A New Era Dawns...

Pre-Inaugural Tears A-Flowin'
The past few days have been a blur of emotion and exhilaration. Woww...where to begin.

We returned on Friday from Kwa-Zulu Natal (also known as KZN here in S.A.), after a fantastic 10 day trip. Saturday Naomi and I did a bike ride, and Sunday we both rode in the "Cape Cobra Bike Race." I did 85ks and 8 hills. It was brutal. Naomi did 45 ks, including the intimidating "au Kaapse Weg" --old Cape Road-- which climbs over the hills separating the bay-side from the atlantic side of the penninsula. Needless to say, we were exhausted.

Finally on Monday afternoon, I had some time to sit down and blog about our trip to KZN. But, I had heard there had been some kind of inauguration concert the previous night (yes, we were a bit out of it while in KZN), so I started to look on YouTube to see what I could find. The next thing I realize, four hous have passed, and I've been histerically sobbing watching various angles of the concert! Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Garth Brookes. That's right, Garth Brookes even got me teary-eyed. But the clip that hit me the hardest was watching Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen sing "This Land is Your Land." And not jus the two verses, but all the verses including the lines of hungry folks at the churches! Pete Seeger's face, his enthusiasm, his encouragement to the crowd to join in and sing, just brought me to tears. Thinking how for his whole life, he has felt so marginal, on the fringes trying to "speak truth to power," and finally, here he was at the center of power in Washington DC with hundreds of thousands watching. He seemed so damn happy. Like a kindergardener with a new kazoo to blow!

Naomi and the girls had been out all afternoon, and when they came home my eyes were all red and bloodshot. I shared a few of the clips with them, trying to share the feeling. It wasn't as much fun feeling it all alone. Looking at the Lincoln Memorial, Alex said: "You can't believe how big that really is. It's huge. And his speech is right up behind him!" Clearly, her 8th grade trip to DC had planted some seeds, and it was great to see her connecting to a different kind of "Mall."

Inauguration Day
The inauguration started at 6:30 pm Cape Town time. We had invited a few South African and American families over to watch with us. Naomi insisted that we have everything prepared and ready by 5:00 pm. So, rather than doing the traditional South African braai, where you don't even light the fire until the guests come, and then spend hours (and numerous beers) tending the fire and chatting before putting on the meat, we did a more traditional American BBQ. In other words, I lit the fire at 2:30, had the meat on the grill by 3:30, and had everything on the table and ready to go by 4:30. Butterflied leg of lamb and b-b-q chicken, along with some very delicious salads.

The house was packed by the time the ceremony started, and so we got to feel a bit of the sense of being part of the crowd and part of the moment. The words and emotion totally transcended time and space, and the entire room was transfixed. It was awesome. I had ordered 100 of the "Yes We Did" commemorative stickers, so I handed them out to everyone who had come as a souvenir. It really felt like we too were making history.

I'll tell you all about KZN in an upcoming blog. In the meantime, let's still share in the glow of a new moment in time; transformation of the human spirit. Incredible! YES WE DID! YES WE WILL KEEP DOING!!

Blog ya later,
Seth./.