Waiting for Mr. Obama

The white blizzard blew through the region last week.

It forced area schools to close their doors for the day. It beat out a rhythm as it passed across the windows of Jodi Leight's home.

Tucked safely inside, the Schuylerville school music teacher spent the day with her equally snowbound husband, Bill, a seventh-grade teacher at Troy's Doyle Middle School.

The couple was watching TV when a message flashed across the screen alerting them of an incoming call from Washington, D.C.

"It was from Hillary's office," Leight said, then chuckled, "Hillary -- like I know her."

It was a luck-filled snow day for the couple, who learned they scored a pair of tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony.

Sen. Clinton made 350 tickets to the inauguration available to the general public. The Leights delivered a letter to the senator's office about their role as educators.

Theirs was one of tens of thousands of inquiries requesting tickets, and they were happily surprised when they learned they were selected.

"I know what it feels like to be at a rock concert and big sporting events, but I cannot imagine what it will be like at the inauguration," said Leight, who managed to secure one of the last available hotel rooms in the D.C. area, located two miles from the Capitol and overlooking the Arlington National Cemetery, at a cost of $600 a night.

The plan is to drive to Washington Sunday, Leight said, pick up their tickets from Clinton's office on Monday and spend the afternoon taking in activities honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

They plan on starting their journey to the Capitol at 4 a.m. Tuesday, where they will be among a crowd of 240,000 other ticket holders.

The music teacher in Leight is looking forward to performances by singer Aretha Franklin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The American in her is anticipating the moment that Obama takes the oath of office using Pres. Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Bible.

"This shows how progressive our country is. It will be awesome," said Leight, who has taught grades seven through 12 at Schuylerville since 2000.

"Even if I can't physically see him, just being together with so many people and all that energy will be enough," she said. "I like his ideas, his positive attitude, his stance on education. With both of us being teachers, we're very concerned about funding for education," Leight said.

She also has a clear grasp of the historic ramifications Obama's moment will have.

"When people ask: 'Where were you that day?' I know where I will be," she said. "I feel blessed to be able to be there."

Thomas Dimopoulos
The Post-Star Jan.16, 2009