The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
The Constitution of the United States, 20th Amendment, Section 1
I begin this post with Section 1 of the Constitution’s Twentieth Amendment to remind anyone who doesn’t know (like the newest Senator from Alabama, an embarrassment if ever there was one) that Inauguration Day can’t be moved. Yes I know, if January 20th falls on a Sunday the pomp and circumstance are moved to Monday, January 21, but the President’s term begins on January 20th regardless and they must be sworn in on January 20. So there.
One reason I didn’t write any blogposts during the period from March 12 – December 31, 2020 was because I didn’t want to write one long whine of deprivation and frustration. There are many things I didn’t get to do during that time that I had planned, bought tickets for, saved money for, carved out time for. Nada. Which of course pales in comparison to the devastating losses others have suffered.
With the election of Joe Biden on November 3, my thoughts immediately swung to a quadrennial tradition my older daughter and I have enjoyed and then my heart dropped. Because of Covid-19 (can we just call it Trump’s Plague?) the District of Columbia was still banning (and rightly so, don’t get me wrong) indoor dining. And here begins the story.
Since 2005, older daughter and I have been in the North Capital Street area near Union Station and the Capitol, every inauguration day since 2005. In 2005 we were Girl Scout volunteers, but beginning in 2009 we have attended MSNBC’s Morning Joe live broadcast at The Dubliner Restaurant every Inauguration Day. This was older daughter’s idea right from the start. We got up very early, put on layers of sweaters and winter coats and stood in line outside the doors with at least 100 other folks for the chance to crowd inside, possibly have breakfast or at least a Guinness with new-found friends (no private tables) and get to see the live broadcast with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and their guests. Guests ranged from the sainted Colin Powell, the charming Mike Barnicle, the legendary Tom Brokaw, and all kinds of publishing and political luminaries.
Me and Joe Scarborough, 2013 
Me and Sen. Mark Warner, 2017 
Guinness at 10:00 am, 2017 
Me, Older Daughter, Mike Barnicle, 2009
You can see from the photos how much fun this is. But I have to tell you, if you’re not willing to be jammed into a very small restaurant at 150% capacity, this is not for you. If you expect your coffee or muffin or sausages or Guinness to get to your table in a reasonable amount of time, this is not for you. And just remember, you’re going to be seated (if you get seated) with people you have never met. Of course they’re about to become your new best friends. It’s absolutely delightful! In 2017 I considered not attending, but older daughter convinced me that if I didn’t go I’d regret it. How right she was! We were seated with two protestors who had driven up from Florida to demonstrate. They were marvelous company and we were so glad we got to talk with them.
So now here we are. No indoor dining, but even if this weren’t a no-no, the security lockdown for the area around the Capitol would make getting to The Dubliner impossible. <sigh> You can certainly see why I spared you my whining all last year.
Older daughter and I will zoom or facetime breakfast together with the television tuned to the show. Because we’ll be trapped here while she will be two hours south and nobody is going anywhere while the more virulent strain of Covid-19 (Trump’s Plague) sweeps through the land. As my husband put it so succinctly this morning, “I’m sick of this covid shit.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, honey. #MissYouMorningJoe
January 18, 2021
Forced Perspective 