Nicely Put

There are many things to be said about the inauguration and our new President. I don' t think I could say my observations and thoughts if I tried. A few snippets:

I am very proud of the 1.4 million people who made the effort to be in D.C. They got up hellaciously early, stood in the 20-some-odd degree weather for hours and dispursed without a single arrest. Well done.

I thought the benediction was great. A little long, but just fine. For those of us who grew up with long winded black preachers, it felt like home. I particularly enjoyed the unabashedly 60's vibe in the part about different colors of people. I'm all for a bit of humor, especially if it makes a point.

Another reminder of black churches: Aretha's hat. Seems that there was some talk about that hat and how it competed for attention with her singing. Well, I wasn't watching her sing, I was listening. When Aretha sings, you listen. And as far as big hats go, that was downright restrained compared to many I saw while going to church. Black women be wearin' hats...

The President's speech (so fun to not have to say President Elect!!) had the right tone even though a lot of us were looking for the next big quotable oratory a la JFK. What I took from it was it's time for some tough decision making and for people to pull together for the common good. It will not be a quick process, but we will remake America's image into something we can all be proud of. I'm in.

I get a little daily sports digest from Len Berman (less irritating brother of Chris). It is fairly entertaining and free, so what the heck. This is an excerpt from this morning's email. I think it is nicely put:

"Sad to see how frail Muhammad Ali looked as he took his seat at the inauguration. And ironic. He was a "hero" to black Americans much like Magic Johnson who was also there yesterday. Names like Joe Louis, and Jackie Robinson quickly come to mind. How many sports stars had to assume the role of "hero" over the years? Yesterday, the torch was finally passed to a President."