inauguration

So today we elected the first black president into office. I have a semblance of a lump in my throat, it's overwhelming what this means to me and countless others. It makes an enormous statement to us as a nation and us as a nation to the world. They are saying a large, large percentage of the voters that made this happen were young voters, that the margins were raised and we got out there and changed the face of history. I say "we" like I still might fit into the younger generation. But I must stand on the roof and shout to the heavens I AM PROUD TO BE ALIVE TODAY! Breathe Aaron.
So where were you when it happened? I was sitting in the coffee shop in Vancouver Washington. "Java House" on Columbia, across from 209 Riverview. I was sitting enjoying a cup of hot coffee as it is sunny and chilly outside this morning. I want you to know the exact time too. It is 10:18 a.m. I am on a barstool by the window and I hear a cappuccino being foamed behind me. I started outside in the mall area with my coffee and was checking my Facebook. I saw that a friend of mine was watching a live feed on CNN of the inauguration. So I clicked the link. Never before in my life would I have thought a lousy buffer of a live feed would take my breath away. I saw a sea of people in the mall at Washington. All of them there to listen. I saw a live feed on the right hand side of my screen, my Facebook friends that were watching the feed were able to type in comments. Part of me was stunned at the magnitude of the event, the amount of people in D.C, the feeling that my friends were there with me...online.
Shortly after the feed started on my Macbook I found two guys wanting to share the feed. Perfect strangers walked over and chatted and watched the feed of the 44th President making a speech. Eventually I closed up the laptop and wandered inside the coffee shop and watched the little tv set up inside. There was a group of people doing the same. We watched in happy silence with two men muttering to each other.
Today January 20, 2009 is the day. I love that it will be taught to our children in their classrooms. I love that it's going to go in books. I love that the media is going to eat it up and feed and re-feed it to the public. Because we each have our own reasons for how great it is to be alive today. We each see why this means so much and opens so many doors for various reasons. Because he's black. Because America voted for him. Because a large voting margin was younger than usual. It means that many "minorities" will get more involved without limitations or pause. Remember what Rosa Parks did?
I was here. I saw it happen. I saw Barack Obama address a nation. My heart is happy and full of pride.

Pepino's

What's better than people watching? A good spot on Hawthorne with good food, personality and location. Pepino's delivers this for me and I sat there this afternoon. Eating my Thai Chicken wrap with tortilla chips. I squeezed lime over the orange colored wrap, then poured a brown sauce over the top of that. I settled into a booth and placed my Grisham novel on the table next to my meal with good intentions of finishing my reading. The best part of a book? The beginning, the middle and the end. I never got there. I took my first bite of a meal I used to have from Pepino's once a week. I figured my endurance to spicy food must have worn thin as I felt my head get warm, my lips start to get warm and some mild perspiring began to settle in with my chewing. Maybe I got the wrong sauce, but it was hitting the spot on this rainy afternoon. The booth was situated facing the window and I watched in wonder as the people trudged up and down Hawthorn. Not many, maybe just a smattering but enough to keep my curious eyes occupied. Sometimes the best companion for a meal is a good book. It was. It sat there quietly on the table taking in the same sights I was taking in. We saw a man sitting behind and above us in those big thick Buddy Holly glasses, his face unshaven, wearing a v-neck sweater with a hoody underneath it. I think I could guess his overcoat would be plaid and probably green. Another man outside caught my eye because he had a funky umbrella that was probably a kids umbrella. I realize that you may be waiting for the food report, but the sights were as catching and as fetching as the food. I am thinking to myself Gypsies! Gypsies are walking the streets of Hawthorne. I love them. They are a mix of hipsters who buy clothes from second hand stores or possibly from a high end store all in the interest of sticking out in a crowd? Expressing their individuality? You tell me. I do not know but it's a piece of Portland I hope never changes. Beyond that? Go try one of their wraps. It's on Hawthorne by the theatre and across from Freddies. Oh and if you need a Freddies with the best people ever? It's on Glisan. Even better, if you need electronics from a Freddies? Go to the one on Glisan and look for a lady named Eileen. She is amazing and defines what good service is. I guarantee it. Bye for now.