WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama hadn’t left the stage at Chicago’s Grant Park on Tuesday night when telephones started jingling across the Washington area.
America is looking for a place to crash.
“People who haven’t called me in months, years, are suddenly calling and saying, ‘Hey, I was just thinking about you,’ ” said Eric Tyson, 29, who lives in Anacostia. “And then, as the conversation continues, they say they might be up for the inauguration and then they ask how many people are staying at my house.”
The same kind of conversation is happening across the region, as the inauguration of the first African-American president has people from across the country and around the world planning to be in Washington on Jan. 20.
In Mitchellville, Md., Elease Houston’s nephew called from Atlanta. In Georgetown, Kyle Gibson received an e-mail from a buddy looking for a bunk. In Northwest Washington, 46-year-old Astrid Trinh fielded calls from loved ones in four European countries.
“My house has turned into a bed-and-breakfast for the inauguration,” Trinh said. “I’ve got people coming from Belgium, France, Switzerland and Spain. I think there will be about 15. . . . I told people they could come and I’ll figure out the beds later.”
Trinh said she has tried to explain to these guests that they need tickets to attend the inauguration.
The Washington Post
