There are many perks of my job, like happening to have a downtown Chicago layover on Tuesday night, the night we found out who our 44th President was, Barack Obama.
Starting my day at 3.30 AM on the west coast, I did not know I would end up in Chicago, but it happened.
Speaking with other crew members, I found out that Obama was going to have a rally in Grant Park in downtown Chicago - hopefully to celebrate his victory. I immediately got excited and could not wait to attend.
After getting into the hotel after 5 PM, Jeff (another crew member) and I decided to head off to the rally.
I wish I brought my large SLR camera, but typically on domestic trips, I do not. It is a pain to lug around and often my layovers are quite short. Instead, I bring my Canon point and shoot. The quality is awful and I use it primarily for photos of friends. I took a few quick snaps, but, eh, nothing to be proud of.
Now, I'm not trying to undermine the excitement of the event, it was, but, there were TWO separate entrances to the event. The "ticket holder" area, which was where Obama actually spoke on stage and the likes of Oprah and Jessie Jackson were present in the crowd. On the left side, was the "non ticket holder" entrance. This is where the rest of the common folk were - reported about 240,000 people were all crammed into the other side of the park.
We got there very early. At the time, CNN was on one jumbo screen. There were people selling all sorts of Obama gear, from t-shirts to buttons. There were also vendors selling pizza and Pepsi.
As the night grew later, so did the crowd and the excitement. After the polls close from time zone to time zone and and predictions came, the crowd yelled and cheered. Everyone was so excited, so hopeful, in high spirits.
More screens popped up too. I counted 5 CNN jumbo screens and there were huge crowds among each screen.
Come 10 PM Central time, the moment the polls closed on the west coast and CNN made its announcement of Obama becoming the next president, the crowd erupted.
Tears, screams, jumping up and down. It was such an exciting moment. I can't believe I was actually there.
I left the park shortly before he came on stage and gave his speech. I was cold and tired. Although I could see the spotlights in the distance from where he would be on stage, I would not be able to see him. I opted to watch the speech from my room.
As we were leaving, more people came running into the park. I have never seen so many people come flooding in one area.
I made it back to my room to watch the speech in time and was amazed. I am proud of our nation to have elected Obama. I sat there, excited about the possibilities that lie ahead for our country and perhaps, the rest of the world will see it too. We are ready for change.
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