Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those
who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.
-- John F. Kennedy

Sunday, January 11, 2009

It couldn't be this bad this year, right?

Presidential Inaugural Weather
Coldest January Date (and overall):

1985 - President Ronald Reagan's second swearing-in ceremony on January 21 had to be held indoors and the parade was canceled. The outside temperature at noon was only 7°F. The morning low was 4° below zero and the daytime high was only 17°. Wind chill temperatures during the afternoon were in the -10 to -20°F range.
And I was there. I was a member of the Collegiate All-American Marching Band and we were supposed to march in the Parade. But, if my memory is correct, the next day they had a special event in the arena where the Washington Bullets played basketball and we did get to perform for the President and Vice President.
It was a fun time. They put us up in the barracks of a nearby military base, and it was damn cold.
I still remember my lips freezing to my trombone mouthpiece and my slide locking up in the cold.

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