Kathleen's Journey to the Inauguration

Well, isn’t it only fitting that I would start my blog in the heart of the American south? Indeed, our journey started well before dawn when a Star Telegram photographer came to my mothers, Judge Maryellen Hicks’ home to commemorate what I hope will be a very excellent adventure!

Now I will not lie. I was rather underwhelmed to be driving to Washington, DC. My mother and I had shared a rather unpleasant plane trip to Africa a few years ago. She has not been on a plane since. Swept up in a moment of election night euphoria, my best friend Dr. Camille Rodriguez and I promised my dear mother that we would drive her to Washington, DC if Barack Obama won.

And so I find myself in Meridian. Nevertheless, it is a very small price to pay to be a very small piece of history. This past summer I had driven this very same route with my mother on yet another car trip. I remember fretting about whether this country could indeed elect an African-American president. Not even six months later, I find myself on my way to being apart of something I never thought possible – at least not in my lifetime.

Over the past week, I have talked to many Fort Worth residents who are making the same journey. One lady told me she would be leaving by bus at 1 am in the morning. Another was driving with friends. We all shared the same excitement, the same hope – that despite the economic woes that plague this country, the uncertainty of the future, we remained optimistic and, yes, we wanted to share in a new day for our country.

Until next time,

Kathleen