Barack Obama's Whistle Stop in Baltimore
So, last week I had heard that Obama would be stopping in Baltimore before the Inauguration on Saturday. I decided that I was going to try to see him again and so I decided to go down there on the train with John since he had to work. I almost missed going down with John but it all worked out in the end. I knew that it was going to be cold and so I prepared myself pretty well for it. I had four pairs of pants, four pairs of socks, an undershirt, t-shirt, thermal, sweater, track jacket, coat, and hat on. I didn't want to have to leave because I was too cold. I arrived downtown and got in line at about 8am; I wanted to be sure that I was going to get a good spot. This crazy lady next to me in line said that I was going to need ID to get in, something that worried me since I didn't bring mine with me. She said that she would save my spot in line for me while I went to go get it, so I decided to go ask around to see if I actually needed it. After talking to several police officers and a secret service agent, it turned out that I wasn't going to need it after all. Non-existent crisis averted! I went to go get back in line, and at this point my hands and feet were extremely cold. I had some money on me and so I decided that I was going to buy myself some hand and toe warmers from the Ride Aid across the street. I ended up buying six packs total for myself. I put a set of toe warmers and a set and a half of hand warmers in each foot, and then I had another set of hand warmers for my hand. It was a very good idea to get those, as I don't know if I would have made it if I didn't.
While I was in line, I ended up talking to those around me which was pretty fun. The girl in front of me said her name was Erin, which I thought was kind of interesting since Andrew's sister's name is also Erin. Not too long after that, Andrew sent me a text message that said his sister was also down there and that she had said she was also going to get good seats. It turned out that she was standing in front of me in line! What a coincidence, running into your boyfriend's sister in a crowd of tens of thousands. She was very friendly and I'm glad that I ran into her. She left to go get something and before she got back a man walked down the middle of the street motioning everyone to follow him. At this point, the line collapsed and the new line was a mob that stretched back to the end of the street and filled up the entire width of the street. I worked my way up to the front as best I could over time and ended up really close to the front. There were quite a few interesting characters around me; one young man criticized people for getting upset about all of the pushing and then said that he would knock any male who pushed into him to the ground. I was interviewed by Rob Roblin for the local news which was quite a treat, although I feel as though I made a fool of myself. At 1PM the lines were cut and we were allowed to move forward to security.
It was surreal. It went by so fast. I was so close to the President of the United States and it was amazing. It is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. There were some highlights that made it unique. At one point a woman shouted "Happy Birthday Michelle!" too which she replied with a silent "Thank You". I waved at Joe Biden and he smiled back right at me which was nice. Before I knew it, the speech was over and Obama was going to leave. However, he'd still be here for a few minutes - shaking hands. I pushed my hand up as soon as I possibly could and there was a moment when I realized I was going to shake Barack Obama's hand. I can't tell you how I felt, tears started to come to my eyes. Michelle Obama came along first, I remember the purple on her hands. She seemed touched that I was crying which I thought seemed really genuine. She shook my hand, but quickly moved on. The moment ended as soon as it began. He passed in front of me. I grabbed his hand. We shook. He smiled. He was gone. It was amazing, I couldn't believe it. Shortly after I shook his hand, I shook Jill Biden's and then Joe Biden's. Joe said that he liked my hat which I thought was quite nice. They moved on and it was soon time for them to leave for D.C.
While I was in line, I ended up talking to those around me which was pretty fun. The girl in front of me said her name was Erin, which I thought was kind of interesting since Andrew's sister's name is also Erin. Not too long after that, Andrew sent me a text message that said his sister was also down there and that she had said she was also going to get good seats. It turned out that she was standing in front of me in line! What a coincidence, running into your boyfriend's sister in a crowd of tens of thousands. She was very friendly and I'm glad that I ran into her. She left to go get something and before she got back a man walked down the middle of the street motioning everyone to follow him. At this point, the line collapsed and the new line was a mob that stretched back to the end of the street and filled up the entire width of the street. I worked my way up to the front as best I could over time and ended up really close to the front. There were quite a few interesting characters around me; one young man criticized people for getting upset about all of the pushing and then said that he would knock any male who pushed into him to the ground. I was interviewed by Rob Roblin for the local news which was quite a treat, although I feel as though I made a fool of myself. At 1PM the lines were cut and we were allowed to move forward to security. I went forward as fast as I could without running, but my god did I just want to run. My original scanner wasn't working and there was a bit of a delay but I ended up working my way through security relatively quickly. After I made it through, I started to head over to the plaza at an almost running pace. There were volunteers there telling people not to run so I was walking as fast as I possibly could. When I arrived to the very front there was a section that was cut off from the rest of the plaza and had room for maybe six rows of people, I think this was to prevent people from getting squished. I almost wasn't allowed in but I kind of wiggled my way past the volunteer who was telling people that it was full. When I finally got in, I was able to wiggle myself into a rather good position. I took a picture of the empty podium, I was amazingly close. I also ran into Erin, Andrew's sister, again. Twice in one day; crazy.
It was around this time that I started to have to go to the bathroom, which made the final three hours quite unpleasant. I couldn't go because I would have definitely lost my spot and it was absolutely amazing. There was only one person in front of me and a lot of people behind me. There was some entertainment to break the boredom though, including two brief workouts and a choir. I also broke the boredom by examining my surroundings, which were pretty interesting. The coolest thing of all were the secret service agents on the various rooftops around the plaza. That must be quite an exiting job. Anyway, the time was finally about to arrive and after introductions by Elijah Cummings, Martin O'Malley, and some random lady, Barack Obama finally came out.
It was surreal. It went by so fast. I was so close to the President of the United States and it was amazing. It is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. There were some highlights that made it unique. At one point a woman shouted "Happy Birthday Michelle!" too which she replied with a silent "Thank You". I waved at Joe Biden and he smiled back right at me which was nice. Before I knew it, the speech was over and Obama was going to leave. However, he'd still be here for a few minutes - shaking hands. I pushed my hand up as soon as I possibly could and there was a moment when I realized I was going to shake Barack Obama's hand. I can't tell you how I felt, tears started to come to my eyes. Michelle Obama came along first, I remember the purple on her hands. She seemed touched that I was crying which I thought seemed really genuine. She shook my hand, but quickly moved on. The moment ended as soon as it began. He passed in front of me. I grabbed his hand. We shook. He smiled. He was gone. It was amazing, I couldn't believe it. Shortly after I shook his hand, I shook Jill Biden's and then Joe Biden's. Joe said that he liked my hat which I thought was quite nice. They moved on and it was soon time for them to leave for D.C.
After it was over I couldn't believe what had happened. I had the biggest grin on my face for hours and I still get one when I think about it. I gave a quick blip to some local station in PA and that was the last exciting event of the day. As I left I passed vendors hawking their overpriced wears; buttons at 3 for $10, bedazzled clothing and the like. I came home with John on the metro, though with much more than I cam with. I had a cheap little flag that the volunteers passed out to those in the front and memories that will last me a lifetime.
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on Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 7:58 PM.
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