Inauguration Day

The day began at 7 o’clock in a friend’s apartment in Washington, DC. I awoke to subfreezing temperatures, but a sunny dawn. After bundling up, packing some food and locking the door behind us, my girlfriend Heather and I joined hands and began walking down Mt. Pleasant Street, working our way over to the Columbia Heights Metro.

The station was already abuzz with folks from all over the world, making their way to the National Mall. The Metro cars were packed tightly, but everyone was in good spirits. People were looking out for one another. The feeling of being a part of something bigger than anything I have ever experienced in my life was growing.

We arrived at L’Enfant Metro Station and made a slow progression out of the station. We walked down Independence Avenue with hundreds of thousands of others towards the Mall.
Heather and I entered the Mall at 14th Street and worked our way through the crowd towards the Capitol, section by section. We found a spot right in the middle of the Mall, directly across from the Carousel.As we stood there for a few hours, waiting for the swearing in ceremony to begin, we made friends with others standing next to us. We talked about our families, commented on the arrival of celebrities and politicians gracing the JumboTrons and took in the estimated crowd of 1.8 million.Before we knew it, the moment was upon us and the ceremony began.

My grandparents Curtis and Helen Morris passed away several years ago. They lived the majority of their lives in a very different America; an America with less opportunity and equality; an America that judged you not by the content of your character, but by the color of your skin. They didn’t let that stop them from seizing the day, seeing the world and leaving it a little bit better than when they entered it.

My grandfather was a civil service professional assigned to the US Army Ordnance Corps as one of the first munitions surveillance experts. He retired as one of the program's senior executives and a pioneer in his field only after making valuable contributions through WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His achievements didn't just ensure the safety of Americans--they blazed trails of equality as he was the first African-American to hold such a post.

My grandmother is a pillar of motivation and inspiration. Together with my grandfather, she raised three boys all the while moving over a dozen times (Yokohama, Japan included). All three of her sons attended college and obtained advanced degrees. Two became Colonels in the United States military. One became a stellar educator and author.

Of everyone I have known and love, no one shines brighter in my heart than my grandparents. I wanted to make sure that as they looked down from Heaven on such a historic moment, they knew I was thinking of them. For that reason, I brought a picture of them with me to the ceremony.
When President Obama finished the last words of the oath of office, the crowd erupted. I looked down at the photograph in my hand and said to it, “We’re here. We’ve made it.” My eyes welled up with tears of joy. I shook hands with others around me and I kissed my girlfriend. “This is AWESOME!” I said to her. She looked back at me with her beautiful, blue, tear filled eyes and nodded her head in agreement. Complete elation took over the sea of people.

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

- President Barack Obama

Remarks From My Oldest Sis, And The Enthusiasm of Youth

I received an e-mail earlier this morning from my oldest sister who is stationed in Germany this morning. Her e-mail is in response to the letter my father wrote on Election Day.

Well, Dad said it very well... I can't really add anything eloquent at this point... my brain has turned to mush after 5 years of being a stay-at-home Mom.

However, I'll share a really great experience I had yesterday. I was in one of our local hardware stores shopping with Zibby when a German boy of about 10 yrs old and his mother overheard me speaking in English. He ran up to me and shook my hand and said "you are American?" When I said, "yes", he pumped his fist in the air and said "President, Neu President ... OBAMA!". His mother was grinning from ear-to-ear. I felt very proud to be an American and and it made me feel as if the great tension between the two countries was being lifted in these small little exchanges.

So, it was nice to share that triumph with my German neighbors since a lot of my military friends were McCain supporters....

An Election Day Experience in Virginia

When asked about 9/11, most Americans will be able to give you a vivid recollection about what they were doing when they found out the World Trade Center and Pentagon had been hit. Such tragedy will stay fixed in the American psyche for decades to come as it was a traumatizing event.

I'm realizing that today, November 4, 2008 is having the same pyschological effect on me as that gloomy day in United States history. The difference though, is that my recollection of today won't contain memories of a horrific display of terror, but of the truest illustration of the feeling of "hope."

My father wrote a great letter today to all of the members of my family. It made my eyes well up. He senses that "hope" too and feels "vindicated and affirmed of service proudly" given that more Americans than ever are exercising their right to vote ...

Well, Nov 4 was a day full of rain and wind. Mom and I hit the polls at Nansemond River Baptist Church on Highway 17 at 0530 before dawn's break properly attired in sailor foul weather gear. Fortunately, we got into the building at the end of a lengthy serpentine line that would make any football game queue look small.

The Obama-McCain contest clearly generated more voter participation than any other American political contests that I have seen in my life time. Voters arriving 15 minutes later found themselves outside in the downpour in a line stretching from the poll door to highway 17. There were more cars in the parking lot than on Sunday. The voting finally started at 0600. The voting crowd was in good spirits and very patient. No wonder, most of us were still half a sleep. Before you know it we were done and out the door by around 0730. All in all the anticipation of voting malfunctions as in images of Florida in 2000 did not happen.

Personally, I feel good. I believe this election is a singularly significant moment in American history to select a President and representatives to successfully lead us into the future while working to deliver us from the crises confronting this great nation.

This said, election comparisons are difficult to make, and imperfect at best, but this Presidential election is not unlike that of FDR in the early moments of the Great Depression. It has generated excitement not seen since the election of John Kennedy. It is even more noteworthy in that Barack Obama is the first minority individual ever to be a major candidate. If he is not elected his candidacy will still have been a remarkable accomplishment a scant 44 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

However, if the polls are right, Barack Obama will be the first minority President in our history. If this watershed event does happen the world will take note, and we Americans are likely to see an improvement in our global image if not our relationships with friends, allies, and much of the rest of world. The words in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution will take on greater significance in the perceptions of many around the globe. Just as important for us citizens will be the symbolic crossing of the often unspoken bar of race and inequality that has always lurked at various depths of American life.

Clearly, the Obama campaign has been acclaimed by many as nothing short of brilliant in ideas, strategic focus and discipline. Comments of many of his critics also echo agreement. John McCain's campaign efforts have taken a different, more strident approach and style, but they have been no less dedicated. In a few short hours all of us will know whether Obama, or McCain has been successful. Regardless of whom each American voted for, the fact that we can hold a free election even with its imperfections is a continuing testament to the American experiment begun over two hundred years ago. As a veteran who has been in harms way for this country it is also a vindication and affirmation of service proudly given.

After today the victor of this Presidential contest will be the heir apparent to the toughest job in the free world. And, with this new found responsibility comes the great expectations of citizens that our President lead, unify, and deliver. I wish him Godspeed, every success, and blessing.

Dad

Obama Will Win in November ...

... That is, if GoogleTrends is an accurate predictor. I thought I'd enter the terms "Obama" and "McCain" to see what the results would be. Maybe the results are so overwhelming because McCain supporters are older and don't turn to the Web for information on their election day hopeful?



Check out the full results here.