After Obama's acceptance speech and way past our bedtime, we couldn't resist the lure of Times Square. From our bedroom overlooking West 20th Street we could hear the roar of the crowd a mile north and decided to share our excitement with fellow New Yorkers. Times Square didn't disappoint. It was like a small town celebration, but with many thousands of people from all over NYC and visiting tourists from around the world. It was a jubilant (yet sober) crowd that cheered every time a stream of cars--horns blaring, passengers chanting the name of our president elect--passed through.

One car, carrying four twenty-something white guys, went by with one of the men giving the crowd the finger. We could have cared less. For a change, the night belonged to the fearless and hopeful (despite the apparent loss on Prop 8 in California). A few days shy of my 50th birthday, it's a thrill to feel inspired and proud to be an American--for the first time in a very long time.