Ms. Warwick told me she was amazed as she watched the crowd in Chicago on Election night, particularly the youths in the maelstrom. "They get it!", she said with a light in her eyes. She was fueled by the excitement of watching a new generation get excited about their potential, and the threshold of a new age for America they were working to be a part of. That’s what inspired her to do something different, something that hasn’t been done before.
Ms. Warwick told me she was approached about bringing a thousand of those young people to Washington for the Inauguration. "I said, ‘That’s great, but it’s not enough. How about throwing a Ball for them?’". After further review, she realized her traditional fan base "probably wouldn’t want to get down to ‘Ludacris’ ", and she didn’t want to leave them out. That’s why Dionne Warwick will be hosting TWO Balls in Washington at the Marriott Wardman Park on the same night. One is for the young and young at heart – called the Urban Ball – and one called the Legends Ball for the more "experienced".
At the Urban Ball, guests will enjoy performances by T-Pain, David Banner, Athena Cage, Cedric the Entertainer, the Cheetah Girls, Fantasia, Lil Jon, Monica, Bella Steez, and Bobby Valentino. The Legends Ball will feature performances by Rodney Atkins, George Clinton, Chaka Khan, Marvin Sapp, the Temptations (with Dennis Edwards), Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, Kirk Franklin, the H.B. Barnum Orchestra, The Caravans, and Smokie Norful.
Just another way this Inauguration Day is going to be different from any other. I’ll have to check back with her and see if Ms. Warwick can survive hanging with those two different crowds.
The Music of Barack A Poem On America?s Inauguration copyright Simin Saedi Wong, PhD January 8, 2009
Towering above the shinning Hill, A high sunrise glorying round the dome, The Capitol is wearing a gold and brilliant wreath, Wrapped forty-four times on the peak.
The two long-gone years, a gentle star captivating all, The taller, smarter promising ascent, more uplifting than those that shined before, resurrecting towers of passion, Has brought the things down-to-earth.
Folks are all over the place speaking his name aloud, The music of Barack, I stand musing on him play, Easier on the ear than those that played before, Mastered all the highs and the lows, No more equivocation, Singing of hope and trust, We have been living for this day; we have been waiting for this day, The possibility of all possibilities, the magic has touched the world; We started to celebrate putting on fresh pearls round the neck.
His pure and rich soul has warmed up the frigid earth, Healing the infirmity of the time, it is all about grace, Even Estragon and Vladimir do not need to wait for Godot any more, They have been called! Wearing an evergreen wreath, curled forty-four times on top of the head, Drawn together by this voice, people have chosen to arise and serve and search, And in searching, so much more to live and die for, The time of faith, we will find the answer, for greatness lives in everyone and everywhere, Goodness has got out of bed.
And in the abundant spell of January, The cherry trees in the Mall are springing up, coming into bud, kissing the sunlight everyday, Even in the midst of unknown, so true to life like love at first and the next thousandth sight, Ah, the lovers have all returned.
The treasures of the two long-gone years, we cherished each moment. And in the heart of it all, the hopeful new days, our home and land, And our America was on our mind. And of the new days and the new years to come, The weather is quite fair, More delightful than those that went before, As love is swinging us around the head in our beautiful USA.
And high above the shinning Hill, All in a life-lucid sun-soaked joyfulness, the cheerful voices laughing, Sending down the answer, and they say, "We are American, we persevere and embrace in resolve, And in the union, we prevail now and again." And high above the shinning Hill We look up to OUR BELOVED LORD To keep our America and our President safe.
And this is my inauguration poem for our President-elect Barack Obama. A hand-written version from me was sent to the President-elect. I hope you enjoy reading it.
I have also sent it to the Washington Post. I wish that the Post print sand presents it to their readers.
Thanks.
Simin S Wong, Ph.D.
301-983-0161
America?s Inauguration A Poem in January 2009 By Simin S Wong Copyright January 8, 2009
Towering above the shinning Hill, A high sunrise glorying round the dome, The Capitol wearing a gold and brilliant wreath, Wrapped forty-four times on the peak.
Ah, the treasures of the two long-gone years, We cherished each moment. And in the heart of it all, on our mind was our land, our home,
Our America And the hopeful new days. And of the new days and the new years to come, The weather is quite fair, More delightful than those that went before, And love is swinging us around the head, In our beautiful USA. The two long-gone years, And the music of Barack and Joe
Easier on the ear than those that played before,
Mastered all the high and low, Resurrecting tower of passion, we started wearing pearls around the neck, A gentle star captivating all, More uplifting than those that shined before, The magic has touched our USA, Even in the midst of unknown, The lovers have returned. All pulled in and drawn together by this voice And the answer we shall find, And in searching, we find so much more to live and die for, There is greatness everywhere.
And in the abundant spell of January, it feels like
Love at first and the next thousandth sight, I see the cherry trees in the Mall are springing up,
Coming into bud, Kissing the sunlight everyday. Even Estragon and Vladimir do not need to wait any longer for Godot, Sticking together to our HOMELAND?s dream, Wearing a fresh evergreen wreath,
Curled forty-four times on top of the head, No doubt, they have all chosen to arise to serve, For goodness has got out of bed.
So faithful all, this tall promising ascent, Has brought the things down-to-earth, And when all is being said and done, On this inauguration day, We look up to OUR BELOVED LORD To keep our America and our President safe.
And high above the shinning Hill, All in a life-lucid sun-soaked joyfulness, The cheerful voices Laughing, celebrating, Sending down the answer, and they say, "We are American, we persevere and embrace, In resolve and in union, we prevail now And again."
We went to see Dionne Warwick in the Theater in the Round in Palo Alto, circa 1982.
Paul Williams(Old Fashioned Love Song writer etc.,) was there too. When he came up the aisle after the performance, he gave me the old 'Hand Slap', as he went by me.
Dionne, however, was the greatest then, and remains so today.
