January 20th could not have come any sooner. Thank God though, it is finally here!

Today was an incredible day in our nation’s history! I was moved to tears on numerous occasions. And last night was one oh Those nights, full of promise, electricity and excitement, for my sister and me and for tens of thousands of others, who traveled from far and some from just inside the Beltway. For the first time in our lives, my sister and myself were getting dressed to go to an inaugural ball! And not just any inauguration or just any ball, we were celebrating Barak Obama’s inauguration and we were to attend the Illinois State Society Ball! My sister has lived in Chevy Chase for the past 10 years and has never even contemplated attending an inauguration, let alone a ball! This inauguration is different, obviously and so we wanted to take part of the celebrations.

So we got dressed in our silk taffeta gowns, did our hair and make-up, kissed my nephews goodnight and we were off. As we ascended the subway (driving downtown seemed ludicrous) our excitement increased, there were hundreds of people dressed dazzlingly! Full length ball gowns and minks coats were abundant. It was so much fun to be in the crowd with everyone just sparkling! We arrived at the front of the Renaissance Hotel and really did not know what to expect, it was 8:30pm and we were on time for the Ball or so we thought. As we searched for the correct line we were confused, but thought we had made the correct choice.

Slowly over the course of the next two hours, our patience wore thin and our feet grew numb. I mean, who on earth leaves women dressed in ball gowns and heels in frigid 19 degree weather for two hours? Clearly this was an event planned by, actually I have no idea who could ever have planned an event so poorly, no analogies come to mind. There were thousands of us being snaked around, inside and out. All those earlier hopes were dashed by 10:30pm. Cold and frustrated, without food or beverage (now that would have been brilliant – someone serving the thousands in line cocktails! That would have tamed the masses and showed proper courtesy to the guests) my sister was shivering and felt as though frost bite was setting into her lovely, yet scantily clad feet, we left … And in our gowns, heels and furs went to Five Guys for burgers, now if only they would have had cocktails too.

For me, and for thousands of others, the Illinois State Society Ball was a disappointing, frustrating and a terribly cold evening without any denouement. I have no idea if they over sold the event (though I suspect that was part of the problem) or that they just did not have enough staff (at no point during those two cold hours did any staff come outside to give us direction or information) or if they hired the wrong people to run the event (which is clear regardless of the other options). What is clear is that they did not respect the people who were coming to the event enough to treat them with the courtesy that they deserved; a clear and simple, well marked path to get into the event that they paid for. And yes, we paid for our tickets and I assure you we will be requesting a refund.

dale b. cohen
new york city

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