4:30 Inauguration Day

I know that more than enough will be written about today's historic inauguration, about President Obama, the First Lady and their adorable daughters. I wasn't there on the Mall, on the steps of the Capitol, on the parade route, at one of the balls, but I was on the sofa.

First off, I woke up this morning at around 4:30 AM. I didn't mean to. I just did. I couldn't sleep, so I got up, trod in cold cat sick (gee, thanks Mr. Bojangles), and sat and watched local TV here in DC. I watched the lines at Metro stations, the lines to get into the parking lots at the end of the Metro rail system, the lines at the security checkpoints for the Mall. As soon as they were allowed on to the Mall, people ran, they hightailed to get a good spot. It may sound dopey, but it was uplifting to see people, bundled up, in the pre-dawn hours, breaking into a gallop in an effort to witness something that they wouldn't miss for the world.

There were people who'd driven over night to be there, some who'd spent practically a day or so just traveling by train or car. Some were alone, some with a dozen family members.

I spent some time channel surfing, and without exception, all the news anchors looked freezing, even in front of those scorching TV lights. They seemed genuinely shocked that they'd had trouble getting to work at 4 AM, which let's face it, under normal circumstances, they'd find a breeze.

While I was watching in the dark, the street lit up with the headlights of a neighbor's car - they were setting off for the Mall.

At 4:30 this morning, it seemed like everyone in the world was up and making their way to the Mall. My journey was to the sofa, with cat sick along the way.