Polianiac

I could not stand it… I had to get out there and see it for myself! I really am glad I went today because I have no idea what tomorrow will be like. I will say that today,  it never felt crowded and I was never cold. The people were all very happy and there was a true sense of “we are in this together”. It was a great day!

These pictures were taken between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. The roads were completely jammed with buses but as you can see, the National Mall was comfortably carnival-like. 

  I would die happy if I could figure out how to get this picture moved up to the first of this page… Oh well, I think if that is the worst problem I encountered today I am a lucky girl!

This morning I was surfing the morning cable news programs to see what the world is talking about. I stopped on Faux News. Absentmindedly I contemplated the program’s title, “America’s Newsroom”. Suddenly the voice of Megyn Kelly broke through my ponderings with something like, “It was not a plane crash more like a plane splash…”

My jaw dropped. Oh no, you did not just say that!  Unfortunately, she did.

I guess it sounded cute to Ms. Kelly. She does have a background in corporate litigation. Minimization is obviously important in that role. Or maybe Ms. Kelly was reading someone else’s words and merely performed on cue. I do not know. I have no idea who or what  would think this statement appropriate much less news-worthy… Obviously this morning someone at FNC did.

Let’s ask those 155 souls aboard US Airways flight 1549 if this was a “plane splash”. Let’s ask those people if this experience felt like the absolute best water park ride of their lives. Ask the pilot if he considered downing his plane in the Hudson River a “crash” or a “splash”. Ask them how it felt to survive  the “crash” then be immediately confronted with the very real possibility of drowning from the “splash”.

Fox News Channel needs to hire a couple of psychologists to assist them with their interpretations of news. Oh—but that idea would be predicated on the fact that FNC cares about people—cares about the lives of American citizens when airing a program called America’s Newsroom. Just slap me silly…

Denying human experience is not news. It is dangerous. It hurts and damages those whose experience one is entrusted to tell, share, disseminate. And finally, who gains from this revisionist telling? Certainly not the 155 American citizens onboard US Airways 1549.  For their sake, I truly hope none of them were tuned into America’s Newsroom  today during the 10 a.m. hour. 

It is now official: The District of Columbia and adjacent Maryland and Virginia counties are now projecting an existential “State of Emergency” to secure Federal funding for security needs for next week’s Inaugural activities. According to reports in this morning’s Washington Post, this declaration is based on anticipated crowd estimates which vary from 1.5 – 2 million energetic citizens. Let me offer this one piece of advice: Bring your Sense of Humor!

This morning’s Post  also announced a new service: Inauguration Survival Alerts. You can sign up for the latest, “closures, traffic jams, escape routes (yeah, I loved that one), mass transit issues, and more…” These alerts can be sent via email or mobile device. Another important link is to Washington Area Mass Transit Authority.  Once again, I will state on the record: These people are saints. In the case of the Inaugural, they are also your best hope. I did notice yesterday an increased state of seriousness within metro stations – especially as one agent demonstrated the difference between the “in-bound” and “out-bound” lanes to train platforms. For the record, it works just like any other intersection: a red arrow means “Wrong way –Stop!” Green signals “Keep moving forward!” Please don’t get in a hurry. It accomplishes only complete frustration.

500,000 are expected at the Lincoln Sunday for the free pre-inaugural concert featuring Bono, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and almost every other major music star in the universe. Honestly, this is going to be an incredible party and for those young enough to party down –go for it! I want pictures and video…

Enjoy!

This morning I watched President Bush’s last official news conference. I heard him use the word “disappointment” or one of its variants over and over again. When I looked up the word the meaning of “disappointment” was vague. I did not understand its significance until I read the Thesaurus entry: “Unhappiness caused by the failure of one’s hopes, desires, or expectations: discontent, discontentment, dissatisfaction, letdown, regret…”

I realized I was seeing and hearing the lived experience of disappointment  up close and personal. The experience evoked empathy but more importantly I found myself identifying with it. I owe President Bush a “Thank you” this morning. I need to thank him for bringing me to Jesus on this concept — one I have notoriously resisted with all my might.

My personal resistance to the concept of disappointment has not been a quiet one. For years this concept, even this word, has been problematic for me. I never seem able, much less capable, of expressing “disappointment”. For some reason it always felt like giving-in, resigning, acquiescing, or accepting failure. I do not know how to do that. Therefore I merely find myself being dragged there kicking and screaming all the way.

Yes, disappointment  is an appropriate word. Furthermore, until we face it we can not move beyond it. All your energy goes into denying its very existence—as opposed to moving forward. Therefore we get stuck — like quicksand.

We continually place artificial lines and boundaries on life events and by doing so we delimit the realm of possibility. The “discontent, letdown, and regret” come from our own perception that some-thing is over, done, finished… Well maybe not. Maybe it is the perception that must change. The horizon of possibility is limited only by our own imagination. Thank you President Bush for helping me understand that disappointment  does not in any way designate finality. Quite the contrary…