CHARLESTON, W.Va. - You might say that Elk Valley Christian High School senior Lewis Taylor has been waiting for this moment his entire life.

Taylor, a self-described "political junkie," is headed to Barack Obama's presidential inauguration next week.

After a night in the Eastern Panhandle, he'll take a 4 a.m. Metro train Tuesday into Washington, D.C., along with his mother, brother and father, a Charleston Police Department detective.

"I was shocked when I got the call that I'd received tickets. I'm so excited I'm going to be there," said Taylor, after returning home from school Thursday. "Since first grade, I've been into politics. I've always loved watching CNN and MSNBC, following presidential and state elections and watching polls."

Taylor, 17, interned with Hillary Clinton's West Virginia presidential campaign and helped with Anne Barth's congressional campaign. When he stands amid the throng that will mark Barack Obama's ascension to the White House, there will more than a few flutters.

"I would love to be a staffer in D.C., hopefully someday, maybe the White House and maybe run for political office. My goals are set high."

Eddie ReBrook IV will be in the inaugural crowd, too. Later that evening, he and his wife, Natasha, will attend the Commander in Chief's Ball, where he stands a chance of seeing the new president and first lady up close and personal.

The ball is for combat-wounded soldiers, families with soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and for families of fallen soldiers. As an Army 1st Lieutenant, ReBrook - son of Charleston attorney Ed ReBrook - was wounded in the right arm by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Jan. 11, 2005.

How's he's doing these days? "Pretty good, actually," says the 28-year-old Charleston native who now calls Northern Virginia home. "I have about 80 percent of the mobility in my arm back, which is nice."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - You might say that Elk Valley Christian High School senior Lewis Taylor has been waiting for this moment his entire life.

Taylor, a self-described "political junkie," is headed to Barack Obama's presidential inauguration next week.

After a night in the Eastern Panhandle, he'll take a 4 a.m. Metro train Tuesday into Washington, D.C., along with his mother, brother and father, a Charleston Police Department detective.

"I was shocked when I got the call that I'd received tickets. I'm so excited I'm going to be there," said Taylor, after returning home from school Thursday. "Since first grade, I've been into politics. I've always loved watching CNN and MSNBC, following presidential and state elections and watching polls."

Taylor, 17, interned with Hillary Clinton's West Virginia presidential campaign and helped with Anne Barth's congressional campaign. When he stands amid the throng that will mark Barack Obama's ascension to the White House, there will more than a few flutters.

"I would love to be a staffer in D.C., hopefully someday, maybe the White House and maybe run for political office. My goals are set high."

Eddie ReBrook IV will be in the inaugural crowd, too. Later that evening, he and his wife, Natasha, will attend the Commander in Chief's Ball, where he stands a chance of seeing the new president and first lady up close and personal.

The ball is for combat-wounded soldiers, families with soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and for families of fallen soldiers. As an Army 1st Lieutenant, ReBrook - son of Charleston attorney Ed ReBrook - was wounded in the right arm by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Jan. 11, 2005.

How's he's doing these days? "Pretty good, actually," says the 28-year-old Charleston native who now calls Northern Virginia home. "I have about 80 percent of the mobility in my arm back, which is nice."

ReBrook's life is going full tilt. He has been back to Iraq and also to Afghanistan as an employee of KBR Engineering and Construction (also known as Kellogg Brown and Root). He attends night law school at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law in D.C.

He had never before voted in a national election. He voted in this past one. "I never voted before as an active duty military officer because I didn't think it was right to be political - in retrospect, I probably should have.

"I voted for Obama, but I'm traditionally a conservative," said ReBrook. "I think he's both inspirational and intelligent, which is exactly what we need right now."

Ask Charleston attorney Kitty Dooley her thoughts about attending Barack Obama's inauguration, and she has to pause. "My thoughts are so many, it's almost impossible to express them."

She reaches for help from poet Langston Hughes and his poem "I, Too, Am America," which she recites off the top of her head:

"I, too, sing America/ I am the darker brother/ They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes,/ But I laugh,/ And eat well,/ And grow strong./ Tomorrow,/ I'll be at the table/ When company comes./ Nobody'll dare/ Say to me,/ "Eat in the kitchen,"/ Then./ Besides, / They'll see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed-/ I, too, am America."

Adds Dooley: "Barack Obama's election and ascendancy to the presidency to me is the fulfillment of Langston Hughes' poem. That we, too, as African-Americans are Americans."

Everyone should pause on Tuesday to reflect on what the occasion signifies, then arise the next morning "and redouble our efforts to ensure that America is everything America can be," Dooley said.

"I believe if we give Barack Obama a chance, people will look to him as just the president of the United States and not a black president," she said. "That's really the dream. If we can get there, then we as a people have done something important and left a true legacy to our children."

Reach Douglas Imbrogno at doug...@cnpapers.com or 304-348-3017.