NEWARK - Al knew it was going to be a busy day. A street merchant on Broad Street, he sells woolen caps among other cold weather gear. Frigid temps are good for that.

But he wasn't prepared for cannon blasts.

"This was a surprise. I didn't know she was having an inauguration here until I got here this morning," he said.

The cannon blasts at Military Park across the street just before noon celebrated the inauguration of Gov. Mikie Sherrill a few blocks away at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

They also unnerved Al, who said he thought "Trump was up to something."

Sherrill gave what in some ways was a defiant speech.

She condemned the threat of "standing armies" in cities without legislative approval and said, sarcastically, that she has no plans to build a ballroom at Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion.

She said unhappy lawmakers can yell at her all they want, and she won't try to prosecute them - another swipe at Donald Trump.

In short, Sherrill said the November election gave people, "hope." The point was obvious. It was, she hoped, the first strike against the Trump Administration with the midterms to come.

That was the view inside the spiffy NJPAC, where the state's political elite gathered to cheer and to patronize a concession stand where a "two dollar" bag of small cookies sold for five bucks.

But as Al ably demonstrated, there often is a disconnect between elected officials and everyone else. Political affiliation has nothing to do with that.

In search of "real people," I traversed city streets, asking those who would speak to me about the new gov. Just for the record, Sherrill won here by a margin of almost 40,000 last fall.

Three people were having lunch at the Cornbread Farm to Soul on Broad Street. One man,a bit sheepishly, admitted he wasn't following the big event Tuesday in his city.

He said, "It will probably affect me, and when it does, I guess I'll deal with it."

A few blocks further south near Lincoln Park, a cluster of men were lighting up.

One explained they were attending programs at a nearby recovery center and that this was a "smoke break."

Politics, for most of these fellows was probably not a major concern. So, it was surprising that one of them, Anthony, asked, "Is she going to build that tunnel?"

Well, she's sure going to try to. This is a rail tunnel linking New Jersey with Manhattan known as Gateway. Trump said during the government shutdown that he "terminated" the project.

Next up on this journey were three men chatting outside a deli, somewhat oblivious (if possible) to the cold. They were in their 50's and 60s.

"Politics sucks," said Michael, who like everyone with whom I spoke declined to give a last name.

His companion, Edgar, was not as cynical.

"Back in the day, it was better," he said of politics. As for Sherrill:
"So far, I like what I hear." At the time, Sherrill had been governor for about an hour, so he was talking about the campaign. But he added that politicians say a lot of things when running, but things are different "when they get behind a desk."

Edgar also wondered if Ras Baraka, the mayor, would run for governor again. Baraka ran in last year's primary and finished second. He then endorsed Sherrill.
The last man in the group, Tyrone, said of the inauguration.
"It would have happened with me, It would have happened without me."
Is there anything he thinks Sherrill should do for Newark?
"Houising," he said.

Back up Broad Street and near Al's clothing stand is a Starbucks.

Ozzie, a customer there, is a transplant to Newark from Mexico City via Alabama - an interesting itinerary to be sure.

He can't vote yet in New Jersey, but said his views "lean right." Asked about Sherrill, he said he hopes she can clean up the city a bit.

Any interaction with average people results in some being completely unaware of anything political. Up to a point.

One woman outside Starbucks said:

"I don't know who the governor is. I just know the president."