Allyson_Wilson's Blog

So you've decided to ignore the facts that it will be cold as the arctic, millions of people will be in your way and the city will be a militarized zone-- you're coming anyway. Well here are some Inaugural Do's and Don'ts and other helpful advice:

This is how it will go down: President Elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20th at 10am. The best view of this is on 3rd Street NW/SW, in between Pennsylvania Ave NW and Independence Ave SW. This is the section of 3rd street that separates the Capitol lawn from the National Mall. Immediately after being sworn in, Obama will walk through the Capitol to the East Front (other side) where then former President George W. Bush will have a brief departure ceremony and newly inaugurated President Obama will ceremonially review troops. Ceremonial platoons from each of the military services will march by the president in formation and then he will get in his motorcade and proceed up Pennsylvania Ave to the White House as part of the parade. U.S. Troops will line Pennsylvania Avenue for 13 blocks from the Capitol to the White House.

Do get here early-- like this week. Take some time to go down to the National Mall and see the setup efforts for the Inaugural ceremony-- cause unless you're going to camp out on January 19th, you'll be nowhere near there on January 20th. So,a few days in advance, take Metro to the Smithsonian exit and when the escalator spits you out on the Mall walk east to the West front of the Capitol. Get a DC street map-- not just a map of the Mall area and monuments, a map of the WHOLE city you may need it to navigate on foot.

On the day of, leave home early-- If you're Inaugural accomodations are in Virginia, get your car into the city before the bridges close or get close enough to a bridge to walk. All bridges from Arlington into DC will be closed to everything except tour buses and pedestrian traffic on Inauguration day. Even a Senator friend of my husband told him he's planning on spending the night before Inauguration in his office.

Comfortable shoes-- please don't sacrifice comfort for cuteness the morning of Inauguration. Keep in mind that due to security concerns, Metro is closing the closest Metro stops to the National Mall. You will be walking from at least a mile away to get to the ceremony and parade. The U.S. Secret Service has requested that The Judiciary Square Metrorail station on the Red Line and the Mt.Vernon Sq/7th St Convention Center Metrorail station on the Yellow and Green lines close early; As well as Archives-Navy Memorial on the Yellow and Green lines, and Smithsonian on the Blue and Orange lines.
To get to the Ceremony I suggest using the Union Station metro stop on the red line or Capitol South on the blue/orange. And (note to out-of-towners) PLEASE remmeber when using metro station escalators that you stand to the right and pass on the left.

Leave the kids home-- based on space limitations, the Presidential Inaugural Committee has banned strollers, collapsible chairs, umbrellas, coolers, bags and other items from the Inaugural ceremony. You will be holding the baby for hours.

Parties-- There are a LOT of Inaugural Balls, 10 official ones. These are the balls where the President and First lady are obligated to show up, dance one dance and roll-out to the next one. The unofficial parties are the ones you really want to be bothered with. Because this is Obama, many celebrities are reportedly throwing private parties-- so if you know any celebs, work your contacts now! The Creative Coalition is throwing an ultra-exclusive bash with tickets selling at a minimum of $10,000 for a pair. Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway will be there. Sting is performing. There's also a Hip Hop Ball featuring LL Cool J, and Russell Simmons. A possible party thrown by Oprah is shrouded in mystery
I will be at a Media VIP Ball at Indulj. Tickets to that are $100 per person and $150 per couple. The venue is unbelievable, red carpet arrivals start at 8p.

Other Events-- there is so much going on to accompany January 20th. This Sunday is the big concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring some of music's biggest names-- Beyonce, U2, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and James Taylor. The president-elect and his family are due to attend, with Obama expected to speak.
Other performers include Stevie Wonder, Renee Fleming, Garth Brooks, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles. Historical passages will be read by Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington, with other celebrities expected to join them.

Finally, Its cold-- I would highly suggest going to Burlington coat factory, landsend.com or the thrift store (as my friend Shercrisha so economically suggested) and buying some snow pants and some good gloves and well insulated boots... if you plan to be outside for hours, you will need to survive.

For the latest on road closures, I'm sure our web producer Emily will love me for directing you to log on to www.myfoxdc.com

Please forward this to anyone who needs it.

So your cash strapped and you need bring in some extra buck quickly?

How about a side hustle as a babysitter?  The Holidays are here, Inauguration is just around the corner and people have a LOT of partying to do.  Tonight I was doing a story about how difficult it will be to get childcare during Inauguration and I met two amazing people who run nanny/babysitter “brokering” businesses.  That means they match nannies and babysitters to families in need of services.  Barbara Kline of White House Nannies and Vicki Benson from babysitters.com gave me great tips about how to become a QUALIFIED sitter and I am happy to pass them on to you!  A lot of these tips are simple and you can work on them in a week or so and be ready to babysit!

Make sure you like kids and have the temperament to deal with childrens.

Get some certifications!  Like taking the Red Cross Babysitter training course or any CPR and First Aid Course at your local community college.  Get even more training and command more money like as a defibrillator operator.

Have recommendations ready.  Even if you’ve never “officially” babysit.  Do you have any kids who you’ve interacted with? Well ask their parents if they’ll be a reference.  Type up a reference sheet of at least 3 people with addresses and phone numbers and have it ready to hand out OR email when asked.

Create a “Childcare Resume” where you list a family you’ve worked for and what sorts of activities you do with the children and how you care for them.  For example:

Wilson Family,  June 2008 – Present

n      I provide in home, evening care 2 nights a week for the Wilsons 2 boys ages 3 and 20 months.

n      I am responsible for serving the boys dinner and reading to them as well as playing a variety of games.

n      This family does not allow television so I often design creative activities for the boys like art projects and we create music with the boys keyboard and drums.

Get the idea?

If you want to become a top-rated sitter, this should help and please, write me and let me know about your success!

Allysonfwilson(at)yahoo.com

The Secret Service takes a lot of risks for the first family. So it's only fair that the agency gets the honor of coming up with code names for the president-elect and his family. Various sources within the Buzz recently revealed the not-so-secret nicknames.

Mr. Obama will be known as "Renegade."  Michelle, a woman of many talents, will be referred to as "Renaissance." Malia Obama's name will be "Radiance," while little sister Sasha's will be "Rosebud."

And what of the Bidens? We were hoping the Secret Service would stick to the "R" theme and dub Joe "Rogaine." Alas, his name will be "Celtic." His wife Jill will be "Capri."

What do you think of the names?

Here are some others:

President George W. Bush: Tumbler

First Lady Laura Bush: Tempo

Bill Clinton: Eagle

Hillary Clinton: Evergreen

Chelsea Clinton: Energy

George Bush: Timberwolf

Barbara Bush: Tranquility

Jimmy Carter: Deacon

Rosalynn Carter: Dancer

Amy Carter: Dynamo

Ronald Reagan: Rawhide

Nancy Reagan: Rainbow

Gerald Ford: Passkey

This from this month's HealthDay News--

"When grandparents act as caregivers for children of working parents, the risk of childhood injury is reduced by about half, says a U.S. study that challenges the widespread belief that children are more likely to suffer an injury while being cared for by grandparents. Compared to organized day care or care by the mother or other relatives, having a grandmother take care of the children was associated with a decreased risk of injury, said Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers. "Recent growth in the number of grandparents providing child care has some observers concerned they don't adhere to modern safety practices. To the contrary, this research tells us not only is there no evidence to support this assumption, but families that choose grandparents to care for their children experience fewer child injuries," said study author Dr. David Bishai."

This is research of what most parents have always known.  We turned out okay didn't we?  And I know if my kids are with my mom they are safe, well fed, engaged, read to, they go to the park, they "help" grandma in the garden, etc.  This makes me think of what researcehers are calling a new trend of multi-generational living.  Thats where the grandparents move in with one of their kids and their kids and its one big ole happy family.  Supporters say its a marvelous thing that helps elderly live longer because they are better taken care of, loved by their caretakers and presumably happy.  Detractors say its not good for seniors to relinquish control of their lives and lose independence by moving into their adult child's house.

But I say, family is family and we should always be there to support one another.  I don't live with my parents, but I live 20 minutes away and my retired step-dad sometimes helps do daycare pickups.  My mom helps with weekend childcare and me and my husband watch their house when they travel and help them with errands when needed.  It sounds like multi-generational living to me.  Interdependence for the family good.  What do you think?

 This has been a phenomenal week; a week that’s stirred a lot of passion in me.  The morning after Barack Obama’s election, as I rode around DC in a live truck--  the city looked like I was looking through glasses of a different hue.  There was just a feeling of positive energy everywhere, a feeling generated by our collective lightening of spirit. 

I have taken so long to write because I wanted to figure out what I wanted to write about, and finally it hit me—the miraculous shift in black media and black consciousness and my sincere hope that it lasts.  You know, I consume A LOT of media—just ask my husband.  At night, I relentlessly channel surf CNN, MSNBC, CSPAN, FOX, PBS—and then on the radio driving the kids to school in the morning—more CSPAN, WTOP, Donnie Simpson and Tom Joyner.  What I have extraordinarily low tolerance for is what I call “loud, obnoxious and sometimes ignorant” black radio.  Qualifying under that heading are Russ Parr and Steve Harvey.  It may be comedy, but I feel my brain cells dying when I hear Steve Harvey place fake phone calls to people acting foolish or Russ Parr’s crew doing those fake horoscopes that are akin to “yo mama” jokes.  I can’t take it, but my husband loves that kind of stuff and so I try to compromise and listen to it when he wants.  The thing is, I just wasn’t raised to value that stuff.  My single mom raised me to be curious about what’s going on in the world and be an active, knowledgeable participant in this democracy;  to speak correct English and not to use double negatives.  If she ever caught me saying “don’t nobody know how to get there?”  She would look at me like I was crazy until I did a self correction—oops, “doesn’t anyone know how to get there?”  To many extents I have always straddled a line-- on one side: wanting to be part of urban, less educated black culture; on the other: knowing there was a better way to be.  I wasn’t alone either, I had company.  Growing up in DC, it seemed all the black kids in private school knew or knew of one another and we understood the world we were in— privileged to have a liberating education and for us, among one another, it didn’t seem odd to speak correctly. 

Now, as an adult, a parent and a reporter in this fine city I always find myself praying and wishing that black media played a bigger role in showing black youth that they need to break away from ghetto slang and foolishness and take control to mold better lives for themselves.  Well, I caught a glimpse of black media doing JUST that during the course of this campaign and election.  You may recall in my last blog I talked the wonderful fact that more and more black folk are popping up on tv and talking about current events… Whether its black men getting their own shows (CNN’s Roland Martin, David Alan Grier and D. L Hughley) or just a preponderance of black political commentators finally given voice on cable news (Jamal Simmons, Donna Brazile, Lamont Hill, etc.) Educated blacks are showing their eloquence, intelligence and ability to not only hold their own but to SHUT down some of the Republican commentators and analysts whose arguments are often based on lies or just don’t make sense. The evidence of their wide appeal is now apparent even in the black community on “loud, obnoxious and sometimes ignorant” black radio.  These shows are traditionally not interested in politics or even current events of national concern.  But what Barack Obama’s candidacy has done is caused these here-to-fore hip-hopping-carefree-stick-to the-BET-formula hosts to open their eyes and care about our country-- and thereby cause their listeners to care.  Before the Jena 6 case, syndicated radio host Michael Baisden, whose show “love, lust and lies” addresses nothing but disgusting, morally bereft topics like “Is your dad cheating on your mom with a man.”  I lie to you not.  But Baisden himself just recently acknowledged that through the course of this campaign he has discovered the importance of caring about the democratic process and by virtue of that, the future of this nation.  Now his shows encourage people to know the issues and be politically aware and/or active.  Earlier this week he even said that his show has changed and where it goes from here he doesn’t even know.  It appears he wants to have some type of hybrid show that does political talk with an urban edge.  More power to him.  Then, on the same day, I flipped the dial and “Monique” of the syndicated “the Monique Show,” which airs in the same time slot as Baisden on 102.3, said she was attempting to help people build better vocabularies.  Apparently she had just wrapped a talk back with Dr. Cornel West and when the call ended she admitted that she didn’t understand many of the words he had said.  But, like a good natured trooper, she said she was going to get to know the words and help her listeners do the same thing.  They started that day, with the word “electorate” which the news reader on the program had trouble spelling, when asked by Monique.  Never mind that I was bothered that the news reader girl struggled to spell electorate—at least they were trying.  I felt such joy.  What I was listening to was the attempt to uplift black culture.  I am witnessing how Barack Obama is inspiring blacks to not want more, but be more.  To stop laughing at blacks who in their eyes “talk white” or “talk proper” and embrace a new way of being, of celebrating excellence and achievement.  Seeing a black man ascend to the highest office in the nation proves that anything is possible.  There is no excuse to be mediocre and less than brilliant.  And I applaud black media for rejecting stereotypes, for showing interest in this election—Even TVOne and BET had live broadcasts on election night.  It is important to lead the way for our people who often rely on black media to reflect who we are.  Its about time.  Its only a shame that it took a black candidate for president to get us interested.

--AW

A police officer was shot early Tuesday morning at an elementary school that is being used as a polling location in Prince George's County.

Two officers responded to a burglar alarm at Oaklands Elementary School in Laurel at about 2:30 a.m. The officers said they found a broken window and an intruder.  When the officer confronted the intruder, police said the man opened fire. A bullet grazed the officer's head, but the injury is not considered life-threatening.

The confrontation happened in the entry way of the school.  Investigators say the intruder entered through the school's media center.

Election judges arrived at the school at about 5 a.m. to set up for the day's voting, but were not allowed inside the school until after 6 a.m. 

Major Andy Ellis from Prince George's Police says investigators worked quickly to complete their crime scene investigation and K-9 officers swept the school twice making sure there were no other thugs in the building

Election workers managed to get the site opened at about 7:10 a.m-- 10 minutes later than Maryland's 7a.m. Poll opening time. Many voters had arrived to the polling site as much as two hours early. Hundreds of voters were waiting in line when the doors opened.

The shooter remains at large.  Police did give me a description, but it was vague, it could be any thin black man in his 20's with low cut hair..  If I hear something more specific, i'll update.

About the officer, we don't know his name, but Major Ellis says he was EXTREMELY lucky-- this bullet grazed his head-- an inch or two in another direction and we would have been following a TOTALLY different story today.

NOW GO VOTE!!!

--AW