(Almost) Being Part of a Historic Moment

My wife and I took our 11-year-old son to witness the historic Inauguration this week. I took a small camera hoping to interview some UD alumni and get highlights of the event from the crowd. My story turned out a little different than I expected.


Armed with official tickets, we arrived at the Mall at 7:30 a.m. We stood with a massive crowd for over an hour. There were no signs, no crowd control, no one to tell us what was going on. The crowd was very calm and cooperative, given the circumstances. You could feel the positive energy and excitement. But as time passed with no movement forward, the crush of the crowd became too much. We eventually got away from that crowd and walked along the perimeter trying to find a way in. We found numerous police officers, but none who knew what was going on. After three hours, we found a gate for our tickets. We got in a line which stretched for blocks, but they soon closed the gate. We walked toward the Washington Monument trying to find any gate that would let us in, but by then the inauguration had started. We left and, along with other families who had been shut out, watched the end of President Obama's speech on TV at a restaurant.

As I said in the video, I don’t regret going to DC. It was cold, it was frustrating, but, in our own way, we were part of a historic moment for our country.