Megan Boyle’s Blog

OK, it is time for a taste of real America: the Capitol Crass Consumerism Report.

What I’ve seen so far:

-    The President Obama bobblehead: If I were the President-elect, I would mandate a handsome bobblehead, with a six pack. This one is a bit like Hines Ward, with an Obama hairpiece.

-    The Obama-Biden gray hoodie: A cozy,  thick zip-up with charcoal-type drawings of the running mates, split by a shiny zipper. I can see this one worn by everyone in the Biden family Christmas card.

-    The Drink Menu at the President Sports Bar at the Renaissance Hotel (by the way, Chicago needs an elected officials’ sports bar, or a Blago Hair Salon or a Governor’s State Prison). Here are some excerpts:

* The 44th – The newly elected libation of vodka and fresh raspberries.
* Obama-Me – Time for a change? Fresh berries, vodka and a hint of pineapple.
* O-Biden! – A Vice Presidential Delight with rum, pineappple and champagne.

Cheers to the new administration!

A thought: If you get shut out of the parade and PA Avenue activities Tuesday, this hotel is a few blocks of the parade route. Food and desserts are terrific (super she-crab soup), there is a very good children’s menu, a plethora of TVs in a handsome, wood-paneled setting. The walls are full of large, wonderful photographs of Presidents in sports-mode: Kennedy swimming at Choate, FDR sailing, Richard Nixon bowling. Kids can make a game of naming the Presidents pictured in these carefree poses.

The Obama photographs will be introduced Monday, according to staff.  Sure to be some Hoop Dreams shots there. Something tells me the baseball pics of the Bushes are about to be moved to the outfield.

We have arrived. Airport not too bad. On our way to our hotel. Very festive here. Pennsylvania Avenue is strewn with bleachers and port-a-potties. They say there are 5,000. Bunting and flag trios are smartly lashed to the light poles.

Traffic is slow moving, but moving. On the approach to the airport, you can see the constructed wooden grandstands and the mall, stretching far. If it is filled, it will be a mass of humanity.

Long before there was a Barack Obama or even a Martin Luther King, the Constitution mandated that the President take the oath of office on January 20th.  So it is somewhat coincidental that the Inauguration of our first African American President and the holiday honoring the civil rights leader who gave his life for this cause, coincide.  The connection is sweet and bitter and it is that sense of injustice righted that inspired me to make the trek to Washington this weekend.

I know it is a holiday weekend at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The glitches have begun. My first flight to DC delayed and canceled. The. cautious pilot, unwilling to risk another “Miracle on the Hudson” in subzero temperatures, decided we needed auxiliary power to get there.  Thank you, United!

Glitch-free never described the path to equality in America, either. It was one ugly trip, a fact lost on some of our children.  I do not fear this path is destined to repeat itself, though, by their lack of knowledge.  I am hoping (there’s that word again) that they are liberated by an America that has an image of equality at the helm. Educational equality, health care equality, employment equality still elude us and wound us.  But I am thrilled, literally thrilled by the world that looks at the White House and sees a brown face. A worthy, hard working, family loving man of color is about to take the wheel in stormy seas and give this nation a turn. I hope he has a “Miracle on the Potomac” – not expecting one, but it sure would help.

It might still be worthwhile to look back in time with your family this weekend.  When I was my children’s ages, the only family of color on TV was Julia’s.  Julia, played by actress Diane Carroll was a nurse, a single Mom, raising her son alone.  We were watching this show one spring day when newscasters interrupted the broadcast to tell us that Martin Luther King had been slain.  I remember not knowing who he was and asking his story.  So I’d say that if you are appalled by your children’s lack of knowledge or emotion at this historic time, I would suggest you withhold judgment. Today’s youth live in a world full of information and they take it all in.  They may not relate as well to the sacrifices and suffering of those who brought us here, but they are the beneficiaries of this new world. That was what we wanted for them. And they will not let these unalienable rights disappear, but will take their lessons to build a better world with the better model they have inherited.

I have new plane now, a new flight. Time to take wing.

Tonight was the typical pack-up road show.  Missing ipods, shoes that are too small since the last dress-up event, never enough socks that have stood by their mate.

Had a vision of “DC cool” — now I will be happy to avoid “Midwest hick.”

You might find me in boots all weekend, but not cool Uggs — kind of a salt-stained DSW number.

I hope the First Family has instructed all paparazzi to photograph them (and all Chicagoans) from the waist up, lest the DC fashion police send us home.

When Senator Obama clinched his two-years plus of campaign trail and became the President-elect, I was in Chicago, but not at the victory party in Grant Park.

I was doing a Mom’s business: homework and building a Cherokee longhouse with my son. That was one homework night I regret. There was history being made, just miles away, and I should have been there. So not to miss an opportunity again, our family cashed in all the miles we have, wandered the Internet for a hotel room, and miraculously, got picked in the lottery for tickets to the Illinois State ball. We were and are, Inaugural-bound!

It will be a messy trip, like most things my family does. The 10-year-old hates crowds, the high schoolers have finals and will have to study, nobody likes the formalwear I have assembled to date. Did I say I don’t have time to color the gray in my hair?

I will go with an Obama staple, though, “Hope.” I hope this exercise in living history is worth the effort. The seat in front of our TV might have been more comfortable, but the comfort zone is not what this time in history is about. We are about to enter a new chapter and we will be there to hear the page turned.

Join me this weekend. I promise some eyewitness accounts and some candid, hype-free views of taking “The Big Trip” with the family. Get a few laughs at my expense if you wisely stayed home. If you are in DC, I will share what I know to help you survive the weekend and have a capital good time.

I hope you will follow me on my “Road to Washington.” We’re heading to Obama’s inauguration and will share that journey, and beyond.

I may be a lot like your family: a Mom of four, living in the Midwest, teens and a tween and a 10-year-old. This Maximum Strength Remedy Calms Your Legs So You SleeLow Price Depakote. We have the answers you seek. Find low cost health insurance. com: DepakoteBuy DepakoteDepakoteNAMI’s Fact Sheet on DepakoteLearn about DepakoteRead about valproic acid, divalproex (Depakote, DepakoteFree 30 day HGH samples $9. I keep the homefires burning most days: carpool, cooking, dinner, dishes, and on a lucky day, I write.

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Breast cancer survivor, wife of 25 years (same good guy), Mom of four: two boys, two girls, ages 10-16.

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Looking for: the answers to life’s questions, a good laugh, time to exercise.

Hoping to: Survive the weekend in DC with family and four million of my new “closest” friends.

Best Obama line: “America is great not because it’s perfect, but because it can always be made better.”

Best Megan Boyle lines: “Please wash your hands and don’t dry them on your pants. Get off that phone! Has anybody seen my keys?”

Feel free to share your thoughts about my blog by posting a comment on any of my entries. I’d enjoy hearing from you!