Michael and Ruthie's adventure in Paris
Obama Inauguration
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January 20th
Where were you for the inauguration?
Ruth Anne and I were on the Left Bank in Paris at a little Scottish Pub called The Highlander. Ah - but I get ahead of myself.
We started the day as usual,
View into our courtyard from the bedroom
had breakfast, then down the eight flights of stairs to floor 0
and out the door down rue des Pyrénées to the metro. We got off at the end of the line at Chatelet.
Crossing the Seine - Ruth Anne looking at Pont Neuf
The day was one with low clouds and moody light
We decided to find the pub in advance of the evening. We passed Pont Neuf bridge - in English the 'New Bridge', ironically the oldest bridge crossing the Seine.
Pont Neuf lamp detail
Looking at the Pont Neuf I thought optimistically - Obama may be our 'New Bridge'
The Highlander was just past the Bridge where Quai de Grands Augustins becomes Quai de Conti. The street running along the Seine seem to change names with every turn of the river. There it was at 8 Rue Nevers.
The Pub didn't open till 3 p.m. and the inauguration didn't start till about 5 p.m. but we figured it would probably be crowded, we thought let's get there no later than 4:30. We had four hours. After a discussion and a viewing of the map, we decided to try out a restaurant we had heard about in the area called Le Pre' Verre, it was on 8, Rue Thénard. In the neighborhood sort of. A couple of miles to the fifth.
A Russian Orthodox church on the way
Mosaic detail over the door
Le Pre' Verre
After lunch we slowly wended our way through the ever fascinating streets of Paris.
La rue Mouffetard - we lived near here in 2002
We finally arrived back at The Highlander just in time to grab the last two remaining seats at the bar.
Quickly the place filled up. There were so many people jammed in if one person sneezed everyone's nose ran.
I reached up to scratch my forehead and someone across the room said 'A little more to the right'.
At any other time, seeing the straining looks at the TV sets scattered on several walls, I would have assumed this was an important sporting event. But this is where many of the English speaking community, the folk, the young, the Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Irish, Scots and Yanks were here, bringing with them a potpourri of English accents. They all came to hear the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States. Perhaps politics in one sense is a highbred of sports and theater. We cheered every time Obama's name was mentioned, as though our team had scored a major victory, and we booed when George Bush's name was mentioned, as though he were the mustached Villain from the Silent Cinema. When Obama gave his speech the crowd was silent, straining to hear every word. Listening to the stern forecast of the obstacles that he described that we must face - but always emphasizing that we face them together and through our common interest and care we will succeed. One of the many parts of his speech that rang true to me:
"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."
And when he said,
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers", a spontaneous cheer burst forth from the crowd. For the first time a modern president acknowledged and included us 'non-believers'. We are finally citizens!!
I have heard from some of my friends that it wasn't his greatest speech. It did the job for me! I felt moved, inspired and proud to be a part of the story he wove with what I think were eloquent and perceptive words.
Ruth Anne and I left the The Highlander a little tipsy from our Guinness and elated by the crowd, but mostly by those moving words that still swam through our bodies and our thoughts.