We awoke this morning at 3:30. We carefully layered all of our clothing, packed snacks in every orifice on our coat, packed our hand and feet warmers, and set out to the metro at 4:00 am. We were able to get downtown to our destination in 30 minutes, although our metro stop looked like something out of Deep Impact. We met our team at our designated meeting spot, and set out to find our post. Our job was to give people a "plus experience," which is a Disney term meaning to find a way to make people's experiences a little better. We were to greet people, smile, give directions, lend some encouragement, and just be available. We were just two blocks away from the capitol, and at the end of a long tunnel where thousands of people were pouring out. Shortly after we arrived, at roughly 6:30 am, most of our team left us because they were too cold. It was in the single digits this morning, but we were warm since we planned (and spent money on warm items) accordingly. Erica and I, among just a few others, stayed until 11 am helping people. To say that we helped nearly 10,000 people today would be a fair statement.
We were told that we would get food vouchers, a warming tent, and hand warmers for volunteering. After our team captain left us an hour into our time, we realized these things would never be coming for us. But these small inconveniences paled in comparison to what we witnessed from others.
People were generally in good spirits, although as the day wore on, people became more and more frustrated. Getting information--current, correct information--to people became impossible because phone lines weren't working. As volunteers, we were signed up for text messages when information changed, but we rarely got the messages in a timely fashion (even if we got them at all). Most people didn't have tickets, and were another 30 minutes away from the mall when we greeted them. People were tired, sick, cold, confused, and frustrated, but thankful we were there to help them along their way. For those who had tickets, we were able to find accurate information to get them to their entrances, but misinformation from others often forced them to backtrack 30-45 minutes. Many were not happy. We learned that many people who had tickets were turned away, sometimes even when they arrived four hours earlier.
There were a number of people with whom we interacted that we'll never forget: a 70-year-old African American woman who looked completely exhausted who told us that she marched further for civil rights and she wasn't going to stop short of seeing the first black president inaugurated, a husband and wife with two little children begging us for information on how to leave the city because they couldn't take the crowds anymore, a woman who waited for what seemed like forever to receive medical attention behind us because it took so long for medical crews to get through the crowds, and the tiny little boy who gave me a high-five and said "Obama!"
We left our post promptly at 11:00 to try to catch a jumbotron somewhere near the mall. It took us 30 minutes to walk just a few blocks. We couldn't get anywhere near the mall, and found ourselves surrounded by people--not moving, mind you--with no escape route in sight. We did what we could to find some clearance, and after what felt like an hour, we made it out to some clearing, just in time to find a metro station and catch the train home. We watched most of the inauguration proceedings (Obama's speech, etc.) from our phone with Sprint's live TV. We made it home just in time to catch the tail end of Obama's speech on the regular TV. And fall down exhausted in our bed to watch the rest.
We feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to help, in whatever way that we did, so many people. Even though we didn't get to "see" the inauguration, we feel as though we experienced it in a very meaningful and memorable way.
Below are some highlights from The Washington Post and a couple DC news sources regarding the crowds:
At 14th Street and Madison Drive NW, a crowd of thousands chanted "Let us out!" when barriers blocked them from leaving. Later, hundreds of people poured over a knocked-down fence near 15th Street, as National Guard soldiers let them pass.
On 18th Street NW, hundreds of people were using a novel strategy to escape the crush. When a siren-blaring ambulance passed, they ran behind it, taking advantage of the space it was clearing. The crowd was chanting Obama's name.
At 12th Street and Indiana Avenue NW, thousands moshed in gridlock, trying to turn north on 12th, just looking for a way around the security cordon. Several people were thrown to the ground as the crowd pushed them over curbs and between Jersey barriers. Parents screamed at kids to stay connected to family chains.
Overall, Washington area hospitals treated 350 people transported for medical emergencies ranging from hyperthermia to possible stroke during the Inaugural activities today, the D.C. Department of Health reported.
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