This from last night, from Best Bud Philip:
"It's after 1 a.m. and since 11 pm people have been streaming down 14th street sometimes by the tens, by the hundreds and several times by the thousands complete with police escorts and with cars honking non-stop as everyone heads down to the whitehouse, which is about 6 blocks away. In my 20 years in the city, nothing like this has ever happened.
Truly amazing. Even more so when I think of the story my landlady told me when I moved into my apartment, about how she watched 14th street burn for three days as she hung out in this very same apartment soon after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in the late 60s.
I'm glad I'm getting to witness and participate in a celebration tonight...while listening for the first time in my memory, a president-elect holding out a hand across the aisle.
Philip."
*The photo is a view from Philip's apartment, which I took last May, when he graciously let us stay at his pad for a few days on the Pie in the Sky Tour of America.
"It's after 1 a.m. and since 11 pm people have been streaming down 14th street sometimes by the tens, by the hundreds and several times by the thousands complete with police escorts and with cars honking non-stop as everyone heads down to the whitehouse, which is about 6 blocks away. In my 20 years in the city, nothing like this has ever happened.
Truly amazing. Even more so when I think of the story my landlady told me when I moved into my apartment, about how she watched 14th street burn for three days as she hung out in this very same apartment soon after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in the late 60s.
I'm glad I'm getting to witness and participate in a celebration tonight...while listening for the first time in my memory, a president-elect holding out a hand across the aisle.
Philip."
*The photo is a view from Philip's apartment, which I took last May, when he graciously let us stay at his pad for a few days on the Pie in the Sky Tour of America.
1 comment:
There were several celebrations that broke out in DC and lasted nearly until morning. From two friends who gathered at the White House, my favorite image is that of people singing the "na-na-na-na...good-bye" song. I'm sure Bush had his earplugs in, but if not, you could almost picture him humming the tune the next morning, not quite sure why.
Personally, on Election Night I heard two singings of the national anthem, countless "Yes We Did"s, and even more car horns. Impressively, the police intervened only to get cars through crowds. Then, rather than shoo people away, they just shut down the streets and let people party. In many cases, the fuzz flashed thumbs-up and even exchanged in some high-fives. Amazing.
The northern end of the area along 14th Street that Philip describes has only in the past three years seen new construction replace some buildings that were ravaged in the post-MLK riots and never rebuilt. Four ugly decades waiting for change.
Oh, if only Tuesday night could have such a lasting impact the other direction.
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