reporting from chicago....

are my friends myndi and charlie, who were there last night.

Myndi writes:

Well, history was made! Can you believe it????

I don't know about you, but I am still in disbelief. Charlie and I keep repeating to each other, "Obama is our president! Obama is our president!" It truly hasn't sunk in yet.

Here's a breakdown of what we experienced last night...

We started the night at the Emerald Loop with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The place was packed to the gills, everyone decked out in Obama gear. They had CNN on big screens and we began to get fired up. After dinner we walked over to the park in a ball of nerves, arm in arm. I can't explain to you how many people were descending on the park. What you didn't see on CNN were the 900,000 plus people on the other side of the park crowded around huge screens. They divided the group between ticketed people and non-ticketed people. The line of ticketed people stretched down 14 blocks of Michigan Ave. We got in at the end of the line and moved through the line for an hour and half. Everyone was so excited, so happy. People from apartment windows yelled down results of states as they came in.

Then we got into the park. We ran down to join all of the people you saw on CNN. It quickly filled in after that. As we settled in, they announced his win in Virginia, and then quickly after that they projected him the winner of California, then the president of the United States. At that moment the park went crazzzzzzyyyyyyyy. Just as you would expect, strangers hugged, jumped up and down, kissed. It was like New Years Eve in Times Square only bigger and more emotional.

We then said the pledge of allegiance, a preacher came out and gave a prayer, and then this beautiful woman sang the national anthem without any music behind her. About when she hit the line, "land of the free", I completely lost it. Like really lost it. I started to sob and could not stop. They then showed this really awesome video that summed everything up. The video was set to one of my favorite songs by The National, Fake Empire. I can't explain how much I cried. I could not stop crying. All the emotion from this election just poured out. Cried through the entire video.

Then Obama took the stage. It was a great speech, although Charlie and I both talked about how we were worried throughout it that something would happen to him. There were three helicopters circling the park and you could see snipers on the tops of every building.

After the speech, we headed out of the park with everyone else. If you know Chicago, imagine Michigan Avenue being completely shutdown. We filled the streets and walked down the street. It was a parade of people in tears, cheering, laughing. They are saying a million people filled the streets and walked together.

That about sums it up. What an incredible day for all of us, no matter where you were last night, you will always hold it in your heart.

This video best sums up what we experienced last night. It's a little blurry and we had a better view of Obama than this guy, but it will give you a feeling of the crowd. You'll get to see clips of the video we saw that made me sob like a big baby. Let the video load all the way before you play it.

After you watch that, check out this one to see the crowd we were in as we streamed out of the park. More people than I have ever seen in my life.

Much love from Chicago!
Myn