I am just glad it is over and the inaugaration has come and gone now maybe He can show what he promised. It is time to move on just like we have all been waiting for, Get to work, MR. PRESIDENT!!
WASHINGTON --- From a slope in the National Mall, Alvin Greenwood said he saw a nation of many become one.
Mr. Greenwood, who turns 52 today, still remembers the way segregation stifled life in his hometown of Beech Island and divided blacks from whites.
That's not the world he said he saw Tuesday as more than a million people gathered in Washington to watch President Obama take the oath of office.
It's a birthday gift that tops anything, he said.
"This wasn't about black or white," said Mr. Greenwood, who rested in the warmth of a tour bus as the day came to a close. "It was millions of people coming together for a good cause."
From the Washington Monument to the steps of the Capitol, the Augusta residents traveling on Harmon Brothers Tour bus 01 fought crowds, the cold and hunger to witness something they say they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Janet Herrington, 56, of Augusta, called it an experience worth every bit of discomfort the weather might have caused.
She said the pairing of the "soulful" Aretha Franklin with the "classical" Yo-Yo Ma was classy, and she thought the conduct of the crowd broke down racial stereotypes.
"I saw black people who were extremely proud," she said. "I saw people who were crowded up and kept good attitudes. I think some of the stereotypes that we black people don't act right won't be happening this time."
The day was simply a "dream come true" for Doris McGahee, who tightly clutched an Obama calendar she purchased not far from the inauguration.
"They say you dream long enough and it will come true," she said. "Today it really did."
With an obstructed view not far from the Washington Monument, 65-year-old Cherianne Duncan said she listened to, rather than witnessed, history.
Laughing as she referred to herself as "vertically challenged," Ms. Duncan said she couldn't see over the people in front of her. If Mr. Obama wins again in four years, she said, she would stay home to watch it on TV.
But seconds later she changed her mind.
"Well, I might come back one more time," she said with a smile. "I'd come earlier next time, and I'd definitely do it differently, but I'd return."
Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.
ONLINE EXTRA
Click here to watch an audio slideshow from the trip.
Comments
I am just glad it is over and the inaugaration has come and gone now maybe He can show what he promised. It is time to move on just like we have all been waiting for, Get to work, MR. PRESIDENT!!
Must have voted for mccain. I bet if it was his inaguration you wouldn't be rushing him.
I Can tell that the Hebrew owned media is happy their anti-christ is now in office.
I Can tell that the Hebrew owned media is happy their anti-christ is now in office.
subscribe to cable, he put his hand on the Lincoln Bible. HELLO! HELLO! Yes, I'm back.
usnvet, do you have a problem with jews? there is nothing anti-christ about jews. besides, obama is a christian, last time i checked!
everyone please go to www.bornagainamerican.org.
i am a muscian, but this will touch you.....i promise.
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin the work of remaking America"
i am so sick of how this is such an historical event, he is just another man going to lead our country, half white and half black......what was the difference in families going to see bush become the president than now, it is all historical event , each president is, regardless of race.
Enough already about Barack Obama and slavery! Slavery is over! If you were a slave, well you aren't anymore so hush! No one owes anyone anything, okay?
spoken like a true klansman!!!!!
Not a man or a member of a clan!
Just remember change doesn't happen overnight. We all have to do our part. It's not just his job alone.
It was such a moving experience for me. I was enormously excited by attending this historical event and look forward to the next four years with President Barack Hussein Obama as our leader.
I am already sick of Obama and the media's (indluding the Chronicle) love affair with this Chicago thug. He makes me physically want to vomitt. And... for the next four years all I have to say is that EVERYTHING is his GD fault!!! Why anyone would thinks his socialistic ideas will work is beyond me considering these same tired ideas have been tried over and over again and done nothing but make an entire race of people dependant upon the government.
By the way it was a moving experience for me too. After seeing it I had to go have a movement.
Some of you are too stress to be bless......... lighten up folks.
White Scorpion so much hate can lead to a heart atttack among other things.
I don't hate anyone. I wish Obama (and his family) a long blessed and happy life. What I hate are his ideas. I wish Obama was the man this nation needed at this time, but he is not. Every time he opens his mouth he proves it. There is nothing you can do to convince me that this man we hired has what it takes to do what it takes to keep this country safe and ALL of it's people prosperous. Marien... I hope I am wrong, and I hope you are right. WS
You people need to get REAL! That is why this country cannot move forward because there is such a willingness to live in a divisive society. I have just as much right to be proud of the first BLACK president as anyone who was proud of any prior president. Oh yea, he is black, remember, 1 ounce of black blood makes him African American so get over it! Why does he have to be a thug. What is the criteria of a thug? What or Who do you have to be? This is a momentous time in our history whether some of you want to believe it or not. If the next four years will be his fault then whose fault was the last eight years! May God bless you all!
The hatefulness of some of you is revolting. usnvet, you're an anti-Semite, but then...you know that and are probably proud of it. WhiteScorpion, I hope your rage takes you out of the game early. This country doesn't need your race hatred and ignorance. I surely hope you didn't reproduce.
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