People in Chicago watch President Obama's speech on a giant TV near the Michigan Avenue bridge. View is from my window at work. I don't remember an inauguration where so many people were so excited about a new president. It's exciting to be amidst people who feel hopeful and encouraged. And this despite the economy and the brutally cold Chicago winter. (It was -17 F (-27 C) the other day and that's before wind chill!)
I hope Mr. Obama lives up to his promise of hope, of healing. His speech was encouraging, especially saying that we need to return to traditional values of "hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism. ...
"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
"This is the price and the promise of citizenship. "
Ah. Taking responsibility for one's actions. That would solve so much of what is wrong in the world today, would it not?
In the meantime, I will endeavour to take responsibility for my UFO list. I made one; it's quite long; I will post it to the blog at some point. Pulled one UFO to work on, and started something new. More on that later.
But first, I must deal with the computer that wouldn't boot up and had all my photos (and recipes) on it. Oh, and last night we discovered that an ice dam on the roof has caused a leak in the first floor ceiling. Not to mention a leak down the wall of the second floor. So glad PB arrived home right before me as I dealt with last February's broken sewer pipe and the flooded basement the year before while he was out of town. Next week I'll be out of town on business!