EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NlZUu.jpg)
Homecoming is next week and some guys were still without dates.
So after rumors circulated for about a day in the student body, on this past Thursday my school officially announced that Obama would be coming on Friday. Secret Service guys came to secure the building even on Thursday and everything. People were going absolutely berserk. He was coming to sign the America Invents Act, which would the way filing for a patent works in America.
On Thursday our lead security guy gave us a brief sermon over the PA on how to behave and what not to bring the next day. At that point only about eight classes, most of them full of seniors, had been selected to be in the gymnasium-turned-stage for the signing, and a lot of us were pissed. The rest of the school would get to watch over the school television system, but a chance to see President Obama in person was something nobody wanted to pass up. My class wasn’t in one of the eight selected, so I came in the next day expecting to watch the president on the television when he was less than a mile away from me.
I was in for a surprise, however. Halfway through the first class of the day, our dashing principal came to our door and told us we’d been selected to sit in the gymnasium. My Latin 5 teacher almost had a coronary. We didn’t need to be asked twice to throw aside Ovid’s Amores and hurry out the door. (It still tickles me that of all the Senior classes they could have chosen, they chose a Latin 5 class. For the signing of a bill reforming patent laws. Not that I’m complaining, of course.)
We weren’t allowed to bring anything electronic with us, especially our cell phones, but that didn’t matterl. They brought in those big metal detectors you walk through. I just got oral surgery a month or two ago so I was kind of nervous all the bolts and plates in my mouth would set off the detector, but I got through just fine.
We waited for a while in the gym. They brought in the official presidential podium and everything. There was an incredible array of lights hanging from the ceiling, and the pit for the cameras was set aside in the back. Old white guys in suits were not in short supply. The CEOs of DuPont and a few other big companies I can’t remember were in attendance, but I didn’t really recognize any of the other guests else except Senator Patrick Leahy, who my Sri Lankan friend could not stop talking freaking out about. (She later hunted him down and made a point of shaking his hand.)
We spent a long time sitting on the bleachers, and my ass really started to hurt. How do they expect you to sit on those for the duration of a basketball game? But anyway, after an introduction for the president by the most introverted—and reputedly, conservative—girl at the school, the magic happened.
President Obama is like a wizard. A goddamn wizard. As soon as he came out from behind the curtain, the crowd went nuts. Everyone bolted up to their feet like they’d been wired to a car battery. He gave his signature Obama wave, his signature Obama smile, his signature Obama “Hello!” As he hailed parts of the crowd, it was like he was calling down thunder from heaven clean through the roof. I don’t think I’ve ever heard people squeal so loud. Not when they’re dying, not when they’re at a sports game. I was interested in seeing the president of what is, for better or worse, my country, but the same hype that won him the election seemed to persist in the hearts of my classmates. Is it the same thing that makes them put their hands over their hearts and recite the pledge of allegiance every morning? Anyway, it was surreal seeing a face I had seen so many times in media in real life. In many ways, it was like watching a scene from television play out in front of me.
He gave a long-enough speech that ended up being more about pushing the American Jobs Act through Congress than the America Invents Act. Still, he spoke with his usual eloquence, charisma, and most importantly, genuineness. As soon as he finished signing each letter of his name with a different pen (what a strange tradition), "Stars And Stripes Forever" started blaring over the sound system. He made a loop around the entire arc in front of the stage, shaking as many hands as he could. I think every student present tried to shake his hand, and surprisingly a good amount succeeded. Again, his genuineness was shown in his smile and the firmness of each handshake. The best I could do was shake his hand by shaking the hand of one who had shaken his hand, but that was still enough for me.
It was an interesting experience to see Obama in real life. The most noticeable part of Obama’s appearance for me, however, went completely undiscussed. He looked absolutely exhausted. Not in the way I get exhausted after pulling an all-nighter for homework. It's something more lasting than that. Nevertheless, I felt that the subtleties in his behavior displayed clearly that his “head is bloodied, but unbowed.” I have massive respect for the poor guy, who willingly picked up such a mess from Bush. Fortunately for him, I think his time at the school was at least a bit rejuvenating.
Here are some pictures I’ve scavenged from Facebook. I don’t think the owners will mind.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/u4yKH.jpg)
Is it just me or does the guy on the right kinda look like Matt Damon?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0VsOg.jpg)
Dignitaries gathered around the desk.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sFFvT.jpg)
God, I hate those bleachers. Challenge: Where am I in this photo?
+ Show Spoiler +
off to the left side out of the picture. dammit.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1DZx4.jpg)
The crowd in front of the stage.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/mhgTV.jpg)
The girl who introduced Obama. She has one patent (she got it at 14) and is working towards another, which is why she was picked I guess.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/HPvPv.jpg)
Obama doing what he does.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/21QIj.jpg)
The signing.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/BUzfU.jpg)
We require more SS agents.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/70eA9.jpg)
Handshake hopefuls.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/BpvFj.jpg)
Obama up close and personal.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hXEZ8.jpg)
Obaby.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/avFNa.jpg)
Obamouth.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5gwmI.jpg)
The crowd afterward.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/MFVFD.jpg)
The lucky guy got Obama's water bottle. Apparently Obama drinks Aquafina but tears off the labels to avoid any fiascos.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3vKvJ.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/o60SW.jpg)
Presidential planking.
