But let's back up to 2004. I was a big fan of the Irish rock band U2, after having seen them in concert in Memphis during the 1997 Popmart tour. And I was thrilled when it was announced that half of the band would be performing at the opening of Bill Clinton's fancy new presidential library. But sadly I wasn't invited (I'm assuming the invitation was lost in the mail). I took the day off from work anyways, since the city had set up large TVs in various places downtown for people to watch the opening. I figured if I couldn't be there, I would try to get as close as possible.
The day before the ceremony, there had been constant reports of all the big celebrities arriving in town. Oprah was seen at the airport! Robin Williams was seen eating cheese dip at a restaurant downtown! My cousin is also a big U2 fan, and we decided to head to downtown Little Rock that night along with her husband. It was a complete circus there, like a giant party. There were throngs of people out, presumably searching for any famous people in the crowd. The only time I remember downtown Little Rock being this crowded and electric was at Bill Clinton's election night parties in 1992 and 1996.
I didn't see anyone famous in the crowd, just all the fancy limos heading to the Capitol Hotel and the Peabody. But a friend from college told me later that he was able to get into the Peabody and went to the bar, where he sat next to Bono. I wonder if Bono saw this sign when he got into town, and what he thought of the smaller sign next to it that just says "I love gravy!"
I remember my co-workers making fun of me when I said I was taking off work to go stand outside the opening ceremony. And it did seem like a really silly idea on the morning of the ceremony. It was just a miserable day to be outside - cold and pouring rain. We got there as the ceremony was starting. We saw the big TVs that the city put out but no one was standing in the rain to watch them. We put on some bright yellow ponchos and walked down the street towards the gate, trying to get as close as possible.
We walked until we reached the gate and the people who were checking for tickets. But they weren't really paying attention, the ceremony had started and there wasn't a line anymore. At the same time, there was a guy selling souvenir editions of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. We walked over to him and I bought a copy, and we noticed that we had moved past the ticket-takers. But they didn't notice us, they were too busy talking and smoking. So we all quickly agreed to just see what would happen if we continued on down the street towards the library.
We then made it to the security checkpoint, where there were some metal detectors. They waved us over, so we went on ahead. As we went through the detectors, one of the guards asked "Wait, do you have tickets?" And then the other guard looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Um yeah, if they're here they've already shown their tickets." And with that, we passed through the security and were free to go inside.
We were only able to do this because of the heavy rain that morning. I doubt the ticket-takers and security wanted to be out in the deluge. And the huge crowd of people who did have invitations (at least 30,000 of them) were drenched.
There were some tents set up, and it seemed like a lot of the crowd was getting up and going to the tents to dry off and warm up. We were able to move through the crowd and somehow got really close to the stage where the performers would be (the area where the speakers were, which included four presidents, was presumably more restricted).
But we were able to see Jimmy Carter speak:
And then George W Bush:
After George W finished, it was time for Bono and The Edge to make their appearance. They strolled out on stage, right in front of us.
They performed three songs, the first was a cover of "Rain" by the Beatles. It was a fitting choice.
Then they did an acoustic version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday."
I was taking pictures with my old Pentax ZX-50, which was a film camera. Of course during the middle of the performance I had to put in a new roll of film. Someone next to me was kind enough to cover me with their umbrella while I tried to switch out the rolls.
Then they performed "The Hands That Built America," which was written for the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York.
Here's the video of the performance, it's crazy to watch it now and see myself in the crowd:
That's me!
We left after that, after getting fairly soaked in the rain. We walked by as Bill Clinton was giving his speech.
Which wasn't the only time I've ever seen Bill Clinton in person. There was also the time that I shook his hand when I was in 3rd grade and dressed up as Abraham Lincoln (but that's another story):
After leaving I immediately went to get the film developed at a One Hour Photo place and hoped that they wouldn't mess up the processing. This was back in the film days so I had no idea if these pictures actually turned out until I got them back from the store. It turns out some water got into the camera and some of the film messed up, but luckily most of the pictures turned out ok.
Looking back now, after all these years, I'm still amazed that we were able to get in. I'm grateful for the bored ticket-takers and the security guards who let us sneak through. I hope the Secret Service and Bill and Hillary don't mind, but we had a good time there despite the rain. Thanks!
