Traditionally, the Washington Ringing Society has rung for the presidential inaugural parade, but as security looms ever larger, being in the Old Post Office tower is an increasingly tenuous proposition. Immediately after the election last November, Haley Barnett, our ringing master, began seeking permission for us to ring. After many, many telephone calls and email messages to the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and the Secret Service, persistence prevailed and we had permission to ring with some daunting caveats. Because of repeated security sweeps, we would be unable to cross Pennsylvania Avenue, which splits the city in half and is the parade route, on foot. No private vehicles were permitted within an extensive security zone centered on the White House, and public buses were rerouted away from the parade route. We had to be inside the Post Office by 5 am, but could not ring until after the President was in the reviewing stand circa 4:30 pm. Despite all the hurdles, six hardy souls agreed to ring.

My alarm went off at 3 am on Monday morning, January 20th, not welcome news under the best of circumstances and certainly not after a weekend ringing outing. Hordes of students from the local university were walking to the nearest subway station at 3:30 am! There were already several hundred people waiting in line to enter the subway at 3:45 am. The first train was too full to board. Despite many transportation obstacles, we were all at the appointed meeting place by 4:45 am. Getting through security and into the Post Office was a breeze. We raised the bells, adjusted the ropes, and retired for a nap.

Haley Barnett and I went to get breakfast at about 8:30 am. When we met to go back upstairs, there were two distinctly military-looking people hanging around the tower door. They were the snipers assigned to us (well, really to the top of the tower), but they couldn’t figure out how to get in. After showing us their IDs (Were we really going to argue with people who claimed to be experts with firearms?), we took them upstairs, showed them where they were supposed to go and the location of the bathroom, and inquired about ringing as the President was going by the Post Office. They agreed to a test ring to ensure that the ringing would not interfere with their headsets. Miracle of miracles, they said it was OK with them if we rang as the President was going by!

We ate, napped, played cards, read, worked, talked, and hung out until the inauguration ceremony started, which we watched in relative comfort and warmth on TV, unlike the hordes outdoors. We then watched the beginning of the parade so that we would know exactly when to start ringing. Although we could not see, President and Mrs. Obama got out of their limousine and walked past the Post Office, so even they heard us ringing! We rang a nice quarter of Plain Bob Doubles. A letter of congratulations together with a quarter peal report was sent to the White House.

The following day, January 21, we had been asked by the Cathedral to ring after the National Prayer Service, which would be attended by President and Mrs. Obama and Vice-President and Mrs. Biden. Your scribe was the only person foolish enough to ring for both events. All of the volunteers involved in the service arrived by 6 am for the 10 am service. We were treated to a light breakfast and a very lengthy briefing. The ringers, along with the Cathedral carillonneur, were escorted by our own, personal Secret Service agent upstairs to the tower. We were in the tower by 7:30 am, with the bells up and the ropes adjusted. Despite the cold (25F when we arrived, and about 35F after 4 hours with the heaters on), some of us slept, albeit very well bundled up. We watched the motorcade arrive, although we couldn’t see anyone very clearly. After a call from the sound booth as the service was ending at about 11:20 am, we rang a very well-struck quarter of Grandsire Triples.

Meredith Morris