new day

i've been looking forward to this day, like so many other folks, for a long time. so many of my experiences echo those already left here. i, too, grew up in the south, in memphis, tennessee. one of my clearest memories as a child is the assassination of john kennedy. five short years later, dr. martin luther king, jr. was murdered in my hometown. then came the killing of bobby kennedy on the verge of promise and hope for america.

i have heard the question, where were you?, in regard to numerous tragedies in my lifetime. one reason i wanted to start this blog was to change that, to ask where were you about a positive, celebratory event in our history. another was to give people a place to share their experiences. i hope you will be moved to share yours.

my inauguration day started with a wake-up phone call at 7am [thank you, monica!]; the snooze alarm had already gone off a third time. my partner and i roused out of bed, made coffee and hit the road, i in my robe. we traveled the seven miles into town to olympia's capitol theater where we were lucky enough to have seats saved [thanks again, mon!]. there we watched history in the making, saw the millions of smiling, crying people on the capitol mall and felt a kinship with them.

it was amazing to be among and share this moment with so many people within my community there in that crowded theater. there were cheers, tears and a sense of hope for this new day.
Mian [Olympia, WA, US]


Kimya Dawson performing after President Obama's swearing in
Capitol Theater, Olympia, WA
photo credit: Berd at Oly Blog