by Linda Conte in Politics
Posted on January 18, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Last Modified on January 18, 2009 at 6:28 pm
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Seriously, I am feeling like celebrating. Our friend Seth Itzkan (Planet Tech, Davis Sq.) took off for DC yesterday at dawn. He said that they would be closing the roads after that so you couldn’t get in later if you wanted to. He left on the Lucky Star bus from Boston, and caught the NYDC Express in New York. He found a place to stay in DC by going to a website called Airbed and Breakfast (not deluxe, but only 2 miles away from the inauguration).
Not to be left out, the principal at the Brown School where I work has hustled the cable guys in to make sure we are connected to watch the swearing in of our shiny new president. I’ll be happy to watch such a proud moment with a group of children.
My husband went to a party billed as a “Bye Bye Bushie” bash last night. If you want to see a bunch of old hippies (I don’t think they’d fuss over that moniker) singing a song of glad farewell to George, go to: http://www.byebyebushie.org/ Add your own farewell there if you like.
So, where will you be on Tuesday?
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My friend Seth emailed a link with some interesting stories about the scene in DC. Check it out:
Hi Folks,
I’d like to do a shameless promo for one of my company’s clients, Media Soup. http://www.mediasoup.net/.
They are a media collaborative made up of independent journalists. They are down here in DC covering the Inauguration. They are quite “street” and will give you an angle you won’t see on the big nets.
My company, Charles River Web, http://www.charlesriverweb.com, did their site in Drupal in a matter of days.
Please check out their site for a unique perspective on the Inauguration, and of course, consider us for Open Source web applications.
Best regards,
- Seth
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I’ll be at Orleans in Davis Square tomorrow, watching it on TV there with Pat Jehlen and Denise Provost and other local folks. Here’s a announcement of this event.
Later tomorrow night, Carl Sciortino is having a party at Sabur, which I’ll also try to catch part of.
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We really appreciate the plug.
More importantly, charles river web did an unbelievable job in 3 days!.
-Joshua Fleetwood
MediaSoup.
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More reports from Seth Itzkan:
Dear Friends,
It’s hard for me to put into words what an extraordinary whirlwind of a day it has been.
I feel as if I am in the vortex of history.
I don’t know where to start or which theme to cling to. Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I feel psychically overwhelmed… and the Inauguration hasn’t even happened yet.
You can’t imagine what this city is like now. I can’t even imagine it, and I’m here.
The sense of historic precedence is everywhere, in every street, every restaurant, every metro stop, and the madhouse downtown by the Capital is beyond description.
It is like a mixture of Woodstock, Disney Land, New Years, July 4th, Superbowl Sunday, and of course MLK Day. In the evening I watch the news to see how they are capturing it, and you realize the limitations they are up against.
How do you describe the celebration that occurs spontaneously in the train when perfect strangers from different parts of the country just start talking to each other about where they’re from how’s they’ve come her: “I’m from Chicago”, “I’m from Ohio”, “I’m from Tennessee”, “I’m from California”, “I’m from North Carolina”, etc. This is everywhere.
I hear repeatedly from the Black people I’ve been talking to, “Anything is possible, now. Anything is possible.”
From the White people, a sense of joy that the nation has come to this historic threshold.
I actually saw the Obama motorcade tonight. The whole family was apparently going to concert. A bunch of young people on the corner were yelping with joy and waving to them.
I guess the central theme, and most mind bending aspect of my day was the visit to the Russel Senate Office Building to pick up my ticket for tomorrow. There were massive lines going around corners of all the entrances…full airport level security of course.
Once inside the Senate office building however, it was literally like a flee market or bazaar: large crowds of people, whole families, rooming the halls looking for their senator’s office in search of tickets. Of course many of these people had tickets waiting for them, as was my fortunate case, but many, to my surprise did not. They had heard that there were still tickets available and were literally going from office to office to get some. Wow!
Actually, their efforts were not without merit. Apparently some Republican and Midwestern state senators still did have tickets, and other folks were told that they could be on a waiting list and that after 5PM unclaimed tickets would become available, like willcall for a Red Sox game!
I feel like I’m just getting started now, but it’s 10:35 PM and I must go to sleep. I need to be up at 5:00 AM to be at the Mall check in by 7:00 AM.
I can’t even fathom what tomorrow is going to be like.
By the time this is all done, I’m going to need to sleep for a week.
I posted some photos at the link below, but unfortunately I was still just getting familiar with the camera and they don’t begin to tell the whole story. I do, however, have some excellent interviews on video, and I’ll post those in the coming weeks.
Best regards,
- Seth
http://picasaweb.google.com/seth.itzkan/DCJan1819#
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Another report from Seth:
Dear Friends,
I woke this morning with the throbbing pain of heel splints. The
physical exhaustion of the marathon walking, standing, waiting, and
herding for 14 hours-a-day over this freezing concrete city has
finally taken it’s toll. The Messiah may arrive today, and I’d watch
on television. (grin).
I tried to write something last night, but my brain and body were in
utter retreat. I jotted down a few notes, had two classes of
champagne, fumbled with the video camera, and passed out. I actually
slept 7-hours for the first time in who knows how long.
So I apologize for not being able to fire off some commentary last
night. Again, I was overwhelmed with having too much to say and not
knowing where to start or having the strength to figure it out.
I can say for starters that part of the reason for the physical
exhaustion is the impossibility of travel across the city. As I
understand it, DC has never been in such a lock-down state. Numerous
roads were closed to motor and civilian traffic. Metro stations were
closed. Some buses were canceled (the one’s I wanted) and others were
rerouted.
You were frankly expected to walk. And we did. Walk. and walk. and
walk. Mile after mile. In the freezing cold, and without the benefit
of a prohibited backpacks to store extra provisions. Argh. Of course
to lock-down all these streets requires an army of police officers.
According to one officer I spoke to there were police here from 96
departments in 13 states – all bundled to the extreme with face
warmers and large mittens, looking calm and being helpful if inquired
with, but constantly making those foot shuffle and hand slap gestures
of someone who is trying to fend off the biting cold.
I made the mistake of thinking Inauguration Day would be like the day
before, which was in the mid to high 30s, and actually pleasant. But
no, it was more like the days prior – bitter cold. Sunny at times.
Sinister at others.
The officer I spoke to ask for travel help with my rerouted bus said
he was North Carolina. Why should I be surprised? The theme of being
from somewhere else to come here for this event is central to the
experience, and ultimately part of the joy, discovery, and of course,
at times, frustration. No one, it seems, actually lives in DC or
knows much about how to get around it…except, I guess, the Secret
Police, and they’re not telling!
I chatted with him for a second and he asked if there was anything he
could help me with. I said, “Well, I was going to ask you about a bus
route, but seeing as you’re from North Carolina (and I assume here
just for security purposes), I don’t suppose you’d know that”. It
occurs now, that this statement may sound flippant, but that I assure
the tone was in playful nature – I’m smart enough to know not to be
flippant to police in DC on Inauguration Day.
“Try me”, he said with a smile. “Ok”, I said, and asked about the
Circular Bus line. You must understand that I had already asked
several Metro employees the same question, and they had no idea, so
why should I assume a police officer from North Carolina would have
the foggiest.
To my surprise, he not only knew about the line, but he knew that it
wasn’t running and suggested where I should go to catch an alternate.
Wow. I then asked if I could interview him and he said, with a grin,
“Probably not now. But thanks for asking.”
Such was a snippet of one of a hundreds of experiences of people just
trying to do a mundane thing, on an historic day.
Of course I have the proverbial ten thousand more stories to share,
but again, no time. I still need to figure out how to get back to
Boston.
Let me quickly convey the emotional highlight of yesterday.
It stems from seeing The Capital for the first time at about 8:30 AM -
after standing in line for 100 minutes with thousands of others,
freezing my keester off. We had gotten off at station (Capital South)
that was further away than we were originally told to get off (Federal
Center), because apparently the Federal Center platforms were so
crowded with people, the train kept going to the next one. You can’t
imaging the mop scene on the Capital South platform where I did manage
to exit. It was edge to edge with people and a lady was barking over
the loud speaker, “Please keep moving. Exit through the gates.
Please keep moving. Quickly and calmly. Please keep moving. Please
keep moving. Exit through the gates. Exit through the gates.
Quickly and calmly. Please keep moving”.
We were of course, a herd. Baaaa.
But we were a happy herd. I suppose all herds are, absent of wolves.
And that brings up another theme: the happiness and calmness of the
crowds. Even the large presence of police and National Guard was in
no way a psychological deterrent. The large numbers of National Guard
men and who I saw actually looked happy. They were often joking
around. They posed for pictures. They held up Obama signs. Of
course, most of the National Guard weren’t actually doing anything.
There were on hard for precaution, in case it was needed, and even
though I describe the city in a “lock-down” regarding traffic, and it
was a traffic nightmare beyond belief, there was never a psychic
lock-down nor sense of intimidation. In spite of logistic issues
beyond belief, the system worked.
So, back to the platform, despite the crowds and the wrenching
loudspeaker lady, the crowd was still ecstatic. They were going to
see the Inauguration of *their* president. What else could matter?
So, in the midst of all this, the platform crowd started chanting,
“Yes we can. Yes we can”, and then, in the transformative moment of a
lifetime, the loudspeaker lady started chanting with the crowd, “Yes
we can. Yes we can”. The crowd had altered the course of the
loudspeaker lady. Indeed, it seems, that anything is possible.
Back outside now, in the bitter breeze, me and the hundred thousand
others, who were in my section, who had traveled, and waited, and
herded, saw the Capital, and suddenly we knew it was real, and worth
it. At that moment I became emotional, because it wasn’t just about a
dream, or an event, or crowds, or media, or parades, or history. It
was about a man having the right to swear an oath to office, to serve
the people who had elected him. And at that moment, when I turned the
corner at Third Street and saw the Capital, like a snow capped Mount
Olympus, I knew, as did all of us in that crowd, that the day had
come.
- s
p.s. So much more to describe and reflect on, personal, political,
social, etc. In the coming days and week… I have hours of of
interviews on video which I will try to get on to YouTube eventually.
Thanks everyone for indulging me. I wish you well.
Peace.
p.s. A tiny sampling of photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seth.itzkan/ObamaInaugurationJanuary202009
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Seth, “Back from Mecca”:
I just got back from Mecca – my pilgrimage to Washington DC to see the
Inauguration of Barack Obama.
I got in about 1:30 AM, and I feel fortunate to have arrived today at
all. At 1:30 this afternoon I was still in Washington DC, with no
certainty that I would even get out of the city, nor that if I did
make the first leg to New York, that I would then be able to make the
second leg to Boston.
But, I’m here now. Safe and sound. Exhausted and elated. I guess
that’s how you’re supposed to feel after a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Getting there isn’t supposed to be easy, but it’s supposed to be worth
it.
This was worth it – a once in a lifetime experience, an opportunity to
witness to a world-changing transformation.
When I see the helicopter photos of the massive crowds and hear
accounts of how the whole world watched, I’m struck to know that I was
one of those tiny dots who packed into the National Mall and filled
the brisk air with heartfelt cheers.
I feel that the world is a safer place today. I feel a great burden
has been lifted and that a new hope is on the horizon. I feel that
the world today is more familiar and less terrifying. I feel that the
camaraderie of our neighbors is the source of our strength and
security.
I feel that for the first time in my life, I believe the words: “My
country, ’tis of thee”.
I’m glad I was there.
Peace and Love,
– Seth
Seth J. Itzkan
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