Politex

Forever memories

Today is our last day in Washington. We are visiting the Smithsonian American History Museum and the Museum of Natural History. Earlier today we made a quick stop by the World War II Memorial. Then we went to the Capitol and met with Congresswoman Kay Granger. We are now waiting for our bus and headed to the airport to go back home. This was a trip that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and none of us will ever forget it.

Inauguration 2009 contributor Madison Franke, Arlington Heights senior, Fort Worth

All in all a great day

Today. What a day. What a typical tourist day I should say. We started out the morning in the Library of Congress. Now that's a cool place. I actually saw the original copy of Common Sense! And Thomas Jefferson's library he donated to start the library back in the day. Then we hopped on our bus to the archives and saw the Declaration of Independence. Or what's left of it. Honestly the only thing you could still really see was the John Hancock of John Hancock. Sadness. But to think I actually saw the Declaration, Magna Carta and Bill of Rights is mind blowing. Then we ate cold leftover pizza for lunch on our bus. Delicious. Then we hiked to the Hart Building, which is some of the senators' offices, in hope of meeting one of our fine Texas senators but were sadly dissappointed :( BUT we get to meet our congresswoman tomorrow in the capitals visitor center!

Wait... maybe we ate the cold pizza after the Hart Building. Goes to show how big of an impression our "lunch" made on me. But I do remember now that we went to the original Smithsonian museum where Mr. Smithson's crypt is BEFORE the Library of Congress. Next we went to see Honest Abe in his chair, which always an impressive sight. We also saw the Vietnam memorial, which is breathtaking.

You know what another breathtaking thing is???? Having to chase down your own bus!!! Me and a few others took a little bit longer to admire the memorials and the bus was apparently in a spot where it could not park! So our Smithsonian tour guide Christopher Frank waited for us and then showed us how our bus was a moving target about a block away and the only thing that was keeping it within jogging distance was traffic! So we prayed for a red light and hustled down to the bus and ending up running/galloping to the bus and hopped on in the middle of a traffic jam! Cutting it close is an understatement. Apparently these things only happen to me or when I'm within a 2-mile radius. But nevertheless we made it and carried on to dinner. Which was spaghetti. Way better than this "Tex-Mex" stuff and better than cold pizza or another cheeseburger. I really want some enchiladas and a good home-cooked meal.

After dinner we went to Madame Tussaudes wax museum. How creepy but awesome! My grandfather and stepgrandma who live in Maryland actually met up with us for dinner and toured the wax museum with us, which was really nice because I hardly ever get to see them. But the figures we awesome. It apparently takes 350 HOURS to just sculpt the figures! RIDICULOUS! I couldn't do it. No way, Jose! But after a few hours of posing with our founding fathers and celebrities we crawled back onto the bus and rode "home" to our hotel to pack our bags and get some rest for another jam packed day and plane ride back to Tejas! But secretly we are all praying for snow so we don't have to go back to school on Friday but the majority of the heights kids are passing illnesses to each other so by Friday I'm betting we'll all be sick and conveniently unable to attend school on Friday. ;)

All in all. Great day.

Inauguration 2009 contributor Morgan Alexander, Arlington Heights High School junior, Fort Worth

And a Bud sighting, too

Inauguration 2009 Contributor Madison Franke of Arlington Heights High School, adds that when the group visited Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's office after the Library of Congress, they met up with Star-Telegram Metro columnist Bud Kennedy before heading to the National Archives.

"We wrapped up our day by finding an Obama store and buying souvenirs to take home," she texts.

The high school group returns to Fort Worth on Thursday.

-- Posted by Linda P. Campbell, Star-Telegram Editorial Writer/Columnist

A whirlwind tour of Washington

After yesterday's very long and treacherous day, my roommate, Shelby Leonard, and I were extremely exhausted. The very first thing that was on our minds when we arrived at the hotel was taking a nice warm shower and hopping into our big comfy beds. And that's exactly what we did.
As soon as our heads hit our pillows at 6:30 p.m., we were fast asleep. Waking up this morning at 7:15  wasn't so hard, except that we missed our 6:30 a.m. wakeup call and had to be on the bus -- leaving -- by 7:30. What a rush! We were just thankful that we didn't have to wake up at 3 in the morning and had a chance to "sleep in."

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Castle. There wasn't much to see, but it was absolutely beautiful, inside and out. While we were there, Shelby and I got some souvenir pennies with a print of the Smithsonian Castle on it. We think they're really cool.

Our second stop was at the Library of Congress. I was extremely excited! It was as if we head just stepped into the scenes of one of my favorite movies, National Treasure. And the funny thing was that when we pulled up to the library, several news stations were there along with the star of National Treasure, Nicolas Cage! Apparently, since he was already in D.C. for the inauguration, they decided to take a quick stop by the library to take pictures.

As we walked into the library, it reminded me of the gorgeous buildings of Italy with all of the breathtaking carvings and the colorful painted ceilings. It just put us all in awe imagining how time-consuming it must've been to carve and paint every little bit of detail. It was beautiful! While we were at the library, we were able to walk around on our own. Being two of the more curious ones in our group, Shelby and I of course wandered off exploring every inch of the library.

During our little adventure, we found ourselves meeting some of the students that go to the school which is located above the library. They said that, in order to attend the school, you have to be represented by a member of Congress. After getting to know them, we all took pictures with each other and exchanged Facebooks (it's funny how easy it is to become good friends with different people throughout the nation).

After we left the library, we took a short trip to our third stop at the Hart Office Building and met our senator and got to see her office.

We then rode the bus to our next destination at the National Archives, where we took a 45-minute wait outside in the freezing, 20-degree weather (at least we had a little bit of sun, unlike yesterday). The very first thing we went to see when we got inside was the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
Shelby and I then watched a short film on democracy. After we all left, we went sightseeing where we got to see the Lincoln Memorial (It was huge!) and the Vietnam Memorial.

It was crazy to see the ridiculous amount of names that were listed on the wall of all the soldiers who had passed away fighting for our country.

We also got the chance to take turns standing in the exact same spot at Martin Luther King Jr. had when he made his famous "I have a dream ... " speech.

Starving for some good food, we stopped at an Italian restaurant called The Italian Eatery. Yumm!  After we were done with our dinner, we went to the wax museum. It's really cool how people are able to form wax to look exactly like a real person. After about an hour, we finally all jumped on the bus and headed back to the hotel. As of now, I am back in my room preparing myself for a good night's sleep.

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor Elizabeth Boswell, Arlington Heights High School, Fort Worth

Renewed and ready for positive change

What an amazing experience this has been! Tuesday was the never-ending day as we wearily trudged back to the hotel after the balls at 2 a.m.! Indeed, below is a picture of my uncle IP, who was my escort for the night taking a quick nap on the Metro.

But what an experience! First Lady Michelle Obama looked exhausted by the time she and the president reached the Southern Ball around midnight. But the diverse crowd of over 4,000 was enthralled, and so was I.

We also got to hear Vice President Biden graciously thank everyone for their support. Even after returning back to the hotel, I could not help but watch the television coverage. I have never seen so many people come together in such a positive and remarkable way. During this trip, we have met and seen countless Americans who are so hopeful about our future. We saw friends who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina but were determined to share this moment in history and drove here 22 hours almost non-stop.

At the inauguration, I sat next to Palestinian-Americans who, despite the continued tormoil in the Middle East, remain optimistic. And so I leave Washington, D.C., feeling renewed. I thank the Star-Telegram for this opportunity to share this remarkable journey through this forum. I look forward to continuing to work with many other folks to bring positive and lasting change to our community. As President Obama urged us last night "let's go change America!"

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor Kathleen Hicks, Fort Worth City Council member 

An event of events

Participating in a Presidential Inaugural set of events is a rather exhausting activity for even the most hardy of souls. Particularly with this Inauguration of the historic first African-American President, it was an event of events.  This fact alone easily accounted for part of the many more American patrons who were present than ever before, perhaps as many as two million. 

My friends reading this article already know, but you who do not know me should be told that it is written by a confirmed Republican who loves his nation and its rich heritage. I am able to rejoice in all things that plead for hope and encouragement for the people, regardless of what political party lays claim to proposing such initiatives. I rejoice that America has elected a Black American President, and would have been so pleased if a viable Republican had ridden that horse to victory. I support my President with all good intentions, and I am glad to have been present with my wife, Suzanne.

The reports you probably have read let you know of the incredible crush of people who thronged to central Washington, D.C., to get a glimpse of history in the making. So many, many were not able to get through to a place where they could have a sightline to the Capitol. We were privileged to have tickets from Congresswoman Kay Granger's office admitting us to the Blue Ticket standing area that was perhaps 200 to 300 yards from the main platform. A couple of large screens enabled those more distant from the platform to see images they could recognize.

Though my photographs captured the Capitol and colorful flags draping the large background, due to my distance from the platform, I was relegated to taking photos mostly of interesting people as they walked around trying to find a place to view the proceedings.  People are most interesting, I think, and I believe quite a few diverse people were captured for my files to give a flavor of the gathered adoring audience. 

President Obama's speech cited new directions and hopes for his Administration. Both former President Bush and Vice President Cheney were seated there, as well as other former Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton. Many other political leaders and former officials also were seated there. 

The swearing-in ceremony was somewhat brief, the whole program taking about an hour.  hat was followed by a large luncheon for President and Mrs. Obama in a secluded hall of the Capitol with many significant personages present. The Presidential Parade left the Capitol circa 2:30 p.m. and wound slowly to the White House, including separate times when Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden disembarked from their cars to walk in the street and to greet those lining the parade route. The parade lasted till about 5:00 p.m. and included the usual quota of colorful bands and floats. 

That evening, there were many Presidential Balls, and the Obama’s visited, danced and spoke at 10 of them!  

At the Texas Society of Washington, D.C.'s Black Tie & Boots Ball, among the many people we met there included an African-American couple and their family from Atlanta, Ga., who were vendors selling historic and patriotic posters, Mr. & Mrs. (Delores) Napper. 

One particular poster inspiring them and about which they embellished for our benefit was the 1989 painting by Atlanta artist Joel Gresham. Mr. Gresham painted an African-American man seated on a park bench reading a newspaper which reflected the bold headline, "AMERICA ELECTS ITS FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT." Our friends, the Nappers, know in their hearts that this was a God-given prophesy to the artist, and they wanted to be a part of helping to celebrate that prophetic image as being fulfilled in this time and day. As we visited about it, we brought up to them that 1989 was when the Berlin Wall fell, symbolizing a vast victory for freedom, and that somehow in God's providence, perhaps Mr. Gresham's inspiration had connection to that event of the new freedom in Europe.

We were happy to purchase a copy for ourselves, and the Nappers assured us that all rights for it go with the purchase, so I include it with this article, along with some photographs of the Nappers. 

 

 

 

 

 

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor D.A. Sharpe, Aurora, TX

Post-inauguration tourists

Fort Worth high school students Madison Franke, Caydee Jennings, Presley Hall, Chandler Searcy and Allie Jennings at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

-- Photo from Inauguration 2009 Contributor Samuel A. Wilson, Southwest High School teacher, Fort Worth 

Thawed after a surreal day, students head out in search of national treasures

Yesterday was the coldest day of my life. Period. I don't believe it reached above 20 degrees. But it was worth it. It was so surreal. We got into the city about 6 a.m. and jumped off the bus and walked to the Mall. It was a mad house. It was pitch black outside, and thousands of people were rushing to the same place as if a natural disaster had just occurred and we were all trying to escape from Godzilla or something.

But we made it to the Mall with all 41 of us safely, but somewhat frozen. The standing was miserable, but once the inauguration started and all of the political leaders of our country started to arrive, everyone forgot it. The crowds were buzzing when the ex-presidents entered but were oddly silent except for boos when 43 made his appearance. We were all shocked that our president of eight years was not given any kind of respect his last few minutes of presidency.

But Biden was swiftly sworn in, and then it was Obama's turn. We stood with millions of people in the freezing weather and watched the first African-American president of the U.S. stumble over the second line of the oath. We witnessed history. Surreal. Once the inauguration was over, all hell broke loose.

The majority of the roads were closed because of the parade, which made getting out impossible. We walked among millions for three hours in the freezing wind trying to get to our bus. We must have walked in circles and turned around at least three or more times. It took some serious composition on our parts to keep from breaking down and pretty much crying. I'd never been so excited to see a tour bus.

We were supposed to go to Pentagon City and Madame Tussaud's, butttttt there was absolutely NO WAY. So we went back to our hotel an ordered pizza and dethawed for the rest of the night. My roommates and I fell asleep at 8:30 p.m. which is 7:30 at home. That's how exhausted we were. A few of the boys went straight to bed and didn't even wake up for pizza!  BOYS!

Today, we had to be on the bus by 7:30 a.m., which is better than 4:20, but we were all dragging our sore, wind-burned and exhausted bodies. But we made it. Now, we're on the way to the city to the National Archives and Library of Congress and who knows what else. But we're all excited to see the Declaration of Independence and secretly planning our own version of National Treasure.

F.Y.I., Yankee coffee sucks.

And California Tortilla is a sad substitute for Freebirds. 

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor Morgan Alexander, Arlington Heights High School junior, Fort Worth 

No exit strategy

So we are completely heaped in the city with no way out. The street is block, it's freezing cold and windy. We finally after two hours escaped the openness of the Mall and are huddled together with 10,000 others in L'Enfant Plaza Metro station.

City security really dropped the ball on an exit strategy for the masses,

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor Samuel A. Wilson, teacher, Southwest High School, Fort Worth

How crowded is it in D.C.?

Here's a view leaving the Metro station headed to the swearing-in ceremon: a journey that normally takes 15 minutes took almost 4 hours!

-- Inauguration 2009 Contributor Kathleen Hicks, Fort Worth City Council member