Lines, Arctic Temps... and a Miracle: Keillor

Writer savors the spirit of goodwill amid throng at inauguration

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 21, 2009 9:38 AM CST

(Newser) – The lines were "the longest I have ever stood in," and the day was arctic, but there were no complaints to be heard from the jubilant throng in Washington yesterday, Garrison Keillor writes in Salon. "All kinds of people, the slim and sleek, the XXXLs, the heavily insulated, the carefree" slowly trekked toward the Capitol for the swearing-in of a new leader and the emergence of "a new America," Keillor writes—all radiating goodwill and a sense of the enormity of the occasion. "I simply was grateful to be among it."

The crowd's spirit "was more than Democrats feeling their oats or African-Americans celebrating the unimaginable, more than revulsion at the gang of bullheads who held power for too long," Keillor writes. "It was a huge gasp of pleasure at a new America emerging, a country we all tried to believe in, a nation that is curious and venturesome, more openhearted and public-spirited."

[Images (7)]

[Quotes (3)]

Garrison Keillor laughs during a live audience dress rehearsal of a skit for "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn., in this April 13, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, file)

Crowds gather to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, on the west side of the Capitol in Washington. The Washington Monument can be seen in the background. (AP Photo/Scott Andrews, Pool)

Cristina Castro, 23, of New York, wraps up against the cold while waiting to enter the US Capitol to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Crowds gather at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall for the opening ceremony of the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 18, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Jesse Redmond of Crawford, Ms., cheers on the National Mall during the Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama is seen on the screen as he delivers his speech over a packed National Mall in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Deborah Sheffield of Norfolk, Va., wipes tears from her eyes as she stands in the National Mall during the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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The line was six blocks long, the longest line I have ever stood in, but there is nothing so pleasant as being in a crowd of happy people when you are happy about the same thing they're happy about. - Garrison Keillor

It was a huge gasp of pleasure at a new America emerging, a country we all tried to believe in, a nation that is curious and venturesome, more openhearted and public-spirited. - Garrison Keillor

The Bushes waved and disappeared, and people started to cheer. When the blades started, the cheering got louder, and when the chopper lifted and we saw it in the sky, a million jubilant people waved and hollered for all they were worth. - Garrison Keillor

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Lines, Arctic Temps... and a Miracle: Keillor