No grumpy people...despite the fact that you and everyone near you was awake at 5:30AM. Currently 6:50AM. I'll give you the "play-by-play" of my morning, but this was my first picture. I woke up just after 5:30AM thanks to my husband. I'm not a morning person, but I was determined to get downtown well before the gates opened at 7:30AM. I'd been warned that parking might be a challenge, so I opted to take the bus. Yay for public transportation! (Side note: several of the Grand Rapids city buses are hybrid-electric too...way to go, GR) I caught my first bus a few blocks from home at 6:15AM and was in line by 6:45AM.
The stage & stands around 8AM after we'd been let in. There were several large metal detectors like they have at airports for us to walk through. I was impressed at how thorough the security was - and grateful for it as well.
The Calder stabile and the cloudy gray sky. It was a chilly, dark morning.
Swarms of Obama fans...as one girl near me exclaimed: "There are SO many people here and we're SO close...I'm SO glad I'm not them!" Amazingly, none of them were grumpy. You'd think they only let in the happy people. :)
See? Told you I was there. Proudly sporting my "Vote Hope" button.
Close-up of a sniper
Long shot of a sniper - same one as previous picture
Case of a sniper rifle atop a nearby building
Can you see him? Yup. Sniper on the bank building. They were staked out all over the place. As I said, thorough. Grateful.
The stands after they filled up with a diverse selection of Grand Rapidians. The man and woman near the right side of the picture with their hands on their hearts are Joel & Rachel W. I was at their house a few weeks ago for a MoveOn.org party to watch Obama's DNC acceptance speech. They're neat people - and when I spotted them up in the stands I had to nab a photo for them with the banner in the background.
Michael Sak hyped the crowd pre-Obama just like he did pre-Hillary. Michael Sak goes yak-yak-yak and the crowd grows restless...9:25AM
And the crowd goes wild! Obama takes the pulpit...I mean podium...around 9:45
That darn light - I'll spend the rest of his speech trying to get a good photo somehow. I'm not sure if they would have had the lights up if it were a sunny day, but I'm sure it was so he'd look extra nice for TV. "Vote Change - Judge Hathaway for Supreme Court"
Smart advertising, however, really annoying to have a plane buzzing & circling during Obama's entire speech. Would have been more effective & less irritating to buzz around in the 30-60 minutes BEFORE Obama took the stage when we were all anxious for something to pay attention to other that the people trying to edge their way closer to "meet up with their friends" or the people (happily - not grumpily) elbowing each other to grab signs...The light really wreaked havoc w/ my photos...but I'll find a way.
Peeking between two tall young men worked pretty well to block the light. The two young men were, by the way, ADORABLE. And one of the sweetest couples I saw that day.
Obama with a light halo
Ask me about Barack
I think Obama was more serious during this speech than I've seen him yet. I'm sure he was really tired, so that could be part of it. The first time I saw him smile was mid-to-late in the speech when he said, "If I'm President..." and paused, and the crowd filled in with chants of "When! When! When!" Barack grinned & shook his head.
He didn't have the same charming charisma I've seen in other speeches, but he was really effective. Of course he focused specifically on Michigan issues & values, so it hit home.
Yup - the light still makes it difficult. Here was my view without zoom...well, if not my view then the view of my camera with arm extended up above my head anyway.
That's ALMOST a smile
Change We Need, indeed, my friends
Getting serious with TWO fingers pointing
You there...stop taking pictures while I'm trying to talk. It's distracting.
Aren't they so darn cute? I was a little annoyed b/c they often blocked my view, but they were so tenderly attentive to each other AND Obama that I couldn't help appreciate them. I should have talked to them - they seemed really kind. But I'm sort of lame - it's easy for me to quietly observe and suppose without actually engaging anyone in conversation. I'm sure I miss out on meeting lots of great people because of this tendency. Dang.
"I need you to believe"
Something about this defining moment...most important election...you need to vote...something something something. Unfortunately I didn't absorb what he said as well as I do when I'm not seeing him live...the hype & energy & fun of it somewhat distracted me from the message. Granted, he repeated much of the same stuff I've heard already, but I feel a little bad admitting that I didn't really get much out of what he said on this particular occasion. 
Thanks, folks! Now go eat some lunch & take a nap b/c you all need it.
And just as he made his closing comments, the sun finally broke through the clouds. It was like clerical "Divine Intervention" in the Steve Jackson game Munchkin. You go up a level for seeing Barack.
Shaking hands - when face to face with supporters he never STOPPED beaming. I couldn't get quite close enough, but managed to snap a photo between the raised cameras & phones & hands.
I saw a family friend there with her granddaughter.
La Grande Vitesse
Waiting for the bus on the return trip home... My first bus directly from downtown was crammed, and I had to run to catch it. Then I had to transfer to a different route to get closer to home, and this was my stop to wait. The trees were beautiful and the sun was out at this point, so it was really nice. I wouldn't have minded waiting longer than I did. I also gobbled down a Luna bar b/c I hadn't eaten anything since a banana at 5:45AM & granola bar at 7:30AM - and by this time it was 11:15AM - I was hungry!It was very much worth the time & tiredness to attend, but I'm embarrassed to admit that my feet, knees, calves and back were all sore for about 4 days following. It's tiring to stand from 6:15AM till 11:30AM without a break or a place to sit or even room to stretch! Kinda made me feel old...
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