Yes, I Can!

While I am certain that the following is not what our new, and much beloved, President had in mind when he first (or last, even) spoke the words "Yes, we can!" here is a short list of non-political things I learned on Inauguration day:

1. I CAN stand in a jam-packed Metro station for an hour and a half without having an anxiety attack or getting frustrated or angry.
2. I CAN stand for hours in below-freezing weather, hopping around to avoid the knife's edge that called itself the wind and to spare my toes the threat of frostbite; and bobbing my head side to side to get a better view of the jumbo tron.
3. When absolutely necessary I CAN tell absolute strangers in the 5'9" and over set that they have strayed into the Short People Section and that they will have to move on. NOW.
4. I CAN go more than 13 hours without eating or drinking or peeing.
   
5. I CAN, when circumstances compel, swallow my own vomit. A little explanation is probably in order: My friend, Sharon, and I got up very early to leave for the Inauguration. As it didn't occur to me that I might not get anything to eat for hours, I took my several medications on an empty stomach, rode in the back seat of a car on a winding road, and then bounced around in a hot, crowded Metro car. Although Sharon offered me her newspaper to throw up on and the man in front of me encouraged me to "just let it out--they have people to clean that up," I couldn't bring myself to do it. And it wasn't just because I was too embarrassed (though there was that), but the thought of some other happy Inauguration-goer stepping on to the train and into that--well I just couldn't do it.