With the crowds at the 2009 Presidential Inaugural, It was important to plan, scout, and choose wisely. I don’t want to hear any argument about crowd sizes but I know I was in a big crowd. Me and 2 million of my closest friends. Our goal was to get as close to the podium as we could. After arriving long before sunrise and making a huge hike to get to the National Mall we knew we were not going to be close. We tried to scout out seats near a giant screen but that also proved to be impossible. As much as I wanted to be a part of the experience, I also wanted to actually see something. We took a chance and sent some of our students with a teacher from another school in Minnesota. This is where you ask, how long did we know these teachers and students? The simple answer is about 2 hours. Not only did we send them off with that group to scout out a good place, but I also sent my only child with the group. At some point in the morning, I got a call from my wife asking how it was going. I said fine but there was a long pause on my side when she asked to speak to Kaila. Kaila didn’t answer her phone so Dawn called me. I just said she was looking for a place on the parade route. Dawn asked how far away she was and if could I give her the phone. I casually said, she is about a mile away along Pennsylvania looking for a good spot. I won’t say exactly what she said but I will say there was no call for that kind of language. We did get a spot at about 9th and Pennsylvania and were within 30 feet of President Obama on the parade route. It was cold so he only got out and walked for a short time but it was in front of us. It was a powerful adventure for me and the students and one I will never forget.
