Then my parents got a call about tickets to go to a ball. A CEO of a company wasn't going to be able to attend and asked my parents if they wanted to go to the Texas Black Tie and Boots Ball. After deciding to go to the ball, my mother asked if I could stay to help her dress. They looked amazing, if I do say say so my self. My nephew, his girlfriend, and I looked at my parents like we were the proud parents sending our children out for their prom. I became chauffer and drove them to the ball at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. They had a lot of fun.When I got back from dropping them off, my nephew informs me that he and his girlfriend are going and they really want me to go with them. My nephew felt it would be a shame for me to have driven up and not go. So, I decided to go. At that time, I realized that means that I wasn't going to really get any sleep. I had to pick my parents up at 1 in the morning. Luckily, the resort is only 15 minutes away from my parents house. My nephew planned on getting up at 5 in the morning to go downtown. So that seemed like I would get about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Well that didn't happen. I got back to the National Harbor around 12:45 to pick up my parents. It took me about 40 minutes to get to the front of the building to pick them up. It took another 20 minutes to get out of the area. So that really destroyed any sleep I really planned on getting. I didn't go to sleep until about 2:20.
I had all of my alarms set. The one on my phone and my watch to make sure that I got up. We got up and made it out of the house by 5:45. The ride to our parking spot was simple. The walk to the metro stop was simple. Buying the ticket to get on the metro was simple. Getting on the metro was simple. And that is where simple ended. We got on at Eisenhower Avenue. (Seems right to get on at a presidential last name station to go see an inauguration). We had only 7 stops to our destination. The first 3 stops not that crowded. Crystal City station is where it went downhill. For as many people already on the train already, there were probably double that wanted to get on at the this station and next 2. If you have a want for personal space, this was not going to be your day.
We arrived at L'Efant Plaza at about 7:15. We got out of the station around 7:50. Yes that means it took us 35 minutes to get out of the station. It was the calmest I have every seen that many people. You would thought we were going to a concert. There was singing, chanting and everybody of every color being nice to each other.
The walk to the mall took about 20 minutes, this was only because the sheer amount of people going in the same direction. Walking down Independence Ave, I began to really get a grip on what was about to happen. Even though my parents, my sister or brother weren't there, I felt I had to be there for them. My parents remember the election of John F. Kennedy. When he was assissinated, my parents were 20 and my sister was 2 months old. Both of my parents to this day remember exactly where they were on November 22, 1963.
My parents watched how Martin Luther King, Jr. was beginning to show people that certain life liberties should be had by all. My dad says that on the day that King gave his I have been to the Mountaintop speech, that King sounded like he knew his death was coming. My parents were in Tuskegee, Alabama on April 4, 1968. My parents were 25, my sister 4 1/2, and my brother was 10 days old.
As citizen of New York, my mom probably voted for Robert Kennedy to become a senator. They remember when he announced that he was going to run for President. Again, my parents remember exactly where they were on June 5, 1968 when he got shot. My parents were 25, my sister 4 1/2, and my brother was 3 months old.
So as I walk to The Mall, I think about the fact that my dad said to me on the day of the election, that he never thought an African-American would be elected to be the President of the United States during his lifetime. It was cold, but I need to be there. I need to be able to tell my children that I was there. I need to have pictures from that day. I need to experience the Sea of Humanity.
Unlike others, I wasn't as impressed by Barack Obama's creditianls because I had grown up in an upper-middle class family. My dad has a PhD in Microbiology. My cousin is a lawyer and married to a lawyer. Educated black men was mainly what I have been surrounded by. Obama's educational background was the norm for my family, but I was impressed at how he was able to pull everyone together no matter their age, race or educational background.
To stand about 12 city blocks away from the Capitol was just exciting. No I couldn't see the Capitol well, but I didn't care. I was there on the Mall. I was hearing it. I was experiencing a moment in history. I was apart of the Sea
