Meeting the Prez

Little speech delivered as Host Opener at Capital Toastmasters 1 meeting on October 25, 2011:

On October 16th, the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial was officially dedicated after hurricane Irene had postponed the ceremonies that were originally schedule for late August. My wife and I felt we should go. So we did. We had three reasons to go. First of all, we felt compelled to honor Dr. King’s life, legacy and unfinished dream. Although there were quite a few, we had hoped more white people had come out showing recognition that Dr. King’s work had lifted a moral burden off their shoulders and what he stood for is an inspiration to black and white alike. Second, it was a lovely fall morning to go out and experience American culture and the art of rhetoric by passionate speakers like reverend Al Sharpton. And third, it would be our chance to finally see the President, live.

I remember the wave of hope that traveled through Europe when Obama was elected president in 2008 and I thought it would make for a nice goal to spot the president in person before we leave Washington. I’ve had several opportunities before, but each time, when I thought I came close, something came between me and Barack. One time I was strategically positioned at a health care summit in the Blair house. Little could go wrong, but when the president was about to walk out, everyone was directed backward two hundred yards and some fat, black SUVs came to block my view. Recently, the president was coming to the University of Maryland in College Park, where I work, for a town hall meeting. We could get free tickets, but when we showed up at the time they were going to be distributed, a line had formed across what seemed the entire campus. We queued for over an hour in 100+ degrees, but when we neared the box office the message came that tickets had run out.

This time, at the tidal basin, it could not go wrong. From our position we could see the main stage as well as the route over which the motorcade would arrive. The motorcade came. On a big screens we saw Obama and his family tour the memorial and were waiting for the president to take the stage. He did take the stage, but it was a different one, not the one we could see! We could only see him on the big screen. People all around us, who had been screaming for “four more years,” were disappointed too. They apparently had cherished the same hope. I’m beginning to suspect that the president is playing hide and seek with me.

Nevertheless, it was the closest I’ve come to see Obama and we were glad we had come to the dedication event and see so many inspired and grateful people. I encourage you all to go take a look. Barack and I, we’ll get our moment.