words from washington

If, as Antony sings, Man is the Baby, we were fed dove's milk today with the sensitive words of the articulate and well intended President Obama. My father was out on the mall for 3 hours before the speech, he and his wife almost left because of the cold but the speech once started provided enough warmth to keep them around. My dad reminded me that he was there for JFK's inaugaration as well. Having an office in the Museum of Natural History does give one an advantage.

Obama said that "what the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted." With clarified vision of purpose, I wonder if we can cope with less definition on the TV. I mean, how defined does it have to get, can't we at least use the old imagination to fill in the gap in resolution, even if we use it for nothing else?

With the fattening of spirit in the form of hope, I'm wondering if we can get by with humbler cars. Someone drives a Hummer in this neighborhood bearing a bumper sticker that reads "My heart belongs to Jesus." Will the driver soon want to give Jesus his brain too, before it's time to try to drive the thing through the eye of the needle? Not a lot fits in there, I hear. Perhaps only what's common to all.

Some words from the President, like pebbles I gathered today, to put in my mouth..."men and women obscure in their labors...collective failure to make hard choices...rule of law and rights of man...the tempering quality of humility...our common humanity will reveal itself...your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."

So what will we build? Funny how people at times suggest that it's up to Obama to change things. Will he disappoint us? It's more likely we'll disappoint ourselves.