Road to DC, part 1

Whew ... it's been a whirlwind the last few days. Interviewed by media from three continents. Hit in the head by a squirrel. Chilled to the bone. Thrilled to be there.

Yes, we went to Washington for the inauguration, our first in person.

By us, I mean a group of Fredonia students, Dr. Linda Brigance, Lecturer Amber Rinehart and my family. Thanks to the youth hostel in Washington we had an affordable and convenient place to stay.

I'm sure each of us had our own reasons for going. I'm not sure the network broadcasters got it quite right for many of us, though. Yes, it was an historic moment when the first African-American president officially took over the job.

But I think for many of those in the throngs throughout the capitol city, there was more to it than that. There seemed to be a sense that something bigger was going on, a sense of hope that politics could change from what it had sunk to in the last eight years. That was what the pilgrims wanted to be part of; they wanted to say, "yes, we believe this country can be more than it has been, and we're here to reinforce the points that were made on Nov. 4."

Woodstock without the drugs? Maybe. It was definitely a gathering of the tribe -- those who have been ashamed of the actions of our country's government since 9/11, and idealistic enough to think the directions can be changed.

Expectations are so high for Barack Obama that he's bound to disappoint many of his supporters down the road. But for a few days it was good to set my reportorial skepticism aside and believe.

(More tk -- including the squirrel story -- in Part 2)