Unlike millions, I missed the inauguration yesterday. Well … I didn’t miss it. I had better things to do. But, as I made the 14-hour drive to Sundance Film Festival I listened to portions of the play by play.
So, it is official. Congratulations to President Obama, who was sworn in yesterday … ha … on a Republican Bible, no less. Most forget that it was Abraham Lincoln, the Republican, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ending slavery. And the 44th president was sworn in on Mr. Lincoln’s Bible.
That good book has seem some history, wouldn’t you say? … spanning the gamut from Abe to Obe — the alpha and the omega of the civil rights movement. (I coined that … fill free to use it.) Now, hopefully, we can put that whole race thing behind us and people maybe will start doing the right thing and be accountable, in spite of they flava.
Ha … don’t tell anyone, but I shot a little video while I was racing down the highway in Colorado at about the time BO said “I will.” Actually, just prior to the swear-NN, I shot some footage of snowy peaks, with the stringy sounds of Yo-yo Ma playing on the car radio. It was a majestic moment, in spite of my party affiliation.
I have said it on earlier trips to Sundance, and I am sticking to it. There is no better way to travel to Park City than a scenic roadtrip.
I breezed through Amarillo, stopping to download a few e-mails at their newest Starbucks on Interstate 40 (just a few miles east of the Cadillac Ranch). Oh … and I caught a couple of broadcasts of KVII TV News, where my nephew’s friend anchors. And I checked out news/talk on KGNC Radio, where my brother works. How’s that for multi-media roots. Once upon a time I worked at the newspaper there, as did FOX Network’s Major Garrett. But that’s another story …
Well … the most interesting news I heard on KGNC was prolly the sports angle on the inauguration. Some sports writer wrote a piece about all the stars who have worn #44. The talk radio show guys were sharing. What a list, and how apropos … it included Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson — alltime greats. And it included my all-time hero — fellow Christian and basketball guru, the late “Pistol Pete” Maravich who wore 44 for LSU, The Hawks and The Jazz if memory serves.
And then i heard more sports news, with a local angle. YES! My former high school team “The Mighty Vega Longhorns” are ranked #1 in Texas. Hook ‘Em! (It is interesting to note Vega won its first state championship just as soon as they got rid of me, after my 3-year career there. We made the playoffs every year … then bang … as soon as I left, Big V won it all. I contend I must have been the problem.) I digress …
So from Amarillo, I headed northwest through ranch land to the northeast corner of New Mexico, past the dormant Capulin Volcano. It is dormant in more ways than one. On an earlier road trip, I blogged from inside the silent cone. No there was no Wi-Fi, but I was able to upload with a GPRS card back then. In summary, the volcano had it’s big chance to get on the Wi-Fi radar … but blew it. I guess it will just have to set dormant for another milennia or whatever.
After Capulin, I could see snowy peaks 25 miles away in the Raton Pass, and I picked up a Raton, NM radio station. They were of course talking about Obama … the 44 phenom … and all that. They also announced my favorite — celebrity birthdays. So, sportsfans, yesterday was a bigger day than you probably realized. Not only did we invite the first black man to run the White House … get this. Yesterday was the birthday of Slim Whitman. Raton radio was just abuzz with that tidbit. In fact, as I flew by the ranchland, lava, antelopes, etc., they were kind enough to play Slim’s yodeling staple, “Cattle Call.”
Dang, why didn’t I remember to recharge my iPod!
Ironically, there was another “Slim” in the news, although pronounced /sleem/. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is reportedly buying into The New York Times. Word of caution. I worked on the PR account for CompUSA for seven years. Not only did Mr. Slim end my gig … he ended the chain. I guess you can still shop CompUSA online … but who doesn’t love a big old computer superstore!?!
More driving … nothing changes. Denver still has the most angry drivers I have encountered in my travels — 50 major cities and counting. But, oh, the Colo-landscape. Vail! Aspen! The Colorado River! Ooh la la!
But lucky you … I won’t bore you with every detail of the 800+ miles yesterday. I will share one last thought. As I always say, life has a soundtrack, and often the tunes can be a great source of coincidence if not irony.
Just as I crossed the Utah state line, the radio station played the old punk/bubble gum song “I Want Candy” sung by Annabella Lwin. Remember her, cute chick, big brown eyes, mohawk? Well guess what. I interviewed her XX years ago, after a concert in Amarillo. I still have the tape … And when the interview concluded so many years ago she said that after Amarillo, the band (Bow Wow Wow) was off to Salt Lake City to play. Cool.
Here final comment on the tape, in a thick British accent: “I guess they’ve got Mormons there. Do you think it will be alright?”
Yes they do. I think it will.
Know what I sayin?
