Going to See Our New President

  By Doug Geed

   So we flew back in MacArthur this morning after a pretty hectic but incredibly rewarding three days in our nation's capitol for one of the biggest events that city -- and our nation -- has ever seen.

  My photographer Brian Endres and I stayed in Columbia, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb about a third of the way toward Washington. Each day we'd make the half-hour drive to New Carrollton, Maryland, which is the first stop on the Orange Line of The Metro (D.C.'s equivalent of the LIRR). From there, a 20-to-30 minute train ride got us into the heart of D.C.

   Tuesday morning, the day of the swearing-in, we knew we'd have to leave early. We were up at 4 and out the door a little before 5. As we approached the exit ramp for New Carrollton, we knew we were in trouble -- nothing but taillights and stopped cars. After a slow 45-minute crawl, we got a parking space and walked into the train station holding our commemorative Metro Fare Card with Barack Obama's face on it. (Buying fare cards for the length of our stay was the first thing we did when we arrived Sunday -- a mere half-hour wait.)

   So we walk into the New Carrollton station with all our equipment, and, for some reason, we see the first of many burly cops we would encounter during the day diverting people AWAY from the turnstiles that let you into the station. He explained to the people ahead of us that there was a LINE to get into the turnstiles and the line went "that way." "That way" was toward a long, long line of people walking up a flight of stairs that led you to Amtrak. So then I said (already dreading his response) "Please tell me once you get up those stairs, all you do is turn and walk down the other stairs." He put a large smile on his face and said "No. I won't lie to you, it's pretty ugly up there." Then he looked at the group of us now around him and he said "In fact, I probably won't be here by the time you get back here."

    Now New Carrollton is a large station with an elevated platform. If you live in Nassau, picture the Hicksville Train Station. If you live in Suffolk, picture Ronkonkoma. The line we got on went up the stairs, around the platform, down another set of stairs, into the parking lot -- sweeping AROUND the parking lot before going back into the station and the turnstiles. The adventure lasted an hour. But I have to say that even on that ridiculous line, everyone was laughing and just making the best of it. I cannot tell you the excitement, the joy, the optimism, the good will -- the feeling of just plain GOODNESS that was in the air during our entire stay. Even the burly cop at the turnstiles (who WAS there at the end of our hour-long trek, by the way) was nothing but smiles and professionalism. I literally did not encounter one person who was in any way impolite, nasty, impatient or rude the entire trip, which is amazing considering everywhere you went from the airport to the downtown streets to all the national landmarks, there was huge crowds that often had you pressed up against someone.

   And I have to say the city and surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia did a great job handling the massive numbers of people who flew in for the event. One little bit of frustration was when our train pulled out of New Carrollton. Now again, that's the first train station on this particular line heading into D.C. (just as Ronkonkoma is the first stop on the Main Line heading into NYC). The very next stop is Landover, Maryland and as we were pulling into the station, I saw a half-empty parking lot. The train doors opened and about 20 people got on.

   I gave up my seat to a woman and I asked her if she just got to the station and she said yes, she drove up 5 minutes ago and simply parked and walked on the train. Seems everyone thought they were outsmarting each other by going to the "first" station.

   I'll write more blogs in the days ahead, but right now my feet hurt. Plus I want to get home to see my wife and kids and give them the Obama Inauguration buttons, refrigerator magnets and sweatshirts that I paid way too much for.

   But I have one final thought and that is that we live in a wonderful country. For all our faults, what happened yesterday was incredible. First, that we have the right, every four years, to decide who we want to lead us is something we always need to be grateful for and never take for granted. And the fact that on one particular day, the transfer of power is done peacefully, amidst much joy and celebration, is terrific. The loser, especially if it's a sitting President, doesn't use the military to surround the White House and keep out his opponents. He simply hands over the keys, shakes hands to the victor and wishes them well. That's amazing.

    Speaking of amazing, here's a photo taken by my friend and News 12 co-worker Cecilia Dowd. She was fortunate enough to attend the swearing-in and had a heck-of-a better vantage point than I did!

 

   

Comments

[John]

One of my favorite "armchair hobbies" is looking at how people get around, especially in crowded conditions (weird, yes, I know), so I have to thank you and Mr. Endres for making the sacrifice to the DC traffic gods.

It's a shame that so many reports focus on the overall spectacle rather than this more mundane and human level, which tells me far more about how the event ran.