Thank you, Regent Theatre, for opening up your doors today so we could watch history in the making. Yet it was history repeating itself that was so remarkable. To echo Senator Feinstein, today was a celebration of more than two centuries as a country. For 44 times we as a nation have peacefully transferred power from one president to another. Both the president leaving and the president beginning represented our country today with grace and dignity today.
I cannot tell you what a thrill it was to see this momentous occasion on such a large screen. As I saw our flag whipping in the breeze, my Navy upbringing surged through my veins. My eyes teared up, my heart swelled and I could hear my mother’s voice in my ear saying once again how her adoptive country’s flag was most beautiful to behold. That patriotic thing happened again when Aretha Franklin sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” the song that Reverend Martin Luther King’s recounted in his “I have a dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, and, as Andy Metzger of The Advocate told me today, the song performed by Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.
Let’s continue with what a month
January started off with a bang. The Chamber’s first (can I use “inaugural” one more time?) “Coffee or Tea is on us!” was a raging success. We stopped counting after 40! I can’t tell you everyone who was there because no one turned the page to continue having folks sign in. This is what I did have recorded:
Liz Blumenthal of Coach Liz Blu brought a guest and Ron Imposimato of Fresh Coat brought along two colleagues from his Arlington BNI group. Also represented were Watertown Savings Bank, Patriot Financial, Big Foot Moving, Stage 5 Cycling, Richard S. Moskow Associates, The Book Rack, YAVP, 2M Coaching & Staffing, The Children’s Room (winning the prize for the most folks from one organization!), Bob Ferlanti Custom Painting, VNCH, The Regent Theatre, Mirak Automotive, Rubicat Design & Photography, Sperling Interactive, Arlington Acupuncture Center, Healing with Acupuncture, BOWES Real Estate, Functional Places, Nurturing Spaces, East Cambridge Savings Bank, Edward Jones are just the ones I had on my sign in sheet. Joan of bagels by US was phenomenal, as was the rest of the crew, too.
Everyone liked the informality. Drop in, stay awhile, eat breakfast, network and then be on the way to work. Won’t you join us next month on Tuesday, February 10 when we move to Sweet Sue’s?
Here’s the deal. You don’t have to register. You don’t have to pay. You DO have to buy breakfast. You DO have to network. And when you do, the Chamber will treat you to your coffee or tea or even a hot chocolate. Enjoy these photos and see for yourself why I say, it’s a great deal!
This year
This is what I think. Out of challenging times comes opportunity. Count me in!
