Did you see us? Pop Omnivore was in the mall! Not the Mall of America, in Minnesota. The other mall of America—that beautiful stretch of green in Washington, D.C., framed by monuments, museums, and the Capitol, where more than 1 million people gathered to watch (via Jumbotron) the swearing-in of President Barack Obama.

Our job was to serve as a volunteer, directing the masses. This was sometimes easy. People would come up and ask, “Is that the mall?”—and point to the Washington Monument. “No,” we’d say. “That is an obelisk commemorating the first president. This,” we’d say, using a Vanna White–style arm point to indicate the flat grassy area where the throngs were gathering, “this is the mall.”

Other times it was hard. Have you ever tried to give directions to people from out of town (or out of the country) when streets are constantly being closed and you have no idea when or where or why? But everyone was very nice, even when they’d come back an hour later and say, “We did what you said, but they wouldn’t let us through the checkpoint.”

But enough of crowd control. The real beauty of the day was to be found in crowd anecdotes.

Here are a few we gathered firsthand or collected from friends:

• On a crowded subway-train ride down to the ceremony, someone said, “Shh, everyone be quiet, my friend is about to call into work sick.” So all the passengers got quiet, the friend made the call, and then announced, “I’m done.” A cheer went up, and everyone resumed talking.

• When President George W. Bush appeared, on the Jumbotron screen, a chorus of boos went up among the masses. “Vote, don’t boo,” said one proper African American woman. “Booing isn’t nice.” But maybe people are a bit too nice when a woman in a camel coat, beret, and Diana Ross hair is standing on a truck, waving flags like a cheerleader and blocking everyone’s view. People called out, “Please sit down!” When the announcer on the Jumbotron said the people in the ticketed (and seated) viewing area,  “Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats,” we all laughed—first of all because WE HAD NO SEATS. And then someone shouted to the flag-waving woman, “He means you!î” Eventually she got the message.

• When Obama said in his speech that his father couldn’t have eaten in some American restaurants 60 years ago, an African man in the crowd simply said, “Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.”

• One man appeared to be the first official protester in the Obama era. He rapped with a reggae lilt, “Obama promised to give me a job, now he’s president, I don’t have a job, I call him up, he won’t answer his phone.” This protester did not have any followers.

• After Obama’s speech, many began to push their way toward a mall exit, or what they thought was an exit. Turned out there was no opening in the chain-link fence along Constitution Avenue, and at one point the confused crowd seemed on the verge of stampeding. Fortunately, cooler—and taller—heads prevailed, as a couple of big guys who could see over the masses calmly directed everyone to safety. Also fortunately, everyone listened.

Do you have inaugural anecdotes to share that capture the culture of the day? Please do!

- Marc Silver

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