monochrome

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Inauguration Day, 5/5

As we walked towards the gallery, Jean told me she felt there had been a shift in the country. Earlier in the day I had been somewhat disparaging of that notion, but after witnessing the inauguration and after listening to Jean speak I began to feel similarly. She told me that if anything, it would signal a shift to younger generations, and they would feel more empowered to affect change in the future. She began to bring me hope.

She told me she had spent the day indoors watching television coverage. She had been itching to be outside, and she was glad for the opportunity the gallery opening afforded. We walked briskly from the subway to the gallery. The streets were clear and cold and somewhat empty. The gallery was anything but.

Afterwards we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We were both excited. En route we had stopped by a supermarket so that Jean could buy a thermos for her child's lunch. At the checkout counter, a girl behind the register saw the flyers we clutched in our hands. Obama's campaign logo was printed on them, centered against a square of white. They had come from the gallery.

She smiled and asked us if we had come from D.C. With some disappointment (we both had considered going), we answered that we hadn't. We told her of the exhibition around the corner. She rang up Jean's purchase and we thanked her for her help. At the restaurant we realized we should have given her a flyer. We had placed them upon the table before ordering, a circle in a bright square against the wooden table.