"The air all around the world is a little cleaner"

Went to the Birchmere last night to see legendary folk hero Joan Baez. There was an amazing energy flowing through the sold out crowd. It was like we were all little kids at Christmas again. As I walked across an aisle with my Obama shirt on, a lady pointed at me, smiled, and started clapping. She must've been 60. I don't think I've ever received applause from strangers in my whole life. Joan opened up by letting the crowd know she was pretty tired because she'd been up all night screaming in the streets of DC. She had been at her hotel in Alexandria when the call was made, and she took a cab downtown to join the celebration. She spoke warmly of her friendship with Martin Luther King, her amazement at where we have finally arrived, and someone shouted out "thank you, Virginia!", and the crowd roared with glee. The title quote was her comment on the good news of the week. For the encore she came out and broke into "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", which immediately reminded me of my victory post here the other night. And as everyone sang along forcefully, it was clear that we were of one mind, that finally the last shred of the Confederacy had been torn down. It was a beautiful moment.