The Glow of a New Day

I groggily emerged from my slumber. I knew it was the middle of the night, but I didn't want to look at the clock because once I do that, it's over, I'm up and thoughts begin to race around in my head. Maybe the coffee at dinner last night wasn't really decaf. Maybe it was the wine. Or the combination of the two. Or maybe it was the excitement of the new day dawning. Whatever the cause, I was up.

The clock reads 4:26. Grrr. Too early to get up and become more diligent with my blog. So I turn over the pillow, shift my body position and try to fall back to sleep. To no avail. I lay still and try to meditate, but I'm too antsy. I know coverage of the inauguration has begun, but I can't turn on the TV lest I wake my wife. I think about work, the economy, world events, and how my family will cope.

It's 5:13. Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb- Wait, that wasn't me. I do get out of bed and walk to the front of the house, which faces east. I see light in the sky. But why? It's only about a quarter-moon, I think. Sunrise is still two hours off. There aren't a lot of street lights. Yet there is light. Is this a sign? Am I just seeing the dawn of a new day because I want to see it? Maybe it doesn't matter.

I definitely cannot sleep now. I turn on the television. The kids rush in and join us in bed to witness the early festivities.

I watch throughout the morning, having postponed the start of my workday. I well up at the slightest provocation--a young child, an older Black woman or man, the smiles of the Obama daughters, Aretha's rendition of "My Country Tis of Thee." Half a box of tissues later, I wonder how I'm going to fulfill my role as citizen.

Then my mind drifts off to snarkiness and wonder... Was the first president Bush walking slowly with a cane because he had been helping Cheney pack up? What if the last (please, let him be the last!) president Bush forgot to provide a handicap accessible ramp and they had to wheel Cheney down the stairs...and then he went flying out of the chair over the side of the stands, like O.J. Simpson's character barreling down the aisle at the baseball stadium in Naked Gun? Could sales of Obama paraphrenalia alone bring us out of our financial doldrums? How could the Supreme Court Chief Justice screw up the 35-word oath of office? What if Mr. Obama had corrected him? Isn't that what the system of checks and balances is all about? Isn't it ironic that Roberts, who I assume is a strict constructionist, felt it was okay to deliver the spirit of the oath rather than the letter of it? Did the new president and First Lady escort the Bushes out to the helicopter to make sure they didn't linger in Washington? I was hoping that president Bush would be taken away in something that began with 'h'...but which ended in '-andcuffs'!

I'm too tired to reflect seriously and fully on the import, majesty and profundity of the day. I'll have to leave that for another day soon...

GenuineWow

I haven't written in awhile but wanted to gather and write down a few thoughts. (I've had only a few since November anyway.)

I admit I finally went to Shamwow.com this weekend because that cloth seems pretty impressive, soaking everything up the way it does. But this weekend, I've also tried to soak up everything surrounding the Inauguration.

I am particularly wowed by the juxtaposition of Martin Luther King Day and the Inauguration, reminding us of the triumph of justice and freedom for all people in the U.S. The wow Barack Obama creates is genuine, and I couldn't be prouder to be an American, knowing that he is about to become our president. The patriotism I'm feeling rivals what I felt after 9/11 and after the U.S. Hockey Team upset the Soviets in the 1980 Olympic Semi-Finals. But I know that the hope I have and that all Americans have is also the hope that most people across the globe have.

The challenges we face are monumental, but Obama is a man for whom monuments could end up being named. I eagerly await this inaugural address. Though I can't quite fathom how he will top the brilliance with which he has spoken in the past, I presume this address will be one of the greatest speeches in American history. I anticipate verbal majesty that includes a compelling, JFK-esque call to action for all of us to sacrifice, for he will not be able to accomplish what he has promised without our active engagement. He has already inspired millions to reflect on our responsibilities as citizens. We will have to recalibrate our priorities and accept fewer of the 'things' that we feel have made our lives richer, and push for those things that make our lives and the lives of those around us better.

(The twisted humor side of me would love to see him freak out doubters by pulling out a Koran and begin to take his oath and then say, "I'm just messin' with ya." (I'm actually hoping that at the end of his eight (!) years, using religion as a wedge issue will be just an unpleasant remnant of the past, the way race should become, too.))

If Barack Obama, our 44th president (did I miss the comparisons with Hank Aaron also being number 44?), can help live up to even a fraction of the promises he made and the promise he represents, the world will indeed be a better place...

My prayers are for the Obamas, for the country and for all the peace-loving people of the world.