Catching up........

Hi,
Well, life got too overwhelming as the pace quickened with the inaugurational ceremony, watching the TV back at our host's home and then on to the Inaugural Ball.

So, Here several days later, we're home in Santa Fe and I'm recovering from a nasty head cold....will try and re-chronicle some of our time in DC. Also, here are two great web pages for witnessing the inauguration: the first is a Boston Globe site of pictures from around the world on inauguration day of the ceremony itself and of folks watching......really fun.....I cried all over again looking at them and there are over 10,000 comments for folks from ALL OVER the world. This is being touted as the most watched single-event in history and Barack Obama is the most famous person alive.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html


This site takes you to a video of the ceremony....two hours in length.......
http://inaugural.senate.gov/

You may have to plug it into your browser to get there....it doesn't want to go live on this page.

The night before the inauguration we drove around DC with our host Patrick to get a sense of the town. We drove through Dupont Circle, the major gay neighborhood, out Connecticut Ave. toward Chevy Chase, past the Naval Observatory where the Vice President lives and tried to come back into town via Rock Creek Parkway, but it was closed off for security reasons. We ended up at an Ethiopian Restaurant that had this sign in the window.


There was an artist hanging out showing some of his artwork. This picture is of him and a print I bought. Notice the halo around Obama's head......remember Hallie Salassie (sp), a modern ruler of Ethiopia was considered a god.........
A few pics from earlier in the day when we went down to the Senate Office buildings to pick-up inaugural tickets with our host Patrick. Here is a building with security folks on the top of it.....

And this one if of two young women, form Minnesota, who go to American Univerity in DC. They were waiting to go into see their senator and give her, Amy Klobuchar the t-shirt here. Being from Minnesota we felt allot of closeness in the chilly air.
Here's a Caulder Scupture inside the Senate Office building. Those little black dots at the bottom are people. There are LOTS of Caulder's all over DC.
We stopped into the offices of West Virginia Senator Rockefeller for the tickets then followed our noses down the hall to a Montana Senator, they brew the BEST coffee in that office...........at least from the smell.....it was too late in the day to drink any, even tho they offered.

Then we headed down into the basement catecombs and found the office of our new Junior Senator from NM, Tom Udall. The newbies get these tiny, cramped quaters in the basement, until they rise in Seniority. The office was swamped with visitors, so we moved on.

I like the phrase....Democracy is a Verb. We all need to be active in its creation.

Another picture from the streets of DC.

That's it for now......Those of you who are signed up for this...let me know if you got a notice when I post a new entry. Dimid

Came across this guy while the helicopter was flying overhead to take the Bushes to Andrews Airforce Base to fly home to Texas. Many people booed and gave them the one finger wave.

A few more quick pics to comment on later....Dimid

The Joy Is Over-Flowing.....

First some pics from being out and about today.................

On the Mall today

Hi, We got down onto the Mall this morning....seeing the crowds accumulate...........it is slightly warmer today..............tons of media vans, the toilets run on for blocks and blocks.

Biggest celebrity spots today (the only so far actually), Candy Crowley, (who we love) has followed the Obama campaign for CNN, she was on the train yesterday coming into DC with the Obamas and Bidens......When we recognized her....in front of the Newseum........she said Hi and I yelled out a second later, "We love you Candy," She turned and gave us a big sweet smile and we bowed to her.
Then shortly later we saw Joe, in the Morning (in pic above, who we don't like) from MSNBC.....he was stopping for pictures at the MSNBC booth.....

We were headed to the Vietnam Memorial, but it was sealed off for the concert at Lincoln Memorial....we decided not to try and get in for that, with ALL of Tues. we will be standing out in the cold for the really big event......
Stopped and bought souvenirs on our way back to the wonderful home we are staying at.....a few blocks from DC Convention Center. (Any body got a request for a t-shirt, button or stocking cap?) Just let us know.....the large pic of Obama above is from a poster we bought, 2X3 feet. We met the artist as we were looking at it..............She had a whole show of Community Organizers....Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela at a great coffee shop........

Like many of you, we just watched the President-Elect speak at the Lincoln Memorial...........and feel embraced in his call for re-igniting the American spirit, each revealing it for all of us.....together.

In a VERY cold Washington, DC

The very first picture is a statue by Alan Houser, the most famous Native American Sculptor and from New Mexico. It's in the National Native American Museum. We saw the original in Houser's sculpture garden outside of Santa Fe, earlier this fall. Next is a picture of a man in front of three Native statues. This man was going all around DC. and having his picture taken with this pic of Obama "for my grandchildren," he said.
Next pic is of one of the temporary Cell towers mounted all around DC. to handle the HEAVY traffic expected by cell phone calls, pictures and text messages being sent by the millions on Inauguration day. And then you have the Obama cookies.

We arrived in DC on Thurs. the 15th without any incidence......but almost the first news we heard was of the miraculous plane landing in the Hudson River off of Manhattan.......what incredible images and stories of full blown humanity in action.,.......
Yesterday, Friday the 16th we went down to the Capitol area to meet our newly elected Representative, Martin Heinrich. He was recently elected to take the seat vacated by Heather Wilson from Albuquerque. We applied and won lottery tickets from this office so we had to go and pick them up. Here is a picture of Steve Haro, senior staffer, Michael, Me and Elizabeth Hill, receptionist. While in the office we met Martin (very briefly) and Steve offered us tickets to the New Mexico Inaugural Ball. It's in the DC Convention Center, only 4 blocks from where we are staying. The convention center is also the site of the Hawaii AND Illinois balls, SO it's a very good chance the Obamas will be in the area..........camera ready, we'll be lettin' ya know......

Our host here, Patrick has enough tuxedos to spare (this is DC after all), so this afternoon we are trying on outfits for this black tie event. My brother David will be joining us also.

Walking around the Mall we found where we will be standing on Inauguration day. Here's a pic of about where we will be......(I'm learning how to post pics on this thing and they aren't coming in the order I'm talking about them.....)

While scoping out the situation for inaugural day we were interviewed (very briefly) by some Arabic film crew. And of course DC is going Obama crazy......you can go to the local Safeway here and have your picture taken with a life-size wax statue of Barack Obama while munching on Obama Cookies. Pictured here (?) NO, pictured above, some where........Im just gonna add some more pics and then comment on em......

Gonna sign off for now...............We'll have to leave our house on Tues. at 6 AM, to walk the mile and 1/2 to the mall, pass through several layers of security, stand in line for the gates to open at 7 AM, to get a good spot for viewing.............the entertainment starts at 11 am, the ceremony at 12 noon (constitutionally the out-going pres. leaves the office at 12 noon, on the 20th of January after the federal election.) By then the temp is supposed to go up to about 33 Degrees....and remember it's a damp cold.......Right now it's hopefully going up to 29 degrees. These are supposedly record lows.......Yikes!!!

The nite before we leave for DC

Just got word today we will be standing (along with how many 10's of thousands of others) directly infront of the Capitol Building stairs, slightly to the right side. Blue/West is the area designated. Hearing alot about road and bridge closings as the security forces test prepare for anything possible. I'm trying to post a diagram we got of the lay-out of viewing areas......will see if I can do it.

Here is the link if I can't paste it here...... http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/index.cfm. Looks like you will have to paste it into your browser to go to the site.......the link will take you to a site of alot of inaugural things, but on the top and right hand side is the map of the Capitol and viewing sections.

Here is a poem we heard read by the poet, Elizabeth Alexander, on PBS the other nite. She will be reading her Inaugural Poem next Tuesday on the steps of the capitol.

Ars Poetica #100:

I Believe
Poetry, I tell my students,
is idiosyncratic. Poetry
is where we are ourselves,
(though Sterling Brown said
“Every ‘I’ is a dramatic ‘I’”)
digging in the clam flats
for the shell that snaps,
emptying the proverbial pocketbook.
Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,
overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way
to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)
is not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.
Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,
and are we not of interest to each other?

Elizabeth Alexander

And to you reading this, thanks for checking in.....Love, D and M

Ars Poetica #100: I Believeh other?

It's a few days before we depart for DC on Jan. 15th. We'll be in the city for a few days and hope to post some entries here about the city, peoples and feel of the upcoming events.

We practiced our best Minnesota/Northern New Mexico cold weather gear on Christmas Eve when we went to Taos Pueblo for their sunset mass, processional of the Virgin Mary, huge bonfires blazing, gun shots going off----all in 14 degree weather. We kept pretty warm and believe we are ready for the long standing wait for the inaugural swearing in ceremony. These pics of us were taken on Christmas Day, walking on a country road leading to a "Morada", the traditional Northern New Mexico Penetente site of worship. (No pictures, sketching or painting allowed!)

Also posted here is a picture of the invitation we just got to the Inaugural Ceremony itself. I've sprinkled "Cherokee Trail of Tears Dent Corn," a variety we are working to save and re-establish as a viable genetic seed source. We got them from Jardin del Alma, the organic farm we are involved with outside of Truth Of Consequences, NM. Michael and I plan to carry them in our pockets for the ceremony, hold some up at the point of swearing in, and have them to give to any of you who would like a bit of the ceremony to grow in your gardens next year.