Out of the Darkness - Into the Light (part I - Finale)

It's a New Day - Obama's Inauguration!

4:30 AM - The alarm rings. Camille jumps out of bed and half sleepwalking/half getting dressed - she asks "Where am I?"

5:30 AM - Bodies pour out of every hotel door - bundled beyond belief but the energy is already hot. We all walk out into the pre-dawn darkness.

We wait for the public bus to transport us to the nearest Metro train station but instead the expensive shuttle bus company has sent its drivers to pick up everyone from the hotels for free for the day. The drivers were happy and proud they were part of helping Obama.

6:00am - The metro began to fill quickly, as we arrived at station after station, with sleep deprived, grinning faces.

On the train, you could hear pieces of chatter:

• " Can you believe it is TODAY?";
• " Where are you from?";
• "This is the happiest day";
• "I never thought this day would come".

The feelings were mutual between travelers.

AGAIN, we part from my mom as her security screening area is separate from mine and Camille's. We are off on separate trains. Although our seats are only about 200 yards apart, our entrances to the Capitol were almost 5 miles apart.

Camille and I disembark at Union Station where each inch of floor space is filled with people moving steadily outside to stand in 2 hour lines before reaching our ultimate destination.

We camp out for breakfast on a higher, less crowded floor. Meeting and greeting strangers - IT was beginning. IT was the start of a connection we would have forever without knowing each others names.

I felt as if I had been traveling in a foreign country for years and all of a sudden you hear some speaking your same language from home. You haven't heard it in a long time but it is exciting to hear something familiar, something you don't have to explain or translate. Except, I realize that this language is being spoken by everyone around me. It is the language of camaraderie, compassion and community and it is right here in America.

7:30 am - Camille and I join the moving masses and make our way outside of Union Station - into the light of day.