Swearing-In Day

Swearing-in day at last!  Lots of family, friends, and pictures.  We gathered in the office at the lovely reception prepared by Kathy Murray, Sandy Garvey, Nita and Rebecca Maddox, and Tiffany Noel.  We only had 2 tickets to the gallery, so family took turns sitting and watching the action on the floor.  Of course, we had TV’s set up in the office and could watch everything from there.  Mo took our three­-year-old granddaughter, Rebecca, onto the floor very briefly.  There were lots of kids down there, but Rebecca could only take a little bit of it!     Mo’s mom and I got to be in the gallery when all the Congressmen were sworn in at once.  After that, we got 25 passes to the gallery, so just about everyone who wanted to could go.  Unfortunately, not much happening on the floor by then 

            One really special thing was getting our pins.  Mo got his member’s pin and I got a spouse’s pin.  Those things are POWER! (At least around the Capitol!)

            Later in the afternoon we had a ceremonial swearing-in with John Boehner.  They were all set up in a large room with TONS of cameras.  We had to wait for a while for Speaker Boehner, who was taking a break.  When he came in the cameras started snapping!  It was like the paparazzi!  Crazy!

            Here’s our day in pictures:     

Doesn't the office look great?

Tiffany Noel, Rebecca Maddox, Martha, Mo, Sandy Garvey, Kathy Murray, Nita Maddox

 

                     

Mo and his parents, Betty and Jack Brooks

That's good cake!

Getting ready for the Ceremonial Swearing-In

The new Congressman and granddaughter Emma

Speaker John Boehner organizing us.

It's a masterpiece!

Speaker John Boehner, Congressman Mo Brooks and family

After the ceremonial swearing-in we all attended a reception held by the Alabama Delegation for the three new Alabama Congressmen, Mo, Martha Roby, and Terri Sewell.  It was held in a committee room in the Rayburn Office Building.  We got there a little late and the room was PACKED!  There was “speechifying” going on, and Mo and I were whisked to the podium.  The other two new people had already spoken and it was Robert Alderholt’s turn.  Spencer Bacchus introduced Mo and he said a few words.  It was really nice.

Congressman Robert Aderholt

Mo joking that Martha was going to make the remarks.

Mo just cracks himself up!

What a beautiful granddaughter!

Tuesday - One Day Until Swearing-In!

Several weeks ago, Mo got an e-mail from the “booker” for Diane Sawyer, the ABC News anchor.  He was trying to get a group of freshman Congressmen to join in a discussion with Diane of why they ran and what they hope to accomplish.  Mo e-mailed right back and said he would be interested.  Not all the freshmen were as anxious to do the show, however.  There were e-mails going around warning that Diane might try to “trap” the conservatives and make them look foolish by creative editing.  In the end eight new Congressmen and two new Senators agreed to appear.

            The booker was very appreciative of Mo responding so quickly, and he invited us to have breakfast with him last Friday.  His name is Polson and he is an Indian-American.  Very nice guy.  We enjoyed the breakfast a lot.  He kept mentioning how impressed he was that Mo personally answered his e-mail.

            So on Tuesday, the day before swearing-in, Mo, Chelsie, Grady and I went to a committee room in Rayburn that had been set up for TV.  There were about 5 cameras, booms, producers, directors, make-up artists, wires, cables, lights, etc.  The producer ushered us into a side room to watch the TV and to get some powder on Mo’s face.  Not only was the room for spectators and makeup, it was the control room, where the technicians and the director were set up. 

            The first shots were of the newly-elected Congressmen and Senators milling around talking to each other, film for what they call the B-roll that they can run as background.  Next, they took them into the hall and filmed them walking.  More B-roll.  So far, we haven’t seen Diane Sawyer!

            The most interesting thing is listening to the director.  We were warned to be very quiet so that the technicians could hear the director.  He was hilarious!  I would say he was definitely an “artiste”.  He would yell out, “Very good, very good!”, then turn around and chew someone out.  He would scream “If you don’t get that cord out of the shot, I just don’t know what I’ll say!!”  My favorite was when he said, “Go tell Bill to move that camera.”  His helper said, “Bill decided to try it this way once.”  Director:  “Repeat to me what I just said!!!!”  Helper: “You said to have Bill move the camera.”  Director:  “Then what are you going to do!?!?!”  Helper:  “I’m going to have Bill move the camera.”  He did not seem at all concerned about the spectators listening to him throw his hissy-fits.

            Finally, Diane Sawyer appeared.  She looked like a really beautiful and elegant woman even though I never saw her in person, just on the TV in the side room.  They all introduced themselves and chatted informally.  Diane seemed very familiar with Mo.  I think it was probably his name.  They then strolled down the hall again.  Finally, they got down to the questions and discussion.  If you would like to see what was aired, go here: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/republicans-day-spent-preparation-democrats-congress-senate-tea-party-obama-politics-12541381 and http://abcnews.go.com/watch/world-news-with-diane-sawyer/SH5585921/VD55105096/world-news-105-112th-congress  starting at 5:07 

            I think Mo got more than his fair share of airtime, don’t you?  The ending shot of Mo moving in to his office (wearing a suit?!?!) was re-enacted that evening.  That’s showbiz for you!

            Well, this would be enough excitement for one day, but there were several other things going on as well.  The girls, along with Tiffany, took off to work their magic to decorate the office and turn it into Party Central.  People were swarming around the office installing computers, setting up internet and phones, hanging pictures and plaques, and dropping by to introduce themselves.  Friends and relatives were beginning to arrive.  Many people were flying on AirTran into Baltimore and since there are only two flights a day, they were meeting each other on the plane!

            In late afternoon the girls called and said they were on the way to the office with party supplies.  They had stuffed the trunk full, then they got inside and stuffed groceries all around them until they were totally buried!  Sandy’s job was to protect the cake, a job she took very seriously.  It took seven people two or three trips from the car to bring in all the loot.  On the first trip we had to send everything through the metal detector.  I remarked to the Capitol Policeman that it was probably the only time he had ever scanned a cabbage.  He said it was definitely the first one today!  After that I brought down my spouse I.D. and they let everyone walk around the scanner.

            That night, after another Capitol tour, we returned to our condo and began to get all eleven of us settled in for the night.  It was wall-to-wall blow-up mattresses.  It was wonderful!

Swearing-in week - Saturday, Sunday and Monday

     With Grady and Chelsie in town, Mo decided to test his member-elect super-powers.  On Saturday evening we drove to the Congressional office buildings.  Mo flashed his badge and they let us in!  Mo asked a Capitol Policewomen where he could go and she replied, "Anywhere you want!  This is YOUR place!"  We went through the tunnels to the Capitol.  We wandered around, only running into more Capitol Policemen and occasionally a custodian.  If we saw a sign "Authorized Personnel Only", we made a bee-line for there.  We couldn't get into too much trouble since many doors were locked.  The highlight had to be when we went to Mo's office and saw the plaque on the wall in the hall.  We couldn't get in, but it was another reminder that this was really happening!   It was so much fun, we went the next night, too!

Wow!  It's even spelled correctly!

     On Monday we got the keys to the new office.  It's beautiful!  We did a great job with the arrangement.  When Mo and I got there, the staff had already tweaked things to make it even better!   The girls (Kathy, Sandy, Nita, Rebecca) arrived shortly after.  Diane Pettitt was there, too!!  As you can imagine, the first day was very chaotic.  Mo and I met new staffers, there were all kinds of workers everywhere, and constituents were already calling in! 
     We had the girls over for dinner with Mark, Chelsie, and Grady.  That made nine people in our little space.  Very cozy!  Afterward, Mo and I took the girls to the Capitol for our third visit in as many days.  This time, things went a little differently, though!  In the Capitol Visitors Center we met up with a Capitol Policeman who said that Mo was not officially a Congressman yet, and said we needed to have an escort.  He called another officer on his walkie-talkie, while I rolled my eyes.  Boy, was I surprised!   It turned out to be a fabulous thing!  He and another officer took us on a fabulous tour!  They told us a whole lot about the history, architecture, and lore of the building.  They let us into the Old Senate Chamber, out on the Speaker's Balcony, and into the House Chamber!  They were wonderful!  

Moving to DC

          Since I last blogged we have had a very busy personal life.  We visited my parents during Thanksgiving about three weeks after my dad’s hip replacement surgery.  We had Chelsie and Grady’s wedding in Utah, and then hosted a reception for them in Huntsville.  Three days later we woke up to three inches of snow on Christmas morning!  It was absolutely beautiful!

            On the day after Christmas we loaded the pick-up with Chelsie and Grady’s wedding gifts and a few personal belongings and set out to DC.  There was snow on the ground, but the roads were dry.  It snowed on and off the whole way to Chelsie’s and Grady’s apartment.  We unloaded their “stuff” and spent the night there.  

Our children have nicknamed this "The Clampetts drive to Washington".  "Let me tell you a story 'bout a man named 'Mo'..."

            The next day (Monday) we jumped back in the pick-up and headed to the holy land – a.k.a. Durham, North Carolina, home of the Duke Blue Devils basketball team and the place where Mo and I met.  Being Christmas break, it was deserted, but we wandered around the campus a little.  We went to Cameron Indoor Stadium where there was another alumna showing his kids around.  A campus police officer came by and let us into the lobby, but couldn’t get us onto Coach K Court because they were having a closed practice.  

 We tried to go to the Pizza Hut where Mo and I used to go, but it is now a Chinese restaurant, so we opted instead for a Cracker Barrel.

            We spent the night in north Richmond and on Tuesday made our triumphant entrance into the Capitol City!!!!  Thank goodness for our GPS, which we nicknamed Polly and which got us to the closing office of our condo.  All went smoothly, so we made our way to our new DC home. 

            Life in a big city is not always as convenient as living in Huntsville.  Upon arrival at the condo, we found out that we had to make an appointment for the loading dock, where we had to unload the truck.  Also, the parking pass we were supposed to have for a week in the garage was not there.  We killed some time at McDonald’s until we could (fortunately) get the loading dock.  Then, we borrowed a cart like you find in hotels to make about four trips with all our stuff up to our condo. I carried Mo across the threshold (piggy-back style).  I had forgotten how tiny the rooms were!  We love the view, though!

The new pad.  Cozy by Huntsville standards!

But with great views!  The Washington Monument, the new Nationals Stadium, and the Anacostia River.

            At that point, the effort to single-handedly revive the Northern Virginia economy began!  We drove to Woodbridge, VA where there is a huge shopping area, including an IKEA.  Our goal: buy a TV so we would be ready for Comcast when they came the next morning, and visit a Walmart for needed supplies.  After visiting three electronics stores, supping on IKEA meatballs and perusing their wares, we found the Walmart (surprisingly NOT a Super Walmart).  Mo checked out with a cart load of stuff and left me to finish the shopping while he went to purchase the TV.  When I went to check out at Walmart, my credit card was rejected!  We called them and told them to prepare for many more purchases, and to make a note that we would be living in two places.

            Our first night in our new place was on a blow up mattress.  We were surprised at how light it is at night in the city, even with the blinds down.  Something else new to get used to!

            After the Comcast guys came the next day (on time, I might add!), we resumed the spending orgy through Friday.  Furniture, dishes, sheets, lamps, etc.  You don’t really think about all the things you need to set up a household.  We had a new iteration of “the list” every day.  Fortunately, we made enough trips that we were able to get almost everything we need.  Our condo is convenient to the Capitol, but NOT to shopping!  Furniture was delivered on Friday (New Year’s Eve), and we were dead asleep in our new bed by 10 p.m.

            On New Year’s Day we assembled, put away, unpacked and generally arranged our things.  We watched the Alabama game (49 – 7 romp against Michigan State). To our delight, the newly weds (Chelsie and Grady) arrived that evening.