Headed for Washington -- with or without tickets

Joining the movers and shakers descending on Washington, D.C., today for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration will be a sizable contingent of regular folks from the suburbs.

Some will fly; some will drive. Some have reservations at Washington hotels. Others will bunk with friends and relatives. A lucky few will observe the inauguration from the steps of Capitol Hill. Others will join thousands on the National Mall to watch the swearing-in on giant screens.

They are your neighbors. And these are their stories.

The veteran

Retired Air Force veteran Ginny Narsete trudged through the Iowa snow for Barack Obama. She worked 16 hours a day in 5 degree weather and then flew to South Carolina on her own dime while volunteering for his campaign. She used up all her vacation from her full-time job at the Environmental Protection Agency working to get him elected.

Narsete - who retired from the military in 2006 after 30 years - was no political campaign veteran. Before Barack Obama, she never considered getting involved in politics. All that changed after Obama announced his candidacy.

The commitment of Illinois' junior senator toward veterans impressed Narsete. Of all the committees he could have served on after his election to the U.S. Senate, he chose veterans affairs, said Narsete, who lives in Lisle and serves as an American Legion commander.

Obama worked to get better care for Illinois vets, she said. "Someone who was an unknown put veterans first."

When an Obama representative invited her to join the campaign, she accepted, saying she'd do anything but work a phone bank and canvass.

Turns out, that's all she did. "I knocked on 2,000 doors and called 1,000 people," she said.

On Nov. 4, Narsete and her husband attended the Election Night rally in Grant Park. Today, they'll be in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration. They don't have tickets so they'll celebrate from the Mall, but they will attend the Commander in Chief's Ball honoring active duty and reserve personnel.

"A lot of joy and unity, that's what it's going to be," she said.

The clergyman

Bishop Keith Russell Lee, founder and senior pastor of Hoffman Estates' Destiny Church and World Prayer Center, doesn't use his pulpit for political purposes. So Lee - who attended Ronald Reagan's second inauguration as a member of the armed forces and George H.W. Bush's as a college student - will observe this inauguration not as a pastor, but as a private citizen.

An Algonquin resident, Lee received tickets to several inaugural balls and parties. He and his family will experience Obama's swearing-in on the National Mall.

"We cannot ignore its historical significance in terms of race," Lee said. "But there's another historic component, and that's the empowerment of the late Baby Boomers."

While the bishop has refrained from discussing politics in his sermons, he has addressed the "unlimited possibilities" that Obama's election illustrate. He elaborated in a recent sermon inspired by his young son, who didn't want to get a haircut because every time he did, his friends called him "bald." Lee explained to his son that black people's hair grows differently.

"I said, 'Your hair is like Daddy's and President-elect Obama's,'" said Lee, whose son brightened at the explanation. "For me to be able to make that reference is powerful."

The poll watcher

Leslie Cieslak's commitment to her duties as poll watcher paid off in ways she couldn't imagine.

Cieslak became active in the Democratic Party of DuPage County following the primaries and agreed to serve as a poll watcher from 5 a.m. to about noon on Nov. 4, figuring that would give her and her husband, Ron, time to get to Grant Park for Obama's Election Night rally.

Fate had other plans. After a replacement failed to relieve her, Cieslak stayed rather than leave her polling place unattended.

"It seemed to me to be more important for me to stay there and follow through with my obligation and my commitment," she said. When she finished at 8:30 p.m., it was too late to get to the rally.

Cieslak was crushed. Her husband, a longtime Republican who voted for Obama, suggested they try to get inauguration tickets. Cieslak sent requests to four or five elected officials explaining her election obligations prevented her from getting to Grant Park, and how disappointed she was to have missed the event.

After each request was met with a rejection accompanied by a polite "we're sorry," Cieslak resigned herself to watching the inauguration on TV, content that she had participated and counting that as her reward.

But sometimes, good deeds get rewarded. Just before Christmas, Rep. Melissa Bean delivered the gift Cieslak wanted most.

"Melissa Bean was my Santa Claus," said Cieslak, who received tickets to witness Obama's swearing-in from the Capitol steps. Cieslak and her husband will drive to Washington, D.C., and stay with a relative in Virginia. They'll be at the Illinois Inaugural Ball on Monday.

"I can only imagine how exciting it must have been in Grant Park on election night," she said, "but to be in Washington, D.C., on inauguration day with the millions of others from all over the country, what a life-changing event."

The student

Nineteen-year-old Palatine resident Megan Malone cast her first vote in 2008's history-making election. Now the University of Illinois sophomore will witness history unfold firsthand when she joins other members of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at the inauguration of the nation's 44th president.

"I'm excited to attend and see everything in action," said Malone, whose 4.0 grade point average earned her an invitation.

The previously apolitical Malone says Obama's "people-oriented" campaign piqued her interest. Besides the swearing-in and an inaugural ball, Malone and her fellow scholars will attend seminars featuring speakers Al Gore and Colin Powell.

"I think it will be an awesome thing to experience, to talk about with my kids one day and say I was there," she said.

The Republican

Lifelong Republican Greg Koeppen and staunch Democrat Mike Higgins got their airline tickets to today's inauguration long before Nov. 4.

After making a good-natured wager on the election's outcome, Koeppen, a former Prospect Heights alderman and current director of the Lake County Farm Bureau, and Higgins, a Grayslake firefighter/paramedic, decided in September they'd attend the inauguration no matter who won.

The trip marks the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Koeppen, who has long wanted to attend an inauguration. As for the bet, he doesn't mind losing if it means he can experience history in the making.

"We're in a new chapter in America," said the Grayslake resident. "We're in a chapter that needs excitement and vision for the future. I think the president-elect brings that."

For all that, Koeppen imagined he'd be among the many viewing the event from the National Mall. Instead, Rep. Mark Kirk came up with two tickets to the swearing-in. Rep. Melissa Bean supplied a third, which will go to Koeppen's cousin who's putting them up at his house.

Bean's office also got them tickets to a presidential ball and Koeppen secured an invitation to the Illinois State Society's Inaugural Gala.

Koeppen is grateful to be part of it.

"You get re-energized going into that city," he said. " You can't help but feel a patriotic allegiance when you're there."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=4&type=video&item=52">Ginny Narsete on attending inauguration </a></li> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=4&type=video&item=51">Greg Koeppen on attending inauguration</a></li> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=4&type=video&item=50">Megan Malone on attending inauguration</a></li> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=4&type=video&item=49">Ron and Leslie Cieslak on attending inauguration</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>