ONE WEEK AND COUNTING!

This entry is by Rich. It has now been one week since WE inaugurated President Obama! Reflecting back it is obvious that it was the most profound political event of my life, including President Kennedy's assassination. It was not because he is the first African-American president, or because he was going to be so profoundly different than George Bush, or even because of the overwhelming size of the crowd.

What was truly mind-boggling was to be in what would normally be uncomfortably close proximity with a huge crowd of people of every race, creed, age, whatever and yet not feel the slightest fear or threat. In fact, the overwhelming, dominate emotion was a sense of oneness with everyone around me. Just after the oath of office was administered, I hugged an elderly Oriental woman behind me who I had never seen before and I am sure will never see again. I witnessed the same thing going on around me everywhere.

Which brings me to the real point of this entry. It is abundantly clear that while President Obama is a remarkable politician, it is also clear that for him that is merely a means to an entirely new end-or beginning. I am sure that most traditional Democrats and many of us who are just plain sick and tired of Republican ideology, might be scratching our collective heads at what President Obama has been doing "courting Republican support" over the last few days. After observing Obama over these last months and years, one thing I think I know about him is that he NEVER wastes his time or intellect on pointless endeavors. The Congressional Republicans don't realize that they have already been had by Obama!

My final comment is addressed to any Republicans who may be reading this. If you are a member of the "hard right" most likely you will spend the next 4 or hopefully 8 years being as frustrated as I was at Bush. The good news is that you will have a restored Constitution and nation of laws at the end of that time. If you are any other kind of Republican, I think President Obama will surprise you as much as he will surprise (maybe disappoint) traditional Democrats. At least nine Democrats and one Republican underestimated Obama over the past two years. This will be quite a ride!

Sightseeing in Virginia and North Carolina

Sorry we have been out of pocket these last few days. Shortly after the Inauguration we left DC and made our way to the Chesapeake Bay area for a little sightseeing. The area is beautiful despite the cold and we could just imagine what it must be like in the summer with all the water activities that must go on. We went out by Chincoteague on Assateague Island National Seashore, but didn't expect to see the wild ponies as they do when they have them swim to the mainland for the auction fundraiser that helps care for the herd. As we headed south on Highway 13, we went across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel which is one of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World." The toll is $12! After crossing the parallel bridge we came into Virginia Beach area where we had a delighful lunch with a good friend and NMSU graduate, Kelly Freeburn, who interned with Action for Youth and worked with us and the youth members on events, fundraisers and the best project of all, the Whole Enchilada Parade float!



We made our way down to Cary/Raleigh, NC to visit Rich's Aunt Julia and his cousin Patti and her family. We had a brisk afternoon walk along a beautiful walking path that went for miles around the nearby lake and a great discussion with Pati's neighbor about the future of the Country and our health care programs. We didn't see eye-to eye, but any misconceptions that supporters of the past administration might have about our new President and his plans for the future, we have to win over with successful actions that include imput from all sides. That's exactly what Obama wants to do!



We hope you enjoy all the photos. We couldn't beat the cameras up on the big booms that got such exciting live shots of the crowds on the Mall, Congressional Representatives, past Presidents and the Biden and Obama families. It was great to see and hear another inspiring speech by President Obama, that called all of us not only in the United States, but for those all over the world, to work together for a higher standard of living, peace and prosperity now and for future generations.

Inauguration Day! Has finally arrived!!!

We got up early this morning to beat the crowds and I think the crowds beat us! We hear that people were in line at 4am EST to get standing room only on the Mall. We were lucky to have tickets for standing in the Orange area that were stage left to the podium. None of that mattered after we spent an hour serpentining through the area that kept us cuing and happy to be there. As we were getting to the security checkpoint we were right in front of retired General Wesley Clark, who came to Las Cruces in October to help campaign for President Obama! I didn't get to shake his hand then, so this was my chance. As I was starting to take a picture of him, his wife offered to take a picture of us together. He was very kind and remembered his stop in Las Cruces and the Obama supporters.

The hour and a half wait for the ceremonies to begin were filled with singing by a wonderfully talented youth choir, the Marine Band playing, and other musical selections. Scans of the immense crowd was showing just a fraction of the national supporters for the Obama/Biden Team. You all probably saw this historical event as well as we did. It was the feeling of the cold wind on your face, being in the shadows of the Capital Building and knowing that we were only hundreds of feet from these prestigous people that made it all so special and memorable.

The day so many of us have looked forward to for so many days, months and for some years!

Happy Inauguration Day!

National Day of Service - Martin Luther King Day

Yesterday was truly a great tribute to Dr. Mrtin Luther King. People all over the Country were helping their communities with service projects that each deemed worthwhile. In Washington, DC area there must have been at least 20 different organized events. We decided to go to the RFK Stadium to help put gift packages together to send to the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. LC Obama staff were helping there too! Guillermo and Jodi were there, as well as Ashley, Hannah, Gus and Erik. We were signed in, given a quick briefing on how things would work and we even did the Obama dance to fire us up! It was very well organized as was every aspect of the weekend. By group we would enter a line to receive a zip lock bag and then proceed through the line until our bag was full of handy comfort items, donated from many generous companies of which Target was a major contributor. Music kept the huge and nicely heated tent warm as close to 10,000 of our closest friends were busy at work. We wrote notes on thank you cards that would be included with the packages, just to personalize them a little bit. Several dignitaries stopped by to do their share of helping such as Vice-President Elect Joe Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Mayor of Washington, DC. It was a great day!

"We Are One" Concert

It was a wonderful time to be with so many thousands of people to celebrate the new Presidency! We didn't arrive hours early like the smart people who wanted to get up close, but more like the arriving right on time people who got directed past the closed gates and onto the Washington Memorial Park lawn with the jumbo-trons group. It was still an exciting event as people filled the entire acreage and even a few climbed the trees for a better look at the screens. The sound system was great too as we listened to Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Beyonce among the great line-up of entertainers. The multi-generational crowd together rocked and sang the words to most of the songs, especially those of Garth Brooks songs "American Pie", "We Shall Be Free"and my favorite was when everyone pointed high for "Shout!" Every time the camera took a shot of Barack and Michelle Obama, screams were heard in appreciation for our new President. He gave a closing message that as always is inspiring, and we look forward to an even greater Inaugural Speech.

Afterwards we walked many blocks to downtown DC to the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley and Bar to wait for the "Las Cruces Connection" group to gather. It was quite busy and most restaurnts had 1-2 hour waits. The group decided to go to Las Tampas that worked out well as we overtook a corner of the restaurant and enjoyed catching up with job hunting and career endeavors of the former Las Cruces Obama Headquarter's staff. They are all doing well and really miss LC and the many great volunteers that entered their doors as well as their lives!

Today we are rushing off to the RFK Stadium for National Day of Service and Martin Luther King Day to help with assembling packages to send to soldiers serving in the Middle East.

Trial run on the metro and visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum

Today was a great day to find out how smart you have to be to get a Metro Smart Ride card to work. We tried to insert our newly purchased Obama Commemorative cards into the machines that will add more dollars of credit to our cards. Once we realized that wasn't going to happen, we tried pushing the large card sized button that said Smart Ride and then add the credit. This didn't work either! So we finally went over to the station house and asked for assistance. Fortunately there weren't any crowds yet and the friendly Metro assistants were very helpful! Boy, did we feel like tourists when he showed us how to wave the card in front of the card sized button that said Smart Ride. You have to be smart to use the Smart Ride! It was a test!

We walked to the Holocaust Memorial Museum and were in line with a nice group of young people from Indiana, who were going to sing for one of the events. They were freezing in line too! Reading about how Hitler advanced himself as a Chancellor and took advantage of the chaos caused by a fire and then declaring himself as the leader, was just astonishing how easily one can manipulate his way to a position of power and abuse. The Danes were the only people who successfully protected their Jewish neighbors and friends from the German annihilation. It was encouraging to see so many young people interested in learning about this horrific period in history. Hopefully there will be enough people of every generation that will be able to recognise patterns or courses of action that might lead to such atrocities and stop the insanity.

We made plans earlier in the day to meet our niece Leslie, who graduated from John Hopkins Masters program in education and she now teachers in the Baltimore inner-city schools, for dinner. Since she and her wonderful boyfriend Jordan were going to a Capitals hockey game afterward we agreed to meet at Clydes that was next door to the Verizon Center where they were going for the game. That meant we needed to walk 14 blocks across DC, in the cold, to meet them by 5pm. We went past the Washington Monument and saw crews setting up the jumbo-tron screens for the Ingaugural Concert on Sunday that promised a great line-up of entertainers. They will be performing from the Lincoln Memorial that was waaaay down the Mall. We also walked along the parade route and imagined what it was going to be like with the huge crowds expected and lining the streets on Tuesday afternoon. It is going to be awesome! Just like the Whistle-Stop Train ride the Obamas and Bidens took today with stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

We made it to DC

This morning we caught an 8:10am flight from El Paso to Baltimore, which sounds really easy until you realize that we were up until 2am getting to finally pack our bags and we had to get up at 5:30am to get on the road for the 40 mile trek to El Paso airport. American Airline was prompt, courteous and a really good deal since we used our credit card miles to purchase. We arrived on time and without delays, got a beautiful black Nissan SUV at Alamo and were on our way to DC via the Baltimore/Washington Parkway.



We wound our way to the capital trying to read the smallest type a map could ever have (they seem to shrink every year) and we had to stop and ask directions from only one Capital officer that knew we were lost tourists since we tried to drive down a restricted entrance. He was ever so helpful and we wished him good luck this weekend which he appreciated with a smile. We arrived at the Longworth House office building, where newly elected Congressman Harry Teague's office had Inauguration tickets waiting for us. Rich had to drop me off as we weren't sure where to park and our 6pm deadline was drawing near. I met down the hall fellow New Mexicans Representative Joni Gutierrez and Mary Gail Gwaltney as they were leaving the Congressman's office. So after saying a quick hello and good-bye, Art Terrazas continued his escort service from the stairway and back to the office with me in tow. It was great to see Congressman Teague's office running so smoothly and his staff working as if they had been there for years, protecting our welfare and interests. Too bad he wasn't elected sooner! After a short wait, I was overwhelmed when Mr. Terrazas presented the tickets, a commemorative program, and official pictures of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden. I once again realized the awesomeness of having such an outstanding new President! I could hardly say goodbye or show my deep appreciation for the help in securing these highly demanded tickets for this historical event.



We had a wonderful dinner with my cousin's son Elliott, who just moved to Maryland to work as a Naval Architect for the Naval Service Warfare Center and was gracious enough to let us crash his guest room for the long weekend. His great roommates, Adam and Danielle, add to the household of smart, hardworking young people that are the core of re-building our Country. This leads me back to the very talented and hard working staff that gave their heart and souls for months on end to organize the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) for Barack Obama. We were so privileged to work with such dedicated and smart young people, that created with their regional and national counterparts, a networking system so very impressive and obviously successful, that it made those of us who volunteered, feel that it was a very productive and valuable use of our time. We all bonded in a way that we really hadn't expected and the memories of which we will never forget. We look forward to seeing many of them Sunday night at a gathering just for the "Obama Inauguration Reunion Celebration" organized by and for the Las Cruces staff and volunteers, many of which came from other parts of the Country.

Our Journey to DC for the Inauguration

We wanted to share with everyone, that might be as excited as we are about the Inuguration of our 44th President Barack Obama, our adventure to Washington, DC for this historical event. Our journey really began this last summer when Barack Obama was selected as the Democratic nominee for President at the Denver Convention. Our Republican brother Kevin, living in Littleton, CO, hosted my Mom and sister Jan, who was a sponsor for the Convention representatives from New Mexico, to stay with him while they attended different events. Well that started the sisterly competition as we encouraged greater support for Barack Obama from friends, relatives and even die hard Republicans. Our Mom was the worst or best of all! She spoke to perfect strangers, wherever she was, about how desperately we needed change for our Country. She listens to Air America even more than we do and as Rachel Maddow needs to be "talked down", so did my Mom and at the request of my other siblings. She waited for hours with my other brother John and his wife Susan to see Barack Obama in Espanola and they all had sun burns to prove it.