We Are One at the Lincoln Memorial

After dropping our stuff at my friend Martin's parents' house near Capitol Hill, we headed over to see the big We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial. (Martin's parents Pam and Bob were incredibly gracious and hospitible, hosting 19 people and two dogs Monday night, in a 2 bedroom, one bath basement apartment!) At the concert, we knew we couldn't get very close (gates opened at 8:00 a.m. and we were still in West Chester at that point) but our goal was to get a good jumbo tron view with a view of the Lincoln Memorial behind. Mission accomplished.

The concert was great -- two hours of interesting pairings of famous people (like Usher with Stevie Wonder) and lots of star power -- Tom Hanks, U2, Garth Brooks, Beyonce, Pete Seeger, Sheryl Crow, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, etc, etc, etc..... A great spirit in the audience -- everyone was upbeat and seemed glad to be there. When the benediction began, a hush went over the entire crowd. (This deference pushed Patrice to tears! Tynnetta told her, "It's too early in the festivities to be crying, Patrice!"

People of all ages were there -- lots of kids.

Everyone also hushed when Obama spoke.
We were excited to get our picture in front of the "We are One" on the jumbo tron, but by the time the stranger guy actually took the shot, it was instead a listing of advice for Inauguration Day. But it is a nice pic of our gang, though.