What a difference a day makes!
Living in DC I have seen much, this will be my second inauguration.
I have seen the funeral of two presidents, both glaringly different.
I have seen protest from a million strong to 20 Americans gathering to have their voices heard.
I have been one in a million.
I have seen gross wealth and poverty all within three blocks of each other.
I have seen the seasons change, year after year. Snow in the Nation's Capitol is beautiful against the white marble, but so is the Fall color-not sure which is my favorite.
I have seen impressive memorials.
I have stood at the feet of Lincoln.
I have seen where he was murdered, walked in the alley where his murderer fled, stood in the house where he took his last breath.
I have stood in civil war battlegrounds.
I have participated in honoring those who have fallen in the line of duty.
I have seen, as far as the eye could see, graves of those who served and died.
I have had the honor to lay wreaths on their graves.
I have seen young men guard a grave day in day out, in all weather, all times of the day for an unknown soldier.
I have witnessed burial after burial of soldiers,one every hour on the hour.
I have seen the horse drawn caissons carry their flagged draped coffins.
I have seen friends run in Marathons, along side men and women with artificial limbs.
I have seen WWI Vets and Al Jazerra TV .........at the same parade.
I have seen the sun rise and set over the Potomac.
I have seen caravans of elected officials roll through the streets, stopping traffic and people.
I have seen armed men, on every street corner, every day.
I have seen priceless pieces of art and Borf originals on walls of the subway.
I have seen Suffragist Alice Paul's headquarters where a handful of men many many years earlier attempted to hold off the British.
I have seen our Nation's Capitol and White House,
I have been in both.
I have been in the West wing, Senate and the House offices.
I have volunteered for the rights of women, to stop the violence against women and fed the hungry.
I have met a homeless man- know his story and his first name, Ivory.
I have been blessed by work that has forever changed my life, made me a better person.
I have seen things beyond my wildest imagination.
BUT What
I haven't seen was anything like last night, people pouring into the streets by the thousands, people carrying flags, cheering and running through the streets, people on their knees in tears, people in cars honking to the beat of Yes We Can, people in awe at what had just happened and that they were part of it, the atmosphere was palatable. I drifted to sleep to the sounds of the street.
I have been changed by my experience in Washington, DC.
Thanks for sharing a moment of reflection on my life and time in DC this amazing day, this new day - change is a foot, are you ready, can you feel it too?
Cyndi Davis-Dow (Lamar Associates Chief Operations Officer)
11-5-08
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