Sedalia man: Presidential inauguration ‘breathtaking'

Neither the cold nor the frustration at public transportation could steal the joy of witnessing an historic presidential inauguration.

Joe Zaremba, of Sedalia, was “freezin’ my buns off” Tuesday afternoon in the nation’s capital following the inauguration ceremonies for President Barack Obama. He was also stranded as he was unable to find a way back to his car, just four miles away.

“It’s total gridlock around here,” he said by telephone.

The hours in 20-degree weather, waits in security and ticket lines, a lot of walking and overloaded public transportation were all worth the experience of being at the inauguration, Zaremba said.

Check out photos from Zaremba's trip here and here.

“If I say today’s ceremony was, ‘Wow,’ that’s not describing it like it should be,” he said. “What word would describe it; to feel it in person? It’s indescribable.”

The feeling at the inauguration was one of unity. Those in the audience were diverse in professions and race, but Tuesday was all about coming together, Zaremba said. The sentiments were: “Change is finally here,” and “Look at this unity. Look at this change. Look at all of us coming together,” he said.

“We’re all so diverse, you know — and although there was so much insecurity and no crowd control — we were all calm, collected and polite,” he said. “It was like all of us were one big family. We were all together trying to experience that one big moment.”

Zaremba left his hotel at 6 a.m. only to arrive at the National Mall after 11 a.m. Crowd estimates were at more than 1 million people.

“I have never seen so many people trying to go to one thing at one time,” he said.

 Crowds overwhelmed security at the perimeter for the ticketed seats, knocking a fence down, Zaremba said. He noticed that security was light inside the event. The trees, although they were without leaves, made it difficult for Zaremba to see much.

“I managed to climb up in a tree to get a better vantage point,” he said.

The crowd cheered when Obama made his appearance.

“You could see it, and you could hear it, but it’s hard to describe that feeling you could feel personally by being there in that moment,” Zaremba said.

Obama’s inauguration address was “breathtaking,” Zaremba said.

“You could feel the energy, and whether you support him or not, you want to say, ‘Man, he’s a hell of a good speaker,’” he said.

Zaremba was unsuccessful at securing a spot on the parade route, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He decided the best thing was to head back to his vehicle parked at a lot near his hotel. The metro line was overwhelmed, and Zaremba went to three different stations to try to get on but was told the wait would be several hours. He couldn’t even hail a cab.

“It’s wall-to-wall people,” he said. “You couldn’t even reach in your pocket and answer your cell phone, that’s how tight we were,” he said.

Zaremba planned to leave Washington, D.C., today.

For more photos, videos and stories from the inauguration, check out The Democrat's Inauguration '09 section.