obama turns to a sober list of challenges (New York Times)

And finally, a view of yesterday’s ceremony, from way up high, in breathtaking detail (Popular Science)

(Photo from Popular Science)

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I’ll be the first to admit to being less than familiar with former Atlanta resident Dr. Joseph Lowery prior to yesterday’s stirring Inaugural benediction. By the time I started laughing through the tears he’d wrenched out of my otherwise cynical heart, though, I figured I should find out more.

A Civil Rights Movement veteran of the highest order, Dr. Lowery led the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 on the request of Martin Luther King Jr., helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott after Rosa Parks’ arrest, and continued his involvement into the Free South Africa movement. He was among the first arrested in anti-apartheid demonstrations at the South African Embassy. Oh, and unlike that other Inaugural speaker Rick Warren, his notion of civil rights actually includes the LGBT community.

While Dr. Lowery’s closing remarks brought a lighthearted note to an otherwise somber ceremony, they also riff on a great song — Big Bill Broonzy’s country-blues classic “Black, Brown, and White.” Though Fox News is doing their best to stir up a controversy, I’m willing to bet they didn’t even get the reference.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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>> Washington City Paper, CL’s sister in news awesomeness, was on the front lines of yesterday’s joyful madness. Check out their twitter feed and uber blogging that captured Obamania in D.C.

>> Plus, Flickr photos of all the festivities from readers and images from the WCP staff photog.

>> Thoughts from the Chicago Reader, Obama’s old ‘hood…

>> CL Charlotte had Inauguration covered from all angles in their Obama-Rama blog…

>> Civil rights leaders share their experiences and thoughts on the historic Inauguration — Andrew Young, John Lewis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

>> And, in case you were wondering why your internet kept crashing yesterday, you can already blame something on Obama.

>> Crazy!: So many people were gathered to watch the Inauguration in D.C. that the masses could be seen from satellite (i.e. space).

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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1) Join local feminist groups Georgia WAND and Charis Circle at Kavarna for Celebrating Change: A Feminist Inauguration Day Gathering.

2) Carolyn Jessop discusses Escape at the Decatur Library.

3) Historic Sweet Auburn celebrates Inauguration Day with live music and entertainment.

4) The Thrashers play Montreal Canadiens at Philips Arena.

5) Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza continues at Atlantic Station.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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NOT FUNNY Aides recently told Obama about our unicorn cover

Tomorrow, CL staffers will hunker down in front of TVs and laptops to witness and participate in a historic moment in our nation’s history — Rick Warren leading a large crowd of people in  prayer. No wait, I mean, we’ll be liveblogging the inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president!

If you’re stuck at work or sitting at home and looking for a place to comment, make snide remarks, celebrate, or even commiserate, this is it. We go live at 10:45 a.m. and plan to type until we’re so full of hope and change we’re inspired to become decent, law-abiding citizens.  We’ll have polls, funny photos of large men on mopeds, and maybe even some special guests. (Vernon Jones, call us back!)

It’s been a long eight years. And the next four — hopefully eight? — will be tough. But regardless of your politics, it’ll be a ceremony you won’t want to say you missed.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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President-elect Barack Obama today is traveling by train from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. for Tuesday’s inauguration. And “Georgia 300,” the train car carrying Obama and his family, has Georgia roots.

From the Associated Press:

The car was first built by Pullman Standard for the Southern Railway, when the car was known as the General Polk and used by railroad officials.

Georgia Railroad later acquired it in 1954, and [John Heard, the car's current owner], who is president of First Coach Rail Inc., bought it in 1986. It was a prized purchase for a man who recalls seeing the car as a boy in Atlanta.

Heard has made a series of electrical and plumbing upgrades to the car over the years.

“It had deteriorated and I completely rebuilt it,” said Heard, of Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Here are some interior shots of the train car.

(Photo by Tony Bucca used with permission)

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1) Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause play 529.

2) Blast-Off Burlesque performs Mysterious Mysteries of the Unknown at Alcove Gallery.

3) Can Can plays Drunken Unicorn.

4) Composition Gallery hosts an Inauguration Celebration with works by CL’s own Joeff Davis.

5) The Dirty Dozen Brass Band performs at Smith’s Olde Bar.

(Photo by Alex Adan)

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