Asheboro native watches nearby
By Samantha Young
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - When President Bush took the oath of office on Thursday,
Asheboro native Lu Stanton Leon had one of the best seats.
She was merely yards from Bush, high on the platform erected for the
occasion on the west front of the U.S. Capitol.
"It's very exciting," Leon said after the ceremony. "You
really feel like a part of history."
Leon was invited to sit on the stage with her husband, the Rev. Luis
Leon, who Bush asked to deliver the invocation at his second inauguration.
The president attends services frequently at St. John's Episcopal Church,
the landmark church across the street from the White House where the reverend
preaches.
The couple's daughters, Sofia, 18, and Emilia, 15, sat nearby, on the
second level of the platform stage.
"It was a fun day to see all of the Supreme Court, the Clintons,
the Quayles, the Carters," Leon said of her sightings of the former
presidents and vice president and their wives.
Leon was seated one row behind Bill and Hillary Clinton, although Secret
Service agents shielded the power couple, she said.
In the crowd below, state Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Archdale, and his wife,
Marian, scored two seats, close enough to capture some good photos of Bush.
"We were close enough that we could see everybody and their faces,"
Tillman said.
Four years ago, the Tillmans stood further back in the crowd, where most
of the public tickets are allocated.
Meanwhile, Valerie and Lyn White of Asheboro got in line at 8 a.m. to
secure a front row spot in the standing room section, subjecting themselves
to four hours of near freezing temperatures to witness the ceremony.
"It was going the full circle for us seeing him sworn in,"
said Valerie White, who attended the GOP convention in New York last summer.
"I felt more like a participant than a spectator watching on TV.
It was really exciting to be a part of the ceremony."
Before the ceremony, the Tillmans stopped by the office of Rep. Howard
Coble, R-N.C., who hosted an open house for constituents.
More than 60 people munched on doughnuts and sipped hot coffee in Coble's
private office. Meanwhile, Coble stood in an aide's quarters posing for
photos with North Carolinians and signing autographs.
"Every four years this is very special, as evidenced by this crowd,"
said Coble, who also sat on the presidential platform with his House colleagues.
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
|