Post-Inaugural Chaos
While the city of Washington D.C. went to great lengths to secure the city for a smooth and safe inauguration, little preparation was made to move 2 million people through the streets in an organized fashion...euphemistically speaking. In other words, quite chaotic.
Chadd and I--being "blessed" with the internet--familiarized ourselves with all of the "Know Before You Go" websites devoted to street closings and metro schedules. We mapped out the city, plotted open streets and closed streets, we wrote down metro arrival times and departure times, we planned our route. All of this effort in vain.
Washington D.C. quadrupled their security force--city police, county sheriff, national guard, mounted patrol, transit authority--but none seemed to be prepared to handle the massive amount of people. Streets were closing that were supposed to be open, subways were closing that were supposed to stay open; it was like we were in a giant rat maze and they were building it as we moved through it. Chadd and I walked from one metro station to the next, only to find it closed. Police were barricading streets as a few people managed to slip through the cracks before the gates slammed closed on the rest of us. Somewhat frustrating.
Hungry, cold, and desperately wanting to sit down, Chadd and I went into the FEMA headquarters to warm up and wait out the crowd. As Chadd waited in line for over an hour to get us burgers at McDonald's, I resisted being kicked out of the FEMA lobby multiple times by the one poor custodian left in charge. Ironic, isn't it? Out of all the federal institutions, you would think FEMA would be able to handle a surge of "refugees" with no where to go. But no, one custodian is left in charge of trying to deal with 1,500 cold and tired invadeers with no metro to carry them home.
After several hours of waiting and Chadd assisting EMT's with a girl who passed out, we braved the crowd and cold once more in effort to go home. We passed up FOUR metro stations before we made it to one that was actually open. About 5 miles of walking. Once we approached the only open station, here is the line of people we saw:
Looks a lot like the previous picture, huh? You know what they say, "If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." On the bright side, people were still surprisingly friendly and cordial despite the tight space and overwhelming crowds. Smiles were abundant and neighbors who bumped into each other still offered an "Excuse me" or "Sorry." With the jubilant mood of the people, the experience wasn't as treacherous and it sounds (^_^)
Was it worth it? Now that it's over, YES!
Chadd and I--being "blessed" with the internet--familiarized ourselves with all of the "Know Before You Go" websites devoted to street closings and metro schedules. We mapped out the city, plotted open streets and closed streets, we wrote down metro arrival times and departure times, we planned our route. All of this effort in vain.
Washington D.C. quadrupled their security force--city police, county sheriff, national guard, mounted patrol, transit authority--but none seemed to be prepared to handle the massive amount of people. Streets were closing that were supposed to be open, subways were closing that were supposed to stay open; it was like we were in a giant rat maze and they were building it as we moved through it. Chadd and I walked from one metro station to the next, only to find it closed. Police were barricading streets as a few people managed to slip through the cracks before the gates slammed closed on the rest of us. Somewhat frustrating.
Hungry, cold, and desperately wanting to sit down, Chadd and I went into the FEMA headquarters to warm up and wait out the crowd. As Chadd waited in line for over an hour to get us burgers at McDonald's, I resisted being kicked out of the FEMA lobby multiple times by the one poor custodian left in charge. Ironic, isn't it? Out of all the federal institutions, you would think FEMA would be able to handle a surge of "refugees" with no where to go. But no, one custodian is left in charge of trying to deal with 1,500 cold and tired invadeers with no metro to carry them home.
After several hours of waiting and Chadd assisting EMT's with a girl who passed out, we braved the crowd and cold once more in effort to go home. We passed up FOUR metro stations before we made it to one that was actually open. About 5 miles of walking. Once we approached the only open station, here is the line of people we saw:
Looks a lot like the previous picture, huh? You know what they say, "If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." On the bright side, people were still surprisingly friendly and cordial despite the tight space and overwhelming crowds. Smiles were abundant and neighbors who bumped into each other still offered an "Excuse me" or "Sorry." With the jubilant mood of the people, the experience wasn't as treacherous and it sounds (^_^)
Was it worth it? Now that it's over, YES!
posted by Chadd and Miko at 9:44 PM
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