Mum was laying in bed finishing off breakfast. I had turned on the TV and the inaguration was on. She had been bed-ridden for a week as a result of a fall. On the TV Mr. Obama was taking his oath of office.
Mum: Who is that?
Me: That’s the new President of the United States.
(pause)
Mum: No, the man with his hand up.
Me: Yes, that is the new President.
Mum: He’s a black gentleman?.
Me: Yes. Mixed… his mother was white and his father an African.
Mum: He’s a handsome man, (pause) And he’s the new President?
Me: Yes.
Mum: I like his face.
We then watched Mr. Obama give his speech in silence. Six months later Mum left this world.
I thought about that morning yesterday as I watched Mr. Obama’s second inauguration. I was glad I turned on the TV 4 years ago so that Mum, despite having alzimers, could witness yet another point in history… among the many other points she had experienced in her 86 years on this earth.