Praise for Obama and profundity in Palatine

Aubrey Hercules of Palatine took the day off to celebrate the inauguration at his church.

Amid a small gathering of congregants at Palatine's St. Philip's Episcopal Church, he marveled at the "momentous occasion" - one that he, like so many others, thought would never happen in his lifetime.

For him, it's a lifetime that started 60-some years ago in Georgetown, Guyana, and which has taken Hercules, a chemical engineer, to many places around the world.

"I was very moved by the experience of the day," he said. "I have some of the expectations of the world."

St. Philip Pastor Deb Seles said watching the inauguration with members of her faith community made the occasion all the more profound.

"People were clapping at different places, and a number of people were crying," she said. "People have been very moved and hopeful about the new president ... and also filled with a sense of the profundity of the occasion."