Sign seen at President Obama's Trip to Canada:

Yes Oui Canada!

Joanne C, San Francisco, CA submission:

I liked this little snippet from today's Willie Brown's weekly article in the Chronicle:

"The other night I got into a cab and the driver said to me, "Hey, I saw you at the inauguration. I was watching it on TV. You were too far away, but did you see Bush lean over and say something to Obama just befoe Obama took the oath?" I said: "No." "Yeah, but I did," the cabbie said, "Bush leaned over and said, 'Barack, it ain't over until the fat lady sings.'"And did you see what Obama did? He smiled and said, 'Hit it, Aretha.'"

Robert T., Alexandria, VA:

Speaking of the helicopter leaving the Capitol, you know that your sister Ciel and I were on the Mall for the Inauguration. It was very cold but we were warmed by the tight-fitting, joyful and wise-cracking crowd gathered around the refreshment tent waiting to get hot chocolate. (We must have waited for over an hour but gave up when the ceremonies began.)

We saw everything on one of the Jumbotron screens. We cheered with the crowd and murmured our boos at deserving moments, and jumped for joy when the oath was completed. We stayed to hear the wonderful benediction and then moved to the African Museum to warm up and take in the stunning show. We discovered on our arrival at the Museum that a large TV screen had been set up in the ground floor lobby so we lingered to watch the Obama's escort the Bushes to the helicopter. As the chopper rose into the sky, someone shouted they could see it through the Museum's plateglass windows and the crowd moved as one to the window wall to cheer and wave our adieus.

I think we were all a little astonished at our unity. A fine moment and memory.

Marie M., Manchester, NH:

A sign on a fence in my mainly Republican neighborhood for the past 2 months had a countdown of days before Obama's inauguration but today the sign said "Our long national nightmare is finally over".

John F., New York, New York:

I watched the historic moment with my son, then participated in a program at Medgar Evers College (where I teach), with students, faculty and community.
What a country, what a President!
It is an emotional time, but it hasn't fullyregistered yet.

Eric M, South San Francisco, CA:

- jr got the text ms. that the networks called an obama win. i didn't want to hear anything until at least 11pm pt, lest go through bush gore again. mrs m came home, pbs was on, and we heard the mccain concession speech. i was already reading lincoln's second inagural speech and working on a homily on amos, let justice flow like the rivers, for the following sunday. we heard mccain's speech. i sang the negro national anthem, danced with my wife, drank knob creek bourbon, and sang 'when the saints come marching in'. my neighborhood, pro mccain, pro prop 8, was silent, dark, with lights going out all over. and prop 8 won, handily.

Jill J., Sunnyvale, CA:

So our stories are not nearly as cool as some of those listed, but we are as elated as everyone else.

On election night Sam and I were so exciting at the prospect of having a brilliant, articulate, kind, qualified young family man as president that we celebrated with Chinese food and champagne. We laughed, we cried, we got chills.

On inauguration morning Sam stayed home from work and sent me IMs throughout the day on what was happening. He was transfixed to the television soaking up every speech, song, prayer…etc.

For the first time in many, many years we are so proud of our president, of the hope he brings to our troubled economy and the respect he brings to America from other countries. And if he unites us all as one, all the better.

This reminds me of the same coming together of our country that we saw with 9/11. But this time it’s something to truly celebrate.

Peggy S, Rutland, VT:

I'm afraid I don't have anything exciting to add. We watched both the election and inauguration from home. But on both days, I felt an incredible sense of relief, like I could finally take a deep breath again. I felt like cheering as Bush's helicopter took off from the Capitol on Tuesday. And somehow, it seemed fitting that Cheney was in a wheelchair (loved how Jon Steward skewered him for that). ... It just feels as if we've all been in lifeboats for awhile, and we finally see a rescue ship steaming toward us.

Cecile G, Randolph, MA:

My story:
Sunday I called three different phone numbers to get to the new SGI Buddhist community center onMassachusetts Ave, NW in DC on Embassy Row (building recently opened). I got directions and took ametro,then a bus to get there. Chanted there for an hour for the success and safety of everyone associated with the Inauguration.

While on the bus returning to the metro, overheard a man in theback of the bus retelling the anecdote about its more likely for a man of Obama's father's tribe tobecome president of the USA than of Kenya, his father's native land. At the end, the man said, "I don't know what tribe he's from." and I shouted out, "His Dad is a Luo", then started looking againat the bus map to make sure of where I was getting off. The man came and sat down behind me said, "I can help you find where you are going.", then started telling his own story. He was fascinating.He looked about early 40s, burly kind of a White guy with a nice face. He said he lives in Shanghai and DC now for his work, but after Obama won the nomination, he called local Democratic HQ and said,"I owned a farm in Virginia send me to your worst place, I can talk with those guys." So they sent him to rural West Virginia. He had a shotgun pulled on him once but he kept talking with the people there, continued campaigning for Obama. Slowly he saw them coming around.
So of course, when I got off the bus, I said, "Thank you for helping to make this day happen."


Use or lose as you see fit and of course edit, I'm long-winded. Of course, my day on the Mall started with long waits in the subway and standing in the cold and wind on the Mall and having limited view of the Jumbotron and my right foot hurt so much by the time I got back to Alexandriathat night I could hardly stand on it. But I could hear everything and the whole city wascelebrating. It was worth every minute of the trip.

Aquacena L, Oakland, CA:

I too am giddy, and very hopeful to the point of almost taking a red-eye fight to the inauguration… just me, I couldn’t talk anyone else into standing in the cold for hours, but I couldn’t get a flight.

But, here’s the interesting part… I am not American. I am still Canadian, literally, not like people traveling pretending to be American. I am a US resident and it hasn’t bothered me not being a citizen because there are only two things that I cannot do: 1. Work for a defense contractor (like this is a big incentive), and 2. Vote. Up until this election, I have not had the desire to vote. I know, you might say, “What about those horrible Republicans we’ve had in office?” My belief had always been that no matter who the president was, America’s system of checks and balances worked and the country ran as usual with very few modifications. But, with our last president taking the country for a joy ride, I no longer believe this.

Even though I didn’t get to vote this time, I gave money to Obama’s election and, more importantly, got involved during the campaign to make phone calls to voters in undecided States. For this, I got an invitation to the inauguration, which I will treasure always. I am thrilled that the US has turned an important page in history, not just because of the president’s race, but also because of the direction that he will take the country.

Another part of my reluctance to becoming a citizen was how poorly Americans are viewed around the world, and you know how I love to travel. On my last trip to Australia last month, I received nothing but encouraging comments from those I met, all along the theme of, “We’d written you guys off, but now that you’ve elected Obama, maybe we’ll give you another chance.”

About the effect on our children, my half Asian, half Hispanic daughter, Maya’s, reaction when she heard that there had never been an African American president was, “That is so mean,” which is age-appropriate for “That is so wrong or unjust.” She is a huge Obama fan and wrote a persuasive essay for school early in the campaign about why he should be president. She told me that her female teacher came up to her afterwards and said something like, “I was planning to vote for Hilary, but you’ve convinced me otherwise.” Perhaps this is the start of her moving the banner forward to who knows where. I hope to get a front-row seat if she is ever at a swearing-in ceremony.

Joanne C, San Francisco, CA:

My colorblind story is asking my 5-6 year old niece to describe one of her little friends—I asked “what does he look like? Does he have blond hair or brown hair? What color are his eyes? Is he big or small?” Her response was “well, he wears a striped shirt. . . “

Also, when she was 5 my brother sent the following email:
“She is learning about Martin Luther King and they are singing a song about him which she sang for us. She is still working on the lyrics as she sang in a very loud voice "Marthin Lutten King was a white man, Marthin Lutten King was a white man!" We finally figured it out that she was supposed to say "wise" instead of white.”

Even the kindergarteners watched the Inauguration this a.m. (as did we in our big conf room). I wonder what they were thinking.

Justine B, Fremont, CA:

I feel ecstatic as well for the incoming Obama Administration. When I go to Paris in April I will be proud to be an American instead of embarrassed. I don’t have a story for you but am glad you are taking on this project. I look forward to reading what you compile.

Mara M, Mill Valley, CA:

Thanks for the thoughts Adrienne -- One thing that came to mind when I saw the concert yesterday with Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Bon Jovi and the other dozen wonderful performers....... I wish Bon Jovi sang the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah!" -- it is such a moving, introspective piece and allows one to project their personal feelings. I don't think I've ever seen such excitement for a change in administration -- It's as though we just can't wait to get past this period of embarrassment and become strong again!

Looking forward to a bright and healthy future....

Ginny P, New York:

John and I have a lot of hope for better things, and we've both resolved to be patient since it can't happen overnight. I remember going home for lunch in 7th grade on Carter's inauguration day and recognizing what a good man he was and not going back to school after lunch, so I could watch the coverage. I'm so hoping to feel that way tomorrow. I realize this makes me sound ambivalent; I'm actually very excited. For our country never to have had a non-Caucasion or female president is pretty embarrassing. We're hoping the boys can share some stories with their children about what a great president Obama was, and we have good reason to think that will happen. Someone told me that Martin Luther King's dream comes true tomorrow. I know there's way more to be done, but it did bring a tear to my eye.

From Linda C, Oakland, CA:

I was at a friend's house on election night, with a group of people that included foreigners as well as Americans of various ethnic backgrounds. We were all swept away when Jesse Jackson started crying. At that moment, my niece, who is in school at Univ of Tn, sent me a text saying how happy she was. I got this amazing sense of solidarity with America!

Dave B, Oakland CA:

O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
O-BA-MA!
WoooHOOOOOO!

Original Letter - January 19, 2009

Hi Everyone,

This is an odd request that I've never made before, but I honestly feel it's the day before a new beginning in America. I have never felt so much excitement, joy, giddiness, awareness of past history, awareness of making history, and self-reflection in America before.

I've been verbally collecting stories about election day and asking those going to the inauguration to tell me all about it, but I realize that I want more.

This is such an epic event in our nation's history, and such an epic event for us Americans, for Americans abroad, and for those of other nationalities, that I'd like to hear from everyone your thoughts and/or your stories about the election, about Obama, about the inauguration.

I can collect these stories into a blog to share them with everyone interested. I've heard so many wonderful stories from spontaneous acts of joy and community on election day, to the new feeling of goodness as an American abroad, to strangers exchanging stories on subways, to wanting to share this day with our children, to feelings of true acceptance now for mixed race people in America, that I want to capture this moment that we can savor it in all the hard days that lay ahead. I also want to keep this for our kids, that they realize how far we've come and how far we're going.

To start us thinking, here's some stories I've heard so far:

* A friend of mine was in China on election night. She said that she was in a bar popular with expats when a man started walking around carrying an American flag. Concerned about the possibility of violence, my friend was ready to leave when the man stopped and announced: "I'm the owner of this bar. Tonight, Americans have taken back their country. I've ordered champagne for everyone!"

* A friend in Seattle on election night said that once Obama was announced the winner, her neighbors had a spontaneous block party, and everyone walked to everyone else's houses to celebrate.

* A UK friend who works with autistic teenagers said that one of the teenagers' reactions to the US election was "Now I feel safe".

* Stories of Americans abroad no longer pretending to be Canadian.

* Person after person after person saying they never thought they'd see this in their lifetime.

* Soledad O'Brien (a newscaster) saying her 6yo daughter was so surprised that there had never been a black president before. "Really Mommy?" she asked incredulously. "Really??". **

* Inaugural viewing parties occurring all over the country; people are actually paying $5 to watch it at a basketball arena here in Oakland; paying to watch something they can see for free in their living rooms, but they want to be with other people when this happens.

* Volunteer groups saying they are getting record numbers of volunteers today (MLK Day) due to Obama's call to service.

It feels like America is uniting again as we are calling on 'our better angels' as Lincoln would say.

It feels like how life after 9/11 should have been. After 8 years of the administration calling upon and rewarding the worst in us (rampant self-interest and greed), the best of us is coming out and we're hearkening to our better days with Obama channeling the greats like Lincoln, FDR, MLK and JFK.

I keep thinking back to a story I heard last week not of the inauguration or anything Obama-related but of the miraculous plane crash into the Hudson River. One of the passengers on a ferry that picked up the survivors from the icy waters said that the commuters on the ferry all joined together donating their own clothing to the freezing crash survivors, donating their cellphones and dialing the phone numbers themselves because the survivors' hands were still frozen from the waters, then holding the surivors' hands in their own to keep them warm. That image of strangers holding strangers' hands stays in my mind as we enter this new era from 'yes we can' to 'we are one'.

Please reply back with your reactions, stories, comments. Reply just to me or reply all. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Adrienne

PS: And if I missed anyone on this list, feel free to forward.

**on a side note, the color-blindness of our children. a couple quick personal stories to share on that topic:

* Kimi and Nicole describing someone at their school. "Is their skin tan or brown? do they have medium brown hair or dark brown hair"?

* Kimi watching the movie "Holiday Inn" with me and when the black face Lincoln holiday scene happens, she looks at it with 'what-the-h***' expression; if the actors painted themselves in purple and yellow polka dots, and jumped around on pogo sticks, it would make as much sense to her. (and yes, Kimi knows she's half black :-) )

* my kids not reacting to the Obama win with "omigosh, never in my lifetime" but "of course Obama won. he's the better candidate".

(I'm not saying we're free of racism now, but we're a lot further now than ever before. ;-) )