INAUGURATION ADVENTURE: LIVING HISTORY by Terry Stewart Knowing that a crowd possibly in the millions would be thronging Washington for Barack Obama's Inauguration as our 44th President, i was hesitant to enter the fray until my daughter Rachael, a December 2008 Master's Degree graduate of the University of Virginia, said we must find a way to share in this moment in history. This father-daughter experience was too momentous to miss. Our nation has been passing through some of the darkest times in our history these last eight years, and we're not out of the woods yet. But Obama's election offers us the chance to embrace the future unlike any time since the "Camelot" days of JFK. So with lots of planning, I assembled our trip like a jigsaw puzzle, first with the securing of close-up standing tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, courtesy of Congressman Braley's office, then with a place to stay in Arlington with David, cousin of my wife Judy, and next, a flight from Madison to Charlottesville to team up with my daughter for the drive into D.C. in a rental car. As the event drew close, I was fortunate to purchase inaugural ball tickets courtesy of Loras Professor Mary Lynn Neuhaus. Mary Lynn had planned for a year and with the help of Jack Wertzberger, she was taking 24 Loras students to D.C. for a seminar on Inauguration and our capitol, including a week of tours and lessons in Washington. With the tickets that two of her people no longer could use, and the loan of her husband Jim's tuxedo, I was equipped for the Ball. In addition, as a retired firefighter and as a Democratic activist, I was invited to attend the International Firefighters' Banquet the night before the Inauguration. And finally I was able to make contact with Pete Judge a former Dodd caucus campaigner who now lives in D.C., who said we could stow our formal clothes at his place on our way to the Firefighters' Banquet so that after the swearing-in ceremony, we wouldn't have to contend with crowd surfing to commute back across the Potomac to Arlington to change our clothes for the Ball. I was ready for the sojourn into our nation's capitol. So on Sunday afternoon 18 January 2009, my trip began. Judy dropped me off at the Madison airport, and after two de-icings on the runway there, a frozen jetway in Detroit that delayed deplaning and caused me to have to sprint a mile through that airport to get to my next flight in time. only to sit for another de-icing, I finally landed in Charlottesville about 11:30 that night, only two hours beyond the original ETA. Rachael and two friends picked me up and we went back to her house. The next morning Enterprise picked me up, and we headed into Washington. We arrived at David's condo in Arlington at 2:15 PM. We thought we would have to park the car from that moment on, but David informed us that driving in D.C. would still be possible till 2 AM. So after a nice visit, we put on our dress clothes for the banquet, took our formal clothes in hand, and we were ready for the city. After a brief stop at a hotel to pick up the Ball tickets, we crossed the Potomac and drove to Pete Judge's apartment. We shared a beer with Pete, stashed our formal clothes in his closet, and set off to find the banquet site. Traffic was slow but steady until we neared Mt. Vernon Square, then a strange phenomenon began. As we inched forward to an intersection where we needed to turn, police barricaded the street. So we incled on to the next corner, and it happened again. As we approached the third corner, I began my turn and police started into the street with their barracades but fortunately I was past the corner when they got there. (Later we learned that Obama's dinner in honor of McCain was about to start in the convention center near the square, and that was why all the streets were shutting down.) Traffic continued to creep and we began to think we would miss the banquet. Then we looked to our left, and there appeared a perfectly good parking place, so with a quick U-turn, we were parked, and walked the last three blocks to the banquet, taking place in a wonderful Italian restaurant. We arrived just as everyone took their seats. Firefighters' President Harold Schaitberger told a personal anecdote that was touching: When he was a 13-year old Boy Scout, he walked in John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Parade. And tomorrow he was privileged to sit in the President's Box to view Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade. The thrill of a young boy for the opportunities presented by JFK still lived, or perhaps was born anew, in President Schaitberger's voice that night in anticipation of the Obama presidency. After a sumptuous 5-course dinner, and wonderful conversation with our tablemates, firefighters from Miami who had worked in New York City for disaster relief after 9-11, we drove back to Arlington. Up at 6:20 AM on Inauguration Day, we dressed, had a light breakfast, tucked snacks into pockets and fannypack, and walked one block to await the express bus into D.C. The ambient temperature was about 20 degrees F., so the wait was a bit chilly. A couple of buses with the wrong number passed, then a bus stopped and the driver said there were no more express buses, but he would take us to the Pentagon where we could catch another bus in. But when we arrived at 7:40 AM, all the buses emptied and Security said the bridges were closed, that the city was too packed. Metrorail crowds were so dense that the wait would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours before we could even board. We turned to look at the city across the Potomac, and up walked Terri and Ellen Goodmann, also faced with the transportation dilemma. Interstate 365 was closed to bus and car traffic, so with a nod we joined forces and started walking the interstate. We could see the Washington Monument across the river, and further up, the top of the capitol dome. (A half hour into our walk, my cell phone rang, and friends who were gathered at the Asbury Fire Station for the Dubuque County Democrats Inauguration viewing party said they were watching Rachael, Terri, Ellen, and me walk across that bridge. Apparently a helicopter had televised us. We were stunned that of all the masses descending on Washington that day, folks back home caught a glimpse of us four hiking into the city.) The bridge across the frozen Potomac was brushed with a breeze off the ice, but our brisk, steady pace mitigated the chill. We passed the Smithsonian, and the crowds intensified. We parted with Terri and Ellen because their gate was on that side of the Mall, but Rachael and I had to find a way to the north side for our ticketed section. We had to hold hands and thread our way slowly and carefully, continually reassuring people we were only passing through and not getting in their line. Finally we emerged from that throng, only to see more of the same ahead. We had hoped there would be an avenue held open across the Mall, but the entire Mall was fenced. I asked one police officer how we could get over to the other side but he had no clue. A little later I asked another, and he said since traffic was banned, just walk down the ramp and walk the interstate UNDER the Mall, so off we set again. About 10.000 people were going our way, but probably 300,000 were coming toward us in the other lanes. (We later learned that many of them got stuck in the tunnel because of the density of the crowd we were departing, and missed the ceremony.) We emerged from the tunnel, turned right and walked six more blocks, passing numerous vendors hawking all manner of memorabilia, which, if we'd had a way to carry, we could have acquired many mementoes. Finally we came to a line awaiting entry into the Yellow section, and took up the rear. The line was about three blocks long in front of us, but soon was just as long behind. We were surrounded by Californians, and a couple of them pointed out that we were standing not too far from Tim Robbins. I resisted the urge to approach and ask him where Susan Sarandon was today. The line moved steadily and after another half hour we reached the first security gate. Everyone funneled down to a three-foot wide opening in the fence, but then it opened up to a dozen or more metal detectors. As I was retrieving possessions from the table after passing through the detector, I realized I had lost my digital camera somewhere between the Smithsonian and here, and going back was impossible. Fortunately Rachael had her trusty 35mm camera, and got some pix. After several more security gates and showing our photo ID's and tickets, we were in. We had just walked about five miles, and had been on foot for over two hours, but we were there. And then one minor irony: we were so close to the speaker's stand, about 100 yards, that the bleachers on the capitol steps blocked our view. But we were 30 yards from a jumbotron, and surrounded by almost two million people who, that day, in that place, were all each others' brothers and sisters. We watched the luminaries walk through the capitol and take their seats for the ceremony. When Joe Biden took his oath, an expectant wave of energy swept across the Mall --- Cheney is OUT OF OFFICE, Biden is IN, and Obama's next !!!! Then as Barack H. Obama completed his oath shortly after high noon on the 20th of January 2009, tears, hugs, hoorays, laughter, and the realization that his moment, our moment, had arrived. Then large cannon a block away fired their 21-gun salute, and like wind across a field of wheat, the percussion of the guns swept across the crowd and off into the distance. As the ceremony drew to a close and Reverend Lowery gave the famous "black won't have to get back, brown can stick around, yellow can be mellow, red can get ahead, and white can make it right" quote, the unity was palpable. And when he concluded with "Say Amen and Amen and Amen" the crowd happily echoed his urging and the dream went forth from capitol hill. Rachael and I then walked to Union Station for the Firefighters' Champaign Lunch at America Restaurant, where our feet thawed out while we ate scrambled eggs, broasted potatoes, sausage, and mimosas and coffee, and watched a TV monitor showing our new president and vice-president and other officials at lunch in the Capitol Rotunda. After lunch we walked to the Dirksen Senate Office Building where most of the Iowa Congressional delegation spoke with Iowa constituents. Senators Harkin and Grassley, and Representatives Braley, Loebsack, and Boswell attended, but Representatives King and Latham skipped it. After the reception, Rachael and I walked to Pete's place, thawed out again, watched the parade on TV until the Dubuque Colts passed by the presidential stand, then we donned our formal clothes and prepared for the Ball. We put our other clothes in bags and walked back to Union Station to take the Metrorail. We caught a lull in the massed humanity and had no problem getting on the Metrorail to George Washington University. We arrived at our stop at 7 PM but the Ball wasn't for another hour so we got a light meal at a Thai restaurant, then walked to the Omni Shoreham Hotel for our Ball. The hotel had four large ballrooms, and each one had an amazing buffet table set up, and a different sound of live music, pop in one ballroom , classical in another, jazz in another...... We stowed our coats and bags in the coatcheck room and joined Mary Lynn Neuhaus at a table in one of the ballrooms. The tuxedos, gowns, food, and music made the evening the perfect capper to a magical day. At midnight we walked back to the Metrorail and blissfully trained back to Arlington. At every stop people in tuxs and gowns were getting on or off, wending their way homeward, and the aura of a new beginning hung in the air. America, and the world, are opening a new chapter, and we helped turn the page. ************************************************************************************************ INAUGURATION DAY by Rachael René Schmidt Stewart It is 2 hours and 15 minutes from the door of my house in Charlottesville to the door of my maternal cousin’s condo building in Arlington. My father and I discovered this when we made the drive on the afternoon of Martin Luther King Day. It’s the best time we’ve made on a trek to NoVa. I used to go up once a month or so to research at the Library of Congress for my Architectural History master’s thesis. But that’s finished now. The purpose of this trip was the inauguration of Barack Obama.As the first caucus state, Iowans take an intense interest in Presidential politcis. Terryl (my father) flew into Charlottesville on Sunday. We got on our rental car from Enterprise the next day. At one of the many democratic gatherings Terryl goes to in Dubuque, Iowa, as chair of the Dubuque County Democratic party, he’d signed us up to volunteer putting together care packages for soldiers, but when Monday came he couldn’t remember where this event was supposed to be. So instead of setting out again as soon as we got to David’s (my maternal cousin’s) we spent a couple of relaxing hours with him before it was time to get ready for the International Association of Fire Fighter’s (IAFF) banquet. (Terryl is also a retired firefighter). David said we would be okay to drive into the District for the banquet that night. First we went to a hotel in Arlington to pick up our tickets for the George Washington University inaugural ball. A Law professor from Loras College, in Dubuque, was teaching a January term course in conjunction with the inauguration and had arranged the tickets for us. Then we went to Pete’s. The IAFF had backed Sen. Christopher Dodd in the Iowa caucuses, and Terryl had gotten to know several of the “Dodd boys” as he called the young staffers who came to Iowa a year ago for the caucuses. Pete was a former Dodd boy, now working for Congressman Foster of Chicago. He’d agreed to let Terryl and I leave our clothes for the next day’s ball in his basement apartment. After a quick shared beer and a stop for batteries at the corner store, we were off again. We had few problems with traffic at all on Monday until we got to Mount Vernon Square, which took us a half hour to get around because the police closed off all its streets just at we got to it. We found out later that Obama and McCain were appearing at events in the Convention Center, on Mount Vernon Square, that night. We finally got to the restaurant where the IAFF banquet was taking place, and settled in at a table with firefighters from Florida. They told us how FEMA had contracted with 28 large precincts around the country (like Miami-Dade) to keep Urban Search and Rescue (USR) task forces in the ready for disasters such as September 11th or Hurricane Katrina. Each task force consists of two 31-person teams, four canines, and a comprehensive equipment cache. One of our dinner companions spoke about trying to get to New Jersey after September 11th. Normally USRs would fly if they’re going to a disaster more than 6 hours away, but with all of the planes grounded for two days immediately after September 11th, his USR had to rent semis to transport themselves, their dogs, and all their equipment. And then once they got to the military base in New Jersey that was serving as the staging ground for the rescue workers heading to ground zero, all of the guards were on such high alert that every one and everything had to be thoroughly searched before being let on the base. Our companion’s USR had also gone to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, which he said was more devastated than New Orleans, but overshadowed by that city. Interesting enough, there were many paramedics in New Orleans for an EMS conference at the time Katrina hit. Since then, FEMA has added cold-water and swift-water rescue to the procedures USRs are required to know. Being from a city on the Mississippi river, Terryl was already trained in such rescues and shared his own stories. When the meal finally ended three hours later, we were stuffed with food and knowledge. Terryl gave a picture of the IAFF president with Sen. Thomas Harkin (of Iowa) to him, and then we headed back to Arlington. We woke up Tuesday morning around 6:20 and left the condo shortly after 7. David had told us the metro would be filled by people coming from the farther out suburbs, so we decided to take one of the special buses (16s) running from Arlington to D.C. for the inauguration. Around 7:30 a bus driver informed us that the bus signs weren’t programed to display “16S”, so we’d have to take a regular 16 to the pentagon and switch there. The bridges and highways into D.C. had been closed to all but pedestrian and bus traffic early that morning. At the pentagon, we discovered that the buses were so backed up that they weren’t letting anymore in, so we decided to walk, and as luck would have it, on the bridge we met up with a Biden campaigner and her mother, also from Dubuque. We got a call from Dubuque informing us that one of the helicopters flying overhead had put the image of the four of us walking over the 395 bridge from Arlington to D.C. on the news. We said our goodbyes when we got to the blue gate, where they had to go in, while Terryl and I had to force our way through the crowd waiting for the blue gate to get to the 395 underpass to take us to the otherside of the mall for the yellow gate. We finally arrived in line at 9:30. The line moved slowly, but steadily and we were through the gate by 10:30. Leaving security, Terryl discovered that he’d lost his digital camera sometime in between buying the additional batteries for it the night before and that morning. But we still had my trusty 35mm. The yellow zone was about 100 yards from the stage, but our particular section was in the far northeast corner of the zone, so our view of the stage was blocked by the bleachers built around it and we watched most of the ceremony on a jumbotron. I was surprised when the crowed booed Sen. Lieberman, but I guess no one sets their own off like a “turncoat”. I did enjoy the crowd singing “Hey, hey, hey, Good-bye” when Pres. Bush made his appearance. Booing may be in bad taste, but I thought a little humor was appropriate. Terryl considers Carter the best president of his lifetime, and I feel the same way about Clinton, so we were very pleased to see those two former presidents attending the inauguration. Aretha Franklin sang in the hat now garnering fans on Facebook. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero, and clarinetist Anthony McGill performed beautifully “Air and Simple Gifts”, which was billed as a new composition by John Williams, but sounded like an arrangement of the melody for the Shaker hymn “It’s the gift to be simple”. Justice Paul Stevens, arguably the most influential Justice of the Supreme Court now that Sandra Day O'Conner has retired, administered the oath of office to Vice President Biden. When Pete asked us later if we’d noticed President Obama screw-up while taking the oath, we’d replied that he’d only repeated the screw up of the Chief Justice. President Obama’s speech was very good. Much of the crowd started to leave during Elizabeth Alexander’s poem, but we weren’t going anywhere until Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, cofounder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, closed his benediction with words Terryl remembered from the Civil rights movement: “help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right. Let all who do justice and love mercy say amen”. “Amen” we repeated with the crowd as we started to exit. “And Amen”. “Amen”. “And Amen” “Amen”. We walked to Union Station for the IAFF Champagne Brunch at America restaurant. Everyone had to be gone by 2:00 so they could start setting up for that night’s festivities, so at first security didn’t want to let us in, but Terryl called over the restaurant manager, showed her our passes, and explained that the IAFF president had personally invited him to the brunch, so she let us in with the admonishment that they’d be closing soon. We got our first bathroom break and food of the day, enjoying scrambled eggs, sausage, mini-corn bread muffins, and mimosas while the T.V. showed President Obama walking into statuary hall of the Capitol building for the congressional lunch with “Hail to the Chief” played for him for the first time. Leaving the restaurant we walked to the Dirksen Senate Office building, where the Iowa congressional delegation was having their reception. Sen. Harkin (D) was only able to stop in briefly inbtween the congressional lunch ending and that afternoon’s Senate session beginning, but Terryl managed to give him a copy of the picture with the IAFF president. After he left, Congressmen Bruce Braley (D), Dave Loebsack (D), and Leonard Boswell (D) made their remarks and brought Sen. Charles Grassley (R) up to the front when he entered. Loebsack commented on Grassley’s breast-cancer awareness tie, a bipartisan issue they could all support. Congressmen Steve King (R) and Tom Latham (R) were unable to make the reception. Braley’s staffers had arranged for Terry’s tickets to the inauguration, so we thanked them, and Braley noticed that Terryl had been wearing a “Braley for Congress” T-shirt under his coat. Then we went to Pete’s, where we watched the parade on T.V. until we saw the Dubuque Colts Drum and Bugle Corps go marching by, and then we started getting ready for the George Washington University Ball. We left for Union Station metro station at 6, wanting to get there before the parade let out and the Metro was flooded again. We were in the neighborhood where the ball would be taking place by 7, and it didn’t start until 8, so we decided to have a quick snack at an asian restaurant. At the ball we met up with the law professor and two of her friends. Our $100 tickets included a fine buffet, but I was shocked that drinks other than coffee or tea were extra, but any drinks other than coffee or tea were extra. I am prone to stress fractures in my feet, and they were very sore from the four-to-five miles of walking I’d done that day, so I spent most of the ball elevating my feet and guarding the table as the night wore on and the ball become more crowded. Our midwest friends departed around 10, but the mother of a woman who’s daughter was a student at George Washington joined us. At 11 I managed to dance a little before getting the metro back to Arlington. On Wednesday we drove into the District, first stopping at Sen. Dodd’s office in the Russell Senate building to see if he was around for Terryl to say “hi”. He wasn’t, so we left a note. Next we went to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s office, where the staffers we joking about “one more day” in that office. I asked a staffer if the anonymous blocker of Sen. Rodham Clinton’s confirmation as Secretary of State had come forward. He had - Sen. John Cornyn. The staffer gave us two tickets to the Senate gallery for that day’s vote on Rodham Clinton’s confirmation, but when we got to the Capitol we discovered it was at least a 45 minute wait to get into the gallery, because no one who was already in wanted to leave until the vote had happened. So we checked with the Capitol police to see if Terryl’s camera had turned up (it hadn’t), and made some very bad decisions getting on the highway, meaning it took us at least three hours to get back to Charlottesville. A surprisingly large amount of people got of 64 at Bull Run, but after that it was a smooth trip. I’m sure President Obama will also face some roadblocks, but hopefully he will make smarter choices than we did in dealing with them. R.R.S. Stewart received a Master’s of Architectural History and a Certificate of Historic Preservation from UVa’s School of Architecture in May 2008 and a Master’s of Urban and Environmental Planning in December 2008. ************************************************************************************************ INAUGURATION DAY SUMMARY by Teri Goodmann Off to Washington DC Loras J - Term The students also enjoyed a dinner hosted by former Congressman Tom Tauke and his wife Beverly on Saturday night. Mr.Tauke spoke to them about public service and encouraged them to participate in their communities and to consider a life in politics. Sunday with Bidens and Iowans At the Hunter Biden brunch I also ran into former Dubuque County Democratic Party Chair Pat "Looper" Lynch. How lucky can I get!!!??? Pat was enjoying the event with Teamster Vice President John Murphy and awaiting young Hoffa. We all enjoyed breakfast together before Pat and I set out to find the Vilsack reception being held at a small art gallery in downtown DC. Pat and I arrived at the Vilsack reception just as Senator Harkin and his spouse Ruth were leaving with Dubuquer Rob Tully. We shared greetings and dove into the crowd to share the camaraderie of other Iowa democrats. Governor Vilsack and Christie shared plans to keep one foot in Iowa and one foot in DC, representatives Braley, Loebsack, and Boswell joined in the kibitzing. We discussed the stimulus package and the museum and aquarium. Representative Loebsack has never been to the facility so I extended and invitation to be our guests in Dubuque. Attorney General (and Dubuquer) Tom Miller looked better than he did at the Condition of the State address - the bruising on his face is healing from a bad fall. Conversations were also exchanged with John Cacciatore, John Norris (Sec of Agriculture Chief of Staff) and Jackie Norris (Michelle Obama's new Chief of Staff), Sarah Benzing and her beau (described as her "eye candy" to me and others - lovely fellow), Governor Culver staff (the Governor had just left), Dubuquer Nate Beecher and his fiancee, and many, many more folks. Sunday evening I attended the reception at the Kennedy Center honoring VPE Joe Biden. It was a gala event of about two hundred people. Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw were the featured entertainment and it was a thrill to see such wonderful artists. I was able to see and speak to the Senator and Dr. Jill Biden. Other conversations were with Beau and Hunter Biden, Joe's sister Valerie Biden and her daughter Missy who ran Beau Biden's race for Attorney General in Delaware. Missy also helped to manage Joe's campaign in Iowa. Mama Jeanne Finnegan Biden was also in attendance along with Hunter's wife Kathleen (who's mother Roberta King graduated from Clarke College in Dubuque)! Hunter and Kathleen have three daughters and they were in attendance as well - Naomi, Maizie and Finnegan - it was great to see everyone in the family. Past and present Biden staffers were among the crowd at the Kennedy Center, some from the campaign of twenty- two years ago and some from this most recent campaign. Many, many people were asking for Ellen Goodmann our daughter who staffed the Biden campaign in Northeast Iowa. Nelly had reluctantly decided to stay behind to save money for her May 15th wedding to Tommie Miller but after Sunday night I called in all my frequent flier miles to purchase a ticket for her. Nel arrived after midnight, in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, just in time to enjoy the inauguration and the Biden States Ball at the Convention Center. (my wonderful husband, John, did not attend - he believes that the best seat for the inaugural is the same as the best seat for the Super Bowl - and that is the recliner in the family room! He stayed home with Elise who had rehearsal for Show Choir competition and spring musical auditions). The Kennedy Center tribute to VPE Joe Biden also included speeches and visits from President Bill Clinton, Senator Blanche Lincoln of AK and Senator Barb Mikulski of MD. Monday Search for the Tickets Book Talk People along the mall and throughout DC were in a celebratory mood at the impending inauguration of America's first African American president. Everyone was a friend and conversations, tears and joy were spontaneous. I spoke with David Maraniss from the Washington Post. He told me that he was writing Barak Obama's biography. I consider David to be one of the best biographers alive today if not the best. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his book on Bill Clinton - First in His Class and is also noted for his book on Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. A personal favorite of mine is David's book on Vietnam and UW-Madison protests - They Marched Into Sunlight. David reported that his wife Linda is planning their trip to Kenya early in 2010 (his book will take three years research) and they plan to travel to Kansas next month and Hawaii in March. Stay tuned... Doug Brinkley also called. Doug is a noted presidential historian and a protege of the late Stephen Ambrose. Doug traveled to Dubuque on the Delta Queen seven years ago with Ambrose for a book they co- authored titled The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation. He serves on the National Advisory Board for the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. Doug wrote the book about John Kerry's experience in Vietnam based on Kerry's personal journals. Doug has also written a book on Theodore Roosevelt and the American conservation movement to be released in April. Doug and his wife Annie were en route to a party hosted by Maureen Dowd. He had already spent three hours that day on CNN news and also some time in an interview for Larry King Live. Inauguration Day Ellen and I split with Terry and Rachel as they headed north to Constitution Avenue at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian where their ticket entrance was located. Nelly and I were nearly crushed in the Silver Ticket line as we tried to cut diagonally through the crowd to reach the Blue Line. Once there, we realized that the numbers of ticket holders far exceeded the limitations of space in the blue ticket area. When it became clear we were not going to get into the designated area, we decided to trek back to the hotel so that we would not miss the inaugural address. We began the long circuitous walk back. Luckily after several miles were able to catch a Red Top cab back to Virginia. Our feet were frozen but our spirits were buoyed by warm blankets on our feet as we watched Barak H. Obama and our long time friend Joseph R. Biden sworn into office. At the ball we enjoyed meeting with old and new friends. We enjoyed the dance of the new President and Vice President. We visited with all the Biden campaign staffers and many of their parents. Everyone looked fabulous and the dance floor was full. Special Invitation to the Naval Observatory We were two of about fifty people who were welcomed into the residence. It was a wonderful way to top off the inaugural experience. We had time to visit with Jill and Vice President Biden about the day, their plans, and other matters of consequence in addition to laughing and recalling the long journey to this inauguration day and the many people who made it possible. The very first words out of VP Biden's mouth were "I saw the band from Dubuque in the parade! They were fabulous! Did you see them?!" Of course, we did not have tickets for the parade route so we did not see the Colts but we had met several of the parents at the Iowa Reception on Sunday night at the Brewery. It was great to know that the VP enjoyed and recognized our city's ambassadors in the parade. After several hours, we returned to the hotel, packed and tucked into bed. In the morning we dashed to the craziness of Washington National airport and after our last encounter with large crowds, settled into the flight home to Dubuque. While I am sure I will remember more - these are the high points. It was a privilege to be able to be in DC and for our family it all started in 1986 with a phone call and a commitment to volunteer for one of many presidential campaigns. Thanks to all the volunteers who make the Democratic Party so great - it is an honor to be included in your ranks!
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