Thursday, November 20, 2008

Inaugural Excitment

Having lived in DC and it's surrounding areas for most of my life, I have been hear here for approximately eight presidential inaugurations. I do not recall this level of excitement. The only thing approaching it is my recollection of the first Reagan inauguration, but that is in part because that was the first one that my mother and her friends decided to take their kids down to and while I sort of remember the parade, I remember that the crowds were nuts afterwords and we got separated from one of the families and ended up trying to find our way home via bus (the metro was not as robust at that time.)
So, all of this is build up to say that I don't know if the 24 hour news cycle has increased the perception of the hype, but that anticipation is nuts. Nuts. My friend has about four family members coming to crash in her one bedroom apartment because hotels from Frostburg, MD to York, PA are booked. Booked solid. People are renting out their apartments and couches for crazy amounts of money. It makes me simultaneously thrilled and ready to hibernate for January.