Councilman looking forward to D.C. trip
Aaron Kircher of McCook has snagged coveted tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony Tuesday -- and all because of a girl.
An ex-girlfriend, to be exact. Aaron Kircher, the 27-year old McCook City Councilman, thought it would be nice if he could get tickets to the inauguration, for a girl he was seeing, who lived in Lincoln. After he secured the tickets and hunted down motel rooms, the two broke up.
But that's not enough to cancel the trip: they're still going to the inauguration as "just friends."
The break-up had nothing to do with politics -- his girlfriend is a Democrat -- but rather is a casualty of a long distance relationship.
"It will be a good trip with a good friend," Kircher explained, who calls himself a "moderate Republican." "I've always wanted to Washington, with all it's history. There's so many places to see and go. It's a once in a life-time experience."
Kircher said he obtained tickets after requesting them from the website of Rep. Adrian Smith, Nebraska's 3rd District Congressman.
Each congressman and senator was given 198 tickets, said Charles Isom of Rep. Smith's office.
According to the Washington Post, about 240,000 tickets have been printed for the swearing-in.
Getting the tickets was the easy part -- Kircher said he will pick them up at Rep. Smith's office when he gets to Washington. The hard part was finding lodging.
After checking online with about a dozen different motels that were all sold out, Kircher finally found rooms in a town 30 miles away in Virginia.
It's surprising he got rooms at all. Thousands people are expected to descend on Washington for the inauguration, with new estimates ranging from about 1.5 to 2 million. Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 inauguration drew 1.2 million and in 1961, John F. Kennedy's inauguration attracted about 1 million, while Bush drew around 400,000 in 2005, according to the Washington Post.
Still, Kircher said he's prepared for the staggering crowds and the traffic. The only concern he has the drive into Washington.
"I've heard it will be a nightmare getting into the city," he said, who plans to spend three days on the trip.
Despite the crowds, he's still excited about going. The counter on his FaceBook page is counting down the days and Kircher said he plans to take lots of pictures at the swearing-in ceremony, buy a souvenir for a friend and expand his eating habits.
"Maybe I'll try some duck and get out of my cheeseburger diet," he laughed.
The inauguration will be a five-day affair beginning on Saturday, with balls, concerts and other events and ending on Sunday with a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral. The swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol on Tuesday will include an invocation by Dr. Rick Warren, musical selections by Aretha Franklin, Itshak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma and the inaugural address given by the new president.
It's about a 24-hour drive from McCook to Washington and Kircher doesn't plan to spend any more money than he has to: he's done an Internet search so he can avoid all the toll booths on the way.
"I've never paid a toll in my life and I don't want to start now," he said.
MHS classmates taking part
McCook High School classmates Harrison Ford and Navy Petty Officer Ted Chancellor hope to meet at the inauguration.
Ford, a senior majoring in political science at the University of Nebraska Kearney, took last semester off to work on the Obama campaign and is taking his father, Mike Ford of McCook as a guest to the festivities.
Chancellor will march with the U.S. Navy contingent, in the sixth row back, second from the left, where he will echo the commands of the commanding officer. He will soon be stationed in Jacksonville, Fla., where he will undergo training to repair and maintain helicopters.