Our Quest to See Aretha

The Kennedy Center was a busy place today. First, Oprah shot her show there, and second, Aretha was giving a free concert. No last names needed for either one.

The tickets were being going to be distributed at 4pm, so we thought that rather than waiting for hours we would show up later and maybe get lucky. We took the Metro to Foggy Bottom and walked from there. Imagine Baby Barack's surprise to see his picture on a commemorative fare card. You can see he was all smiles. The ride was a little rough, so he was sure to hang on tight - with a little help from Helen.

We arrived at the Kennedy Center only to find that the tickets had been distributed at 10am! I guess we weren't the only ones who wanted to see the Queen of Soul. Our friend Scott, we now call him Front Row Scottie, was determined and tried to bribe every security person he could find, but no go. Oh well, it was worth the effort, even if it came to nothing.

I thought the city was packed with people yesterday, but if anything, today was even crazier. The subway was packed, the sidewalks were packed, and it was almost impossible to find a cab. Tuesday is likely to be totally nuts. I guess we'll find out.

What's been incredible this weekend is the positive energy that has been in evidence everywhere we've gone. People are just happy, even giddy. Naturally, there were a few protesters at the concert yesterday displaying huge, hateful signs decrying homosexuality. Although doing so in the name of God they didn't look or act terribly Godly. It was disturbing but I suppose it's inevitable that hate and intolerance will show its face even at a celebration like this. Let's hope the ceremony and parade continue the positive vibe.

I think it's safe to say that this weekend has more than lived up to our expectations. Can't wait for tomorrow.