What Stood Out to Me

Let's face it, there was plenty to praise, some things to criticize, and a lot to simply enjoy in all the ponp and circumstance.

Amanda Gorman's poise, empathy, talent, skill, beauty, and vulnerability at only 22 years old. Holy cow; she has a speech impediment, too, that she has trained herself out of, so put perseverance and sheer grit on that list. Special education teachers as well as the general public are going to be using her as an example of what one can do for years to come! I saw her interview on CNN (with Anderson Cooper) later and it was just fabulous. And that bit was an interview, not nearly as rehearsed as the amazing poem she wrote and delivered with such class and dignity and passion.

Andrea Hall's recitation - in spoken English and ASL - of the Pledge of Allegiance. So dignified, and the signs were ever so slightly different than those my kid uses over here in The Other Washington. Her ASL teacher says it's a regional accent difference. She's a young, Black, female Fire Captain in a southern state, and she is a leader in collective bargaining in a right-to-work state. She spoke with a local NBC affiliate WXIA-TV about the significance of her role at the inauguration. “It really represents an ending of an era and the start of a new era and the opportunities that exist if we decide to honor the words of that pledge.”

Just very WOW performances by such different artists - and that's not even getting into the afterparty gala - but all moving and beautiful in their own ways. Special mentions to Garth Brooks wearing boots to a black tie affair, Jennifer Lopez shouting in Spanish and singing in English, and Lady Gaga having the good sense to stay in her own alto range instead of trying to reach for that high "la-and of the free-EEEE." Awesome job.

Speaking of Lady Gaga, for whom extravagant sartorial choices are nothing new, the "social distancing" dress was terrific. And although I knew even early on that her enormous pin was a dove of peace, at first glance I thought it was a mockingjay, a la Hunger Games. It just seems like the sort of thing she might do.

According to this morning's news, I'm not the only one who thought this.

Speaking of the fashion choices, wow, I mean... Garth Brooks, sure, he's got friends in low places. Lady Gaga, well, she does alternative looks all the time. And, you know, Bernie Sanders' mittens and him looking like he was on his way to some more important do - the Mittens that Launched a Thousand Memes.

But the various shades of blue shading through purple to red and orange and yellow... every color of the rainbow - dare I say diversity and representation here? - was spot on and yet managed not to clash at all. I wonder how much of that was deliberate messaging and how much was just good taste. If it was deliberate, I hope they keep on how they started, despite Ted Cruz trying for disingenuousness and Rand Paul being offended and Sean Hannity saying completely irrational things only vaguely related to the topic at hand.

There is work to do - lots of it - and feet to hold to the metaphorical fire. Lots of them. No unity without accountability.

But I'm with Andrea Hall: if they can keep on as they have begun, things may get better.

For everyone.