With two million others from around the country and the world, our aunt and uncle, Frances and Alan Wiener, made the pilgrimage to Washington for Inauguration Day. Francie said she packed "all my Obama buttons" and hit the road in the company of friends. From there, "it was really all about talking to a million people and
hearing their stories...such joy." With everyone, they took in the day--"amazing and exhilarating...exhausting and freezing!!"--and attended a ball, "but we left before the Obamas arrived." Other best moments: "Aretha's
hat--LOVED it! Watching the helicopter depart with roars of happiness
from the crowd...Michelle's
sunshine outfit...the poem." From that poem, Elizabeth Alexander's "Praise Song for the Day," I quote: In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air/
any thing can be made, any sentence begun. Dear readers, what are your words for the day? Please post!
How exciting to be in D.C. at such a time! Here in Wyoming, where only 33% of the voters voted for Obama (that's the lowest rate in all the 50 States), where an acquaintance told me if Obama wins she will move to Canada, where a 7 year old child told me "Obama kills children", where the Cheney's came after they left D.C., arrived at the Legislature and were given a standing ovation, I thought of these lines from Emily Dickinson: "When I hoped, I recollect/Just the place I stood -/At a window facing West-/Roughest Air-was good-/Not a sleet could bite me-/Not a frost could cool-/Hope it was that kept me warm-/Not Merino shawl-/..." Of course, I was facing East, not West...and I thought of it this way...one out of every 3 of us voters here in Wyoming, helped made this happen!! Thank you for asking...Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne Manzer | January 23, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Jeanne - are you a big Emily Dickinson fan? I must know! I'm a bit obsessed right now, reading her poems straight through and will be sad when I get through all 1,789 of them. I listened to the inauguration on the radio, sitting in a car with Sharon Estacio at UVM - I loved Nancy Pelosi's welcome, a woman welcoming the world to a new era, and the final benediction, which made me cry. Obama himself was stern stuff, but I'm enjoying the speech more and more as I rehear clips of it!
Posted by: Clare | January 26, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Clare...My undergraduate degree was in English. That was a million years ago! I always liked Emily Dickinson. The first year we were married (32 years ago) we spent with Bill's family. His sisters and sister in laws all got lovely Christmas gifts from their husbands...some expensive jewelry, some pieces of furniture, some gorgeous clothing. Bill gave me THE COMPLETE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON. I could see/feel that none of them understood that gift...but to me, it was the most romantic gift of all the gifts given that first Christmas that I was part of the Manzer Family. They all received material things...but I was given something spiritual/intellectual... And that touched me and bonded me to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. I still have that volume right in front in one of our book cases...it has never been moved to make room for newer books. And I HAVE noticed you quoting her on your web site. Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne | January 26, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Correction: We spent our first Christmas with Bill's family...not our first year with them. And that first New Year's Eve we spent with your Byrne Grandparents out at Forest Lake! Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne | January 26, 2009 at 05:24 PM
Corrwection: We spent our first Christmas with Bill's Family, not our first year with them. And that first New Year's Eve we spent with your Byrne Grandparents out at Forest Lake. Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne Manzer | January 26, 2009 at 05:27 PM