A completely different Inaugural experience...

My first Inaugural experience (the inaugural Inaugural, if you will) was in 1997, the second Inaugural of President Clinton and Vice President Gore. As a college sophomore, my friend Carey led the charge and scored us "silver" tickets to the swearing-in, we had parade tickets, and we even went to an official ball at the Kennedy Center. I don't remember much about the details--it was cold, to be sure, and we stood around for a long time, and there were lines to get into the Metro station after the whole thing was over. I think we ate in the dining hall (TDR!) before getting gussied up in our res hall rooms--prom dresses and bridesmaids gowns...boarded the AU shuttle to the Metro and squashed ourselves among Senators and others.

Of course, since then, Inauguration day has passed as any other. For me, all of the patriotism and joy of the day had vanished. Yesterday, it came back.

I arrived late Thursday night to work on an unofficial event..."the" party of the night for Inauguration Eve. I worked nearly non-stop from Friday morning until 2am yesterday. I have never seen so many famous people in Washington, DC. I have never seen so many people in Washington, DC, period. Usually, when I'm here from NYC, I find myself wondering "where is everyone?" From that point forward, the time is a black hole of answering hundreds of e-mails a day and leading a double life as someone's fictional assistant. I have to say, it was a lot of pressure to be the gatekeeper for "the" party in town. Hollywood can keep that. Stories of the event itself are best kept offline. There was a bright spot on Saturday night--the "Inaugural Ball" Kathryn threw for our friends at her place. I can't really take any cred

After working into the wee hours on Monday, Kathryn, my cousin Amy and I dragged ourselves awake on Tuesday morning, filled with glee about the day ahead. We did a surprisingly good job of avoiding the crowds--we didn't have to wait at all to get on the bus or the Metro, and when we got downtown, there were streams of people, but it wasn't too bad.We arrived at a parade viewing party at an office building on Pennsylvania Avenue--what a great idea, I really had no idea these events happened every four years. Being warm, eating great food--definitely the way to go if you don't have VIP tickets. And then, the ceremony began. Huddled into an office, watching on a tiny TV...I could hear the broadcast outside the window and as Senator Biden was sworn in, I could feel the chills--the long, dark period was really coming to an end. And then the tears came.

I didn't actually see the parade--I was completely exhausted and made my way back to Kathryn's apartment to crash. But the glee did not fade for days--and I waited so long to post this that I can also report my pride in the upswing of citizenship continuing. Last week, I flew JetBlue to Rochester on the night of President Obama's first address to a Joint Session of Congress--and just about everyone on the plane was riveted to the little screen in the seat back. The woman next to me cheered along with the Democrats...it was another fantastic moment.