 HOME | BLOG | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | PAST ISSUES | ADVERTISING RATES | RACK LOCATIONS In the worst of times, one brief shining moment by Del Turner Despite the bitter cold of January 20, 2009, hordes of people took to the streets and walked miles to stand in or on the fringes of the National Mall just to be a part of history. Deference ruled; there was not one police incident, no fighting, pushing or shoving in the crushing crowds, just patience and loving kindness one to another. It was as if the anguish people felt over the ever looming very grim daily reports of America’s deepening economic crisis was somehow dispelled. Only a very real, very peaceful, very harmonious decorum prevailed on that day, a day when Americans from across the country experienced one brief shining moment in history they could share together and relive in memory over and over again. January 20, 2009 justified my faith in the fortitude of the American people; the gargantuan level of their discipline was value added to an already momentous event. When the President spoke, you could hear a pin drop. No babies cried, no birds squawked; the silence itself defined the venerability of the occasion. I sat there in Row 68, Seat 44, cold but warm at the same time, feeling humbled that I, an obscure volunteer, was officially invited to attend the inaugural ceremony of everyone’s lifetime. Certainly, there were volunteers who were there since the beginning like me, who were more passionate than I about helping Barack Obama to win the Presidency, who raised more money or wrote more interstate articles or made more telephone calls and knocked on as many doors. Yet, I was among those volunteers fortunate enough to be selected to be there for ‘our’ triumphant day and that fact alone speaks volumes about the character ofthis man we selected to lead the free world; His empathy is boundless. So here’s to our new President, God bless him, God bless us everyone. Del Turner resides in Gulf. |