In about 19 hours, Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States, and finally, FINALLY, we'll have the oh-so-sweet opportunity to watch George W. Bush board a helicopter back to Texas.
Unfortunately, I won't be joining the more than 2 million people expected to attend the Inauguration ceremony live in D.C. I'll be sitting right here in my living room, taking it all in via MSNBC.
Perhaps I should feel lucky. Cell companies are asking those in Washington to go easy on texting, twittering, status-updating, and talking, worried the network will be utterly overwhelmed by the crowds. Many of the companies have dispatched extra portable cell towers to the area to try to cope with the situation, but still say cell blackouts are a possibility.
In addition, D.C. area transit authorities are wondering how an already overcrowded transit system will be able to handle the sudden influx in passengers, especially when forecasters now say it's expected to snow at the nation's capital. Two of the Metro's closest stations will be closed, 150 blocks around the area will be blocked off, bikes and cars will not be allowed within 2 miles of the mall, and every single person will be individually screened and searched.
As if all that weren't bad enough, only 5,000 portable toilets will be available in the area. That's 1 for every 400 people.
Photo by Pete Souza- President Obama's official White House photographer.
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And I wish we could watch this on our safo together a in days of old. Oh well - we'll talk!
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