Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

1:30 p.m.

Portsmouth High School teacher Joseph Cassady made it back to The Mall in time for the swearing in ceremony, but he lost his class -- and their prime spot at the Capitol end of The Mall.

"I just ended up being a little farther away than the rest of my students."

He wound up at the base of the Washington Monument after escorting a sick student back to the group's hotel in Alexandria, Va.

At about 1:10 p.m., he waited for the group to makes its way from near the National Museum of the American Indian back to him.

"Right now, it's still a mad house," Cassady said. "I'm in the middle of chaos, just watching everything fall apart here."

Cassady marveled at the good feelings among the crowd. "The biggest impression for me is the enthusiasm. This place is rocking." Even the nation's economic troubles seemed remote to him. "Here, for today, there's a vacation from that."

After touring some of the monuments this afternoon, the group will attend a ball for 3,000 high school students at a Washington hotel tonight. Cassady reported that the student who took ill is resting at the hotel and hopes to attend the ball tonight.

Teacher, students rise early to get a spot

9:35 a.m.

Joseph Cassady, a social studies teacher at Portsmouth High School, took 20 students to Washington to see the inauguration. By Monday afternoon, excitement was building. "The city seems to be electric," Cassady reported. "I've been here for other inaugurations, and this is totally different."

Cassady and his group hit the Metro -- Washington's subway system -- before dawn to find a spot on the mall in a section where tickets were not required.

Unfortunately, one of the students became ill, and Cassady had to chaperone her back to the group's hotel. He had been hopeful of making his way back to the mall, but "I'm looking out the window and, with all the people, I realize I'm not going anywhere."

 Tags  D.C. inauguration Obama Portsmouth High School Rhode Island Washington

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.