I am on Amtrak heading to New York gazing at the landscape as it zips by, after an exhausting inauguration trek. The time went very fast, we did so much, had so many emotions and hung with the crowds. DC was a gas, the mood was electric, and the feeling was that nothing is impossible. The crowds felt that the renaissance had returned to America ushering in an era of new hope.

Ruth and I arrived on Sunday afternoon and were picked-up by my great and gracious cousins. We stayed at her house in Georgetown. Georgetown was packed with the Washington elite, exclusive parties and hordes of tourists.

Our first event was the Lincoln Ball, Sunday evening at the Smithsonian American Portrait Gallery, in the room where Abraham Lincoln had his second inaugural ball. The dress was formal or Victorian. (Not having the necessary stovepipe hat I wore my tux.) Ruth wore a stunning purple formal, we made quite a couple.

We entered the ballroom into a courtyard that was flanked by area students in costume. The men were dressed in Southern and Union General uniforms, some supporting obvious fake facial hair. The women were wearing beautiful hooped Victorian gowns. At the end of the receiving line Abe Lincoln was shaking hands and posing for pictures. One of the Generals had graduated from ETHS in 04. We had a great time being part of the pomp and circumstance.

The Portrait Gallery is 2 buildings joined by a covered atrium. Throughout the courtyard there was food and drink stations, on the walls a light show of red white and blue stars danced. On 1 side a troop of musicians played period instruments while couples in period costumes danced. It was quite a show. Attendees had the run of the museum. On the 2nd floor there was the Lincoln exhibit and the portraits of the presidents. We learned that Johnson hated his, Kennedy had one done by de Kooning and the George W picture was an amazing likeness. On the 3rd floor was a jazz swing band with more dancing. We stayed until midnight and left because we had a busy day of service scheduled for Monday.

The next morning at 10am we showed up at the Washington Hebrew Congregation for our day of service. This is Washington’s largest synagogue with 5,000 members. The building was huge and the sanctuary looked like it held over 1,000 people. The congregation prepares food for the homeless regularly. This was a special day so there were more than 200 people present, I am estimating about ½ from the WHC and ½ from out of town.

There were 3 food preparation areas: a tuna casserole construction line, a soup assembly line and a PB&J assembly area. Because most of the jobs were already taken Ruth & I were on garbage detail. It was a good job because we got to move around and meet many people. I tried to stay away from the pb&j because most of the kids were working there and many of them were successfully pb&jing themselves. They looked like walking sandwiches.

The time flew buy and before we knew it we had prepared all the food needed for an area shelter for several weeks. During and after our duties we had a chance to talk to several ex-pat Chicagoans and meet many of the congregants. We learned that the WHC has many social action days and is very active locally. It was great being part of a well planned, well run event.

Tuesday was inauguration day. We spent Monday evening with my cousins strategizing, selecting likely viewing areas and learning how to take the Metro, the local subway. I wanted to be in the Mall for the swearing-in ceremony. We heard it was going to be crowded so we decided to leave at 7:30 so we could get a good spot.

Tuesday morning came quickly and we began to dress for the cold. Ruth had on long johns, jeans and ski pants, gloves and liners, a heavy winter coat and 2 hats. I was dressed a little less warmly because I skipped the long johns. Armed with 4 Cliff bars, there is never anything to eat at these events, 8 ski hand warmers, water and maps we made our way to the metro.

We emerged from the Metro into a sea of people. There were people everywhere and everyone was in a very happy mood as they tried to get to the mall. The first thing that we realized was that the security lines were not moving and there was no information. There were plenty of police and national guardsmen but no one had any info. After standing in 1 line for 20mn that did not move we decided to head up-town. Walking was difficult because all the streets were blocked by buses strategically placed to thwart terrorist attacks. Weaving in and out of the vehicles we came to another entrance to the Mall. We were about 3 blocks away and began to creep forward. However after several minutes we noticed that we were not really moving but the crowd was just compacting. There was no one to ask for help and no information. After about 20mn a person came out of the crowd and said that they had been there since 5am and could not get in. (The Mall was closed early because it had filled very quickly. Many people with tickets, press included, could not get in.) Rumors were flying. A popular rumor was that a water main had broken blocking the entrance.

Ruth and I decided to walk further in the hope of finding a jumbotron and a view of the ceremony. We walked for 30mn asking several official looking people what was open and where we could go. Most people said they had no news but go west, so we did. Finally we found that 18th St. was opened and we made our way to the Washington Monument. We arrived about 10:30 and the field was crowded but plenty of jumbotron viewing spots were available.

The crowed was mixed. Half African-American half white, mostly 30-50ish with some kids and older people tossed in. People standing near us came from all over; Los Angles, Georgia, and Virginia. An electric feeling of anticipation filled the air. We watched the pre-inauguration band and the dignitaries’ file into the dais. We did not know many of the African-American VIPs but a woman near us knew them all and gave a play-by-play. Soon the big stars arrived, Supreme Court Justices, Senators and former Presidents. The partisan crowd booed the Republicans and cheered the Democrats. When George W arrived the crowed started to sing, na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey Good Bye. Not too classy or gracious but coming from Chicago and attending many baseball games we knew the tune and chimed in.

Time seemed to be suspended, the swearing-in happened quickly and the event ended all too soon. After President Obama took the oath the crowd turned to leave, except we could not move because there were so many people. Slowly, very slowly we made our way to the street. It took us 45mn to move 25 feet. The crowd control was horrendous and amateurish. No information was given; no one knew how to exit the grounds. However everyone was polite and cordial. There were no instances, no pushing and we all calmly but slowly headed home.

Ruth and I had a fantastic time. It was awesome being part history. The feeling of the crowd was pride, hope and promise. Everyone had huge, perhaps unreasonable expectations for Pres Obama. I hope he can deliver but because the economic problems are so deep and the America’s hopes so high Pres Obama’s task seems unachievable.