It's 5:30 am and the Capt, down in La Cruz, is packed and ready to catch a bus to the Puerto Vallarta airport. At noon I'll pick up my friend Ale in Guaymas and we'll drive to Hermosillo to meet the Capt at the airport. The boat stays behind in a slip at La Cruz marina.
I haven't watched a presidential inauguration since Clinton, but yesterday I made a point of witnessing Obama's swearing-in and watching him dance to "At Last" with Michelle in her white gown (organza covered with little roses, politely scorned by the fashion commentators) at the first of ten inaugural balls. I hope she was wearing comfortable shoes. We don't have HDTV and the photos I shot off the screen are pretty grainy, but I couldn't resist capturing this occasion. Broad smiles all around, except among the Bush crowd, who were looking pretty grim.
Moments that stayed with me: the CNN anchors making much of the fact that the Capitol and the White House were both built by slaves, who were kept in pens like cattle. Aretha Franklin in an amazing hat singing "My Country Tis of Thee." A carpet of humanity screaming for joy. Obama's references to "our patchwork heritage." Michelle presenting Laura with a gift-wrapped box before they entered the White House for a morning coffee...bagels? scones? a homemade coffeecake? I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that coffee conversation.
Eons ago when the Clintons and Gores danced around the stage to "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" after his acceptance speech, I had a poignant moment of hope that, in retrospect, I'm almost embarrassed about now. But when Obama took office yesterday, there it was again: that stubborn flicker of optimism, borne on a wave of relief at seeing the last of the Bush crowd. Change was the theme of the day, picked up by the corporate advertisers who cashed in on the biggest worldwide TV show in history. Starbucks...Pepsi...Blackberry...
I felt a little like Linus, running to kick Lucy's football once again. Wouldn't it be wonderful if, this time, we didn't fall flat on our faces?