METROPOLITAN TIMES MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1997

PULLING THE INAUGURAL STRINGS

By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES </CENTER> <DD> Marine Sgt. Heath Kuhlmann of Midland,Texas, showed up at 5 a.m. yesterday to be sworn in as the next president of the United States. Braving subfreezing temperatures and icy winds, the sergeant was one of hundreds called from their warm military bunks to rehearse next Monday's 53rd presidential inauguration celebration. An army spokesman said it's important the festivities, lore darkness falls. It it was crucial to get the timing just right yesterday. The inaugural events on Capitol Hill begin at 11:30 and are expected to end by 2:30 p.m. The parade afterward will take hours -- so organizers are working on a tight schedule. The weather -- and Clinton -- must cooperate. Clinton, however, says his second inaugural address will last longer than his 14 minute effort in 1992. "We staged this to work out unforeseen glitches:' said Ma- nne Maj. Don Holmes, rehearsal coordinator. "There weren't any". No major glitches, anyway. There was a short slip in the vice president's oath yesterday, when Army Pvt. William A. Bove had trouble speaking in the bitter cold air. And then there was the two-shot howitzer practice salute that set off a car alarm in a nearby parking lot. Army Sgt. Heather Johnsen of Fremont, Calif., played Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dressed in a heavy gray overcoat, she made her way to a seat behind the podium beside the stand-in Chelsea Clinton, Army Pvt. Annie Gay of Chatham, La. The two stood and watched as Marine Cpl. Richard Sorrells of Chesterton, Iowa -- as Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist -- had Sgt. Kuhlmann promise to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The oath of office sworn, the stand-in president's stand-in wife and daughter joined him at the podium and waved to a mul- titude of empty seats. The actors took two trial runs at the actual swearing-in ceremony and followed that with a mock parade -- all scheduled before 8 a.m. to avoid interrupting normal Sunday traffic in the District. The military guard stood at the ready, protecting the rows of empty chairs and trying to keep warm by bouncing to the march- ing music. Some tried to break the ice off chair seats, and one even playfully tossed an ice ball toward a fellow guard. D.C. police patrolled the roads, and Capitol Hill police stood in groups around the building's perimeter, but the only on- lookers for the trial run were a few joggers and locals out walk- ing their dogs who paused to wonder at all the uniforms. Kamera Baker, wife of Tech. Sgt. Randal J. Baker, stationed at Andrews AFB, brought her camcorder with her. Just as the loudspeakers began playing the "Star-Spangled Banner" the wind caught and unfurled the American flag. With the sun's first rays peeking over the east side of the Capitol, Mrs. Baker got a perfect inauguration picture a week early. Organizers hope the real Inauguration Day, is warmer than yesterday morning, when temperatures barely broke 20 degrees. A portion of Ronald Reagan's second inauguration was can- celed Jan. 21, 1985 when temperatures topped out at 10 de- grees, with a wind chill index below zero. If the weather is severe, officials from the Joint Congress- sional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will meet with the President's Inaugural Committee the night before to determine which events to go through with, he said. After the second mock swearing-in, the faux first couple joined the waiting presidential motorcade and headed down Pennsylvania Avenue. Though the bands didn't actually play -- Army Sgt. Maj. Boyd Sarratt said the instruments were probably frozen anyway - they had to stand in line along with their police escorts as the motorcade made its way to the reviewing stand. "Oh, my God, look at all those people we've got to wait for ...and they are moving slow!" said a service woman. "Our challenge is to have the parade turning the corner at 15th and Pennsylvania right when the President is taking his seat" Sgt. Maj. Sarratt said. Six military bands, 25 civilian bands, 14 horse-drawn units, 18 floats and 17 military marching units will participate in the inaugural parade. <HR></BODY> <CENTER><TITLE> INSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

Actress Whoopi Goldberg, filmmaker Ken Burns and the rock group Better than Ezra topped a preliminary list released yesterday of participants in a two-day celebration leading up to President Clinton's second Inauguration.

The series of events will feature performers and essayists, researchers and advocates, performing in Smithsonian museum auditoriums and large heated tents on the Mall
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Other participants include Harvard professor Cornel West, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel and women's rights advocate Betty Friedan, as well as singer Chaka Khan and former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir.

1997 Inaugural | Park Closures | Pennsylvania Ave. Closure
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