The Web Site Has Changed

I rolled out before the sun this morning, headed for the usual destination (work) on a most unusual day. The sky brightened from pink and gold to blue, while the air made my fingers and toes tingle and chilled the water in my bottle. It was a lonely ride, with my shadow not joining me until Sunnyvale.

I arrived right on schedule, with enough time to refuel on a second breakfast before the key moments of today's big event. I joined several hundred of my coworkers, gathered to watch live coverage of the Presidential Inauguration, just as Senator Feinstein was wrapping up her remarks.

Today was to be one of those never-to-be forgotten days, and a joyous one! As I reflect on the other such moments in my life, all were tragic. Dismissed from school for lunch and told not to return that afternoon, the morning that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Accompanying an injured colleague to the hospital, and learning on my way back that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded in the sky. Waking up to an early morning phone call from my brother, as he watched the twin towers burning from his office across the Hudson.

I will remember our cheers as Joe Biden was sworn in, and the hearty appreciation for Aretha Franklin, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and the other performers. I will especially remember how we almost missed the beginning of the Presidential Oath of Office. The moment before, the television announcer had remarked that it was now past noon on the east coast and the White House web site had just changed. Our crowd roared with cheers and applause so loud and prolonged that we overwhelmed the sound of the broadcast. Eight years is a significant chunk of my life, of the lives of my colleagues, even more so the lives of their children.

Thank you, Barack Obama, for wanting this job. In all the years I've voted, you're the first candidate in whom I truly believe. And now I can say something that has not been true for a long, long time: I am proud to be an American.