Hallelujah! The Washington Post reports today that nearly 7,000, not a mere 500, portable toilets are being installed on the Mall, stretching in a beautiful, gleaming line from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Somebody came to his senses at last.
And my daughter has procured a Metro farecard for me ahead of time, so I can skip that particular line.
The temperatures are going to be lower than I expected but still nothing like the five degrees we have here today.
It's looking like I may make it to the inauguration after all. And I'm carrying on my shoulders a whole bunch of you who want to go but can't make it, so it seems all the more urgent that I be there.
Plan A is ready. Plan B is simply to bail and backtrack if Plan A isn't progressing. Even the big kahunas who are running this thing can't say for certain how many people are coming and how they are going to manage the crowds. But one thing I'm confident of is this: The crowds will not be ugly or dangerous. I expect people to be in high spirits and cooperative. I don't think I'm going to be pushed onto the third rail.
I'm going to be cold, tired, uncomfortable and probably hungry by the end of it. But so will everyone else. At least I'm able to walk and won't have to worry about losing a companion in the crowd or getting lost, since I know the city pretty well. If I make it, I'll feel privileged to be an anonymous face in the crowd.
So I'm preparing for the starting gun, with my toe on the line.
7 comments:
I am afraid to say anything because part of me wants to say Nanny don't do it, but of course I want to do it, too! So, what I say is, Vaya con Dios! :) And if it's too cold, or your gut suddenly says, WRONG, just curl up in front of the TV with a blankey and that's good, too! :)
I hear you. That's my Plan B. I seem less and less adventurous, so I'm challenging myself to at least make a go of it. As long as you're with me in spirit. ;)
Yay, NannyGoat! Go if you can, stay cozy if you can't. Report in, no matter what.
You're far braver than I am to even consider the option.
And yes, I'm with Lopo- Vaya con Dios!
As much as my sense of reason (such as it is) says that you should stay home, I know I want to be there REAL BAD and you do, too! Bundle up and take hankies!!! :)
I already have the hankies in my bag with the Depends and Serentity pads. Also an empty Simpkins candy tin to put my butts in. My camera. A plastic bag. My phone. A map in case I get detoured. I'll wear layers, and I've confirmed with Beth that she has my farecard and a bed for me tomorrow night. It's a go. I just can't miss it. The paper this a.m. has stories of people who have come from far away, one lady who even had to hold bake sales to earn the money to get here, those who are coming in honor of others who can't, people dragging RVs across the country and those camping out in the cold. My trek is nothing compared to theirs. I just wish you were WITH me!
I know! I've done a lot of things that made a lot less sense than that! Boo hoo! :( It sounds like you're VERY prepared, and I wouldn't have had to do anything but show up dressed warmly! (Ahhhh. That would've been the hard part!)
When will you call me and tell me all about it? E-mail me Beth's number!!
If I can get a signal on the Mall (where they've installed extra cell towers), I'll call you from there! Otherwise, I'll call when I'm safely home. Beth's number won't help, because she never answers her phone. Watching the crowds on the Mall today for the concert, I feel EXCITED about going. Everybody looks so happy!
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