Inauguration 2009: Inauguration Day: Part III (Sans Security)

Well, to continue the entry from Inauguration Day: Part II, THE STRANGE, MANY HEADED AND LEGGED THING (which I call The Walking Amoeba) finally arrived at the security checkpoint. Now, this was the point I was dreading. My purse fit the maximum allowed size for bags (8x6x4) but was filled with 12 Obama watches I had ordered weeks earlier. My plan was to take the watches to the inauguration ceremony, and then give them away as souvenirs to family and friends. My fear was that security would somehow determine the watches to be security risks, and confiscate all of them. Now, to fit them in that teeny, tiny purse (at least by my standards) required some sacrifice on my part. Basically, nothing was in the purse except for the essentials (phone, camera, credit card, cash, driver's license, health insurance card, inaugural ticket, subway pass, subway map, and cabin and car key (if you have ever seen my keychain, you know how little I carried with just two keys). Tissues and, of all things, a small plastic raincoat/tarp were in my coat pockets (no umbrellas allowed - security hazards).

I needn't have bothered. The silver ticket security check was minimal at best, and I saw my fellow attendees walk in with large bags, blankets, food, coolers, signs, placards - you name it. (I think Security was overwhelmed by the ever-swelling crowd and just let us through as quickly as possible.) In my anxiety at the checkpoint I left a glove behind, which I later deeply regretted because of the numbing cold. Luckily, Cesia had an extra pair of gloves with her, which I gratefully wore, although a size too large for me.

Once inside, we staked our place in front of a large television screen (at our spot we could see the stage and figures on the stage with the naked eye; the screen was for viewing faces) and then most of our party visited the porta-potty. I deliberately stayed behind, fearing the worst, and I was right, even though it was just early morning and the crowds had yet to fill the area. My last bathroom visit had been at the Illinois Ball at approximately 1AM, but I was a former elementary Catholic school student, which meant I could forego the bathroom for a day if necessary (especially if I avoided food or drink), which is exactly what I did. My next bathroom trip was several hours after the inauguration ended at an IHOP in Virginia on our way home. (Little did I know my Catholic school training would come in so handy.)

Inauguration Part IV to soon follow, with stories of helicopters, snipers, CNN, and of course, the ceremony.

Lillian