The Obama Inauguration: "I Was There!"

"I just HAD to go," declared Warren Keeton, apartment manager for the Goldberg Companies here in Cleveland. A tall, proud African American, Keeton has been an ardent Obama supporter since the beginning of his campaign. "I never thought I would actually see a presidential inauguration in my lifetime, but I had to go. I just wish my mother, a southern woman, could have been here to see this," he added. Keeton was but one of thousands of Northeast Ohio residents who ultimately made the journey to the nation's capitol to see history in the making.

To start his journey, Keeton boarded a bus in Akron Monday night at 11PM. The bus, filled to capacity with 56 passengers, re-played Obama speeches on the DVD monitors while zooming southeast over the highway. His bus arrived at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. at 6:30AM Tuesday morning. An estimated 15,000 buses from all over the country carried people to this historic event. From the RFK athletic field, free shuttle buses were available to transport people three miles to the National Mall, the heart of the celebration. "I was walking through a maze of vendors," described Keeton. "They had everything there including Obama water bottles and bobbleheads." There was an ocean of people converging on the Mall, all to see the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

"I was amazed at the high number of people in attendance from other countries, from as far away as Kenya, Spain, Russia, and Japan, some wearing their native dress, but for this moment, we were all American," he reflected. Tuesday morning was sunny, about 30 degrees, but there was no chill in the air, only the warmth of the moment. There were 20 large screen Jumbotrons strategically placed along the Mall so people could see the swearing in ceremony no matter where they were located. People even climbed up in trees and were sitting on top of Port-o-Potties to get a better view of the proceedings. Lots of security people and police on foot, and policemen on horseback, were evident throughout the crowd.

Keeton took his position at the Washington Monument. "When the Pastor Rick Warren gave the opening invocation, I noticed a large group of men nearby turn their backs and look away from the ceremony. I looked around trying to figure out what they were doing or what they were looking at. It turns out these guys were gay and shunning the pastor who actively opposes gay marriage," explained Keeton.

When the official time finally arrived, there was a hush in the crowd seeing Joe Biden pictured on the screen coming down the Capitol steps to take the oath of office. Then after Aretha Franklin's singing and Yo-Yo Ma's classical music performance, there were "Obama" chants building in the large audience. Keeton found it "unbelievable" hanging out with so many people. "And to see Obama sworn in, I don't know how to describe it, it was like the sun coming out after a dark, heavy storm, we were full of emotion, all smiles and waving flags, tears in our eyes, with no protests or disagreements, and young kids trying to pronounce the name Barack Obama and having it come out garbled instead."

Even though Keeton said he was glad he went, he also said he would never make this trip again. There were just too many people. "It was easy getting into the city, but a real chore getting out. There was nothing moving, you just could not get through. I ended up walking back nine miles, sharing the hike back with many other people, from the Washington Monument back to the RFK Stadium and then looking for the row number where my bus was parked," he explained. He and his bus tour group returned to Akron around 2AM Wednesday morning.

"This was a chance of a lifetime," he beamed. "Growing up, when people said you could be anything you wanted to be in this country, it went in one ear and out the other. But now, we can tell our children this because it is true, look at the new president. This is something that can never be taken away. I can proudly say I was there when 'Change came to America' on January 20, 2009," exclaimed Keeton.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul susn1ATatt.net
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