Dancing January 24, 2013 So look. I’m still blown away. What a difference from 12 years ago, when Charles and I got to dance late into the night at the Gores’ after his concession speech. It was a wonderful night, in its way — like the end of color war at camp, even though you had lost — but it marked the beginning of a transition from peace and prosperity to needless real war and near depression. What a difference from 4 years ago when I watched joyfully but fluishly from a warm hotel room as Barack Obama was Inaugurated and, later that night, as he and Michelle danced from ball to ball. (And what a difference from 40 years ago. You’re not a GREAT dancer,” said my first boyfriend, the summer I came out. He was being kind.) In contrast to all that,this past weekend was . . . amazing. It was, among other things, the second time I met Usher without realizing who he was. This time, at least, I figured it out in time. But the only truly noteworthy thing about the weekend was being there, with a million others, to bear witness to Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural Address. We. The people. It’s the sort of thing you can read or watch again and again. And that will likely be re-read and re-watched for years to come. BOREALIS: THE WHEELTUG TWIST Meanwhile . . . remember The Twist? Do you know why it takes so long to load an airplane with passengers? And why it takes us passengers back in 23A-and-B so long to deplane? It takes so long, for one thing, because only one door is used. And only one door is used because the plane is parked nose-in to the gate. Imagine if, once at the gate, it pivoted, or “twisted,” 90 degrees so as to park parallel to the gate. So that both front and aft doors could be used. Right now, that’s not possible because — in the process of maneuvering so close to other planes — who knows what the main engine thrust might knock over. But with their powerful little electric motors in the two nose wheels, WheelTug seems to think that pivot, or “twist,” would be easy. Which could halve, or at least shorten, the enplaning/deplaning process. Which means more productivity from each plane and gate. Good for passengers, good for airlines, good for airports, good for WheelTug, good for us.