I remember I was a schoolgirl going to gym class when John F Kennedy was shot, I was a young woman working my first job when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, I was a grown woman attending a lecture when news broke out about the twin towers being attacked…and now I have added one more memory…this one a happy one… to cherish: the inauguration of Barak Obama!
I watched it on TV, impressed by his speech, moved by the thousands of people attending, fascinated by the procedure, overjoyed at the whole event.
One of my daughters had always been very critical of and cynical about the Unites States. As fate would have it, she was assigned an internship in Washington DC and has been living there for the last five months… So she was there for the big concert on Sunday and the inauguration yesterday…
Here is the Email she sent me late last night: (with her permission)
“HEY!!!!
I survived the crowds, the cold, the emotions, HISTORY! And it was a wonderful day! Very nice speech by Obama, great first family, excitement in the crowds, great vibes all over town! YEAH!!! It was touching to watch old Afro-American people dragging their grand children along so that they would not miss seeing the accomplishment of their hopes and their fights!
We got up early to get to the Mall next to the Obelisk close to a giant screen around 9h30, after a 2 hour trip worthy of an episode in “the Survivors”! It was exhausting, but I am really glad I was there!!!! We had fun laughing at Bush, practicing our crowd walk ( weaving our way through the masses), applauding and screaming when Obama appeared on the screen!!!! OBAMANIA!!!”
I am so glad she got to be a part of this memorable event… and to notice that the more time she spends in DC, the more she gets to know and understand and yes yes…appreciate Americans. She even signed herself an “americanophile” today. OMG could this be genetic???