America has elected a new President of the United States, and I was lucky enough to be in Chicago on election night when President-Elect Barack Obama took the stage in Grant Park to address the nation.
I didn’t have a ticket to the main gathering area of the park, so I headed for the non-ticketed area where Jumbotrons were set up for all to watch. Regardless of one’s politics – and I have no intention of revealing mine here – it was an unforgettable evening.
It was history.
One African-American gentleman standing next to me said he never thought he’d see the day when an African-American would ascend to the nation’s highest office and the world’s most powerful job.
Then he said something else: “I hope, once and for all, we can stop looking at each other and see nothing but skin color.”
A-men to that.
I had hoped to provide you with a wine report on the Grant Park event. After all, at neighboring Millennium Park, wine flows all summer long during that venue’s series of free concerts.
Alas, the strongest beverage available at Grant Park last Tuesday night was hot chocolate. And, truth be told, it wasn’t all that hot.
But that evening will have a warm place in my heart for a long time.
