The Obama Rally

I was at the rally on Election Night, as I said in my last post.. (I got tickets, woooo!) I am still trying to put it all into words, and it is hard. It was a very emotional night, and I am so very glad I was there. There with hundreds of thousands of people, all together for one purpose. It was incredible. But you know, when I try to capture it in words, it is so very difficult. They float away, leaving images and feelings that words seem inadequate to describe. Is this what it is, to be part of history, to see it right before you?

The crowd was huge, so that you could not take it in with one glance, not if you were on the ground. Maybe from the air, but seeing from there isn't quite like being there. A sea of people, it was kind of like being on a canoe in the lake, and the waves bob you up and down, so that you can't much see save for brief, awe-inspiring flashes. There were no seats, and my friend Becka and I found a place on a hill to sit. She kept her little Fig Newton crisps; our subs we ate while waiting in line, because you weren't supposed to bring food or drink in. Hooray for cookie leniency! So we sat, and we made "hill buddies" of some of the people around us, talking with them throughout the night. There was a Jumbo-tron where CNN was being broadcast, and so we got those results. I also have web access on my phone, and was calling out election results courtesy of the New York Times.

Every time a new state was called we would roar, cheer, applaud. It was like the tide changing,k rushing, growing. Each state was like a wave, more water, a bigger roar. Then California. Just a little after 10pm, Central Time. And when the race was called, a prelude. Then, the announcement: McCain had conceded, and Obama would become the 44th President.

It was a wall of sound you could feel as much as hear. It shook through you.

We danced, we cheered. People hugged total strangers, screamed, sobbed. There was so much emotion that it was overwhelming. It was like the wall of sound, the rushing of it.

Then Obama gave his speech, and the crowd grew quiet. "Yes we can" was a chanted refrain, like a holy benediction. Tears flowed like quiet brooks. Maybe it's cliche, but it is the image that comes to my mind. And then, when Obama was done speaking, we went our ways, a reverent hush over us, that led only to cheers when we had begun to absorb what had happened.

I was there. Yes we did.

If you would like to see the pictures I took at the rally, with my cell phone, here is the link.

Obama Rally Photos