Nell Johnson resides in Nansemond Parkway and received an unbelievable shock on last Thursday. While she and her husband, Clarence “BB” Johnson were watching the evening news, she saw her niece, Claudette Mason, walking from a ramp towards a boat that was there to rescue some of the 155 passengers from Flight 1549, the plane that crashed landed in the Hudson River.

Mason is a native of Franklin and lives in Memphis, Tenn. She had been on a business trip to New York and has now returned to Memphis.

After the rescue I saw her being interviewed on two TV stations where she said that she thought that she was going to die and praised the pilot, Chelsey Sullenberger, for saving so many lives.

Mason is the daughter of Johnson’s oldest sister, and Johnson said that she and several family members were just at her home in November where they had all gathered for a family dinner.

Sullenberger, 57, has been flying ever since he was 14 and has more than 40 years of experience as a pilot. He is now being called a hero by people everywhere. He stated that he only did what he was trained to do as a pilot.

After other passengers spoke to reporters and other rescue workers witnessed and heard about the miraculous landing, the incident is also being called “Miracle on the Hudson.”

When I heard about this crash, I compared it to the historical inauguration of President Barack Obama that took place in Washington, D.C. yesterday.

People are depending on President Obama’s know-how in leading them out of our economic crisis.

In the same way that rescue workers from different departments came together to bring people to safety, the President has worked hard to select Cabinet members in categories where he thinks they are best-suited to come together to bring us out of an economic crisis.

I already consider him as a hero for bringing Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream into reality, for working hard to achieve his goal to give others hope that they can achieve their goals, and for being responsible for record-breaking numbers of registered voters.

Now that President Obama has taken up residency on Pennsylvania Avenue for at least the next four years, I see him as a historical “Miracle in the White House.”

A thought in time: In January 1961, the Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy, our 35th president, was given. This was the same year that President Barack Obama was born, Aug. 4, 1961.

Students who graduated from high schools and universities in 1961 should consider this fact when celebrating their reunions.