Thursday, November 20, 2008

Executive Decision



By a vote of 3-0 after a discussion that lasted about twenty seconds, the residents of the house on Tennessee Avenue decided last night to rent the house over inauguration weekend to visitors from out of town.

According to Reuters as well as the Washington Post, the District will be hosting between four and six million visitors that weekend. I have to see the numbers for this reality to sink in. Between 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 people. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! And I thought the Cherry Blossom Festival was bad in terms of the vast numbers of humans involved.

All three of us will stay in my part of the house, a very large room and bathroom. We've agreed to tolerate each other for 3 or 4 nights not only so as to dance in closely-packed shamanic alignment with the zillions of people who will be here, but also - we admit it - for the money.

This is really going to be A Big Deal. Bigger than Woodstock (reference from my generation), bigger than the rise of the seventeen-year cicadas, bigger than the party that follows a Superbowl win. Big.

Will the soft, swampy ground of this landscape sink under the weight of all those people? I guess we'll see!

18 comments:

tam said...

I cannot comprehend such numbers. It's so extreme. And you are going to be there!!! Awesome. Definitely a good decision to house some of the visitors. I can't wait to hear about it.

Merle Sneed said...

You must make hay while the sun shines.

Val said...

the whole human population of Botswana is 1,5million (officially anyway); how lucky are we to have you to tell us aboutthis piece of history. Apart from the crowds I would love to be there! Good idea to take in visitors for those few days. Your house will be very festive i am sure xx

r. said...

Yeah, I hear the turn out is going to be amazing!! Great idea to rent out the pad! Swampy ground... hahaha! *smoosh*

David said...

Good idea! I here this could be a lucrative endeavor.

ArtSparker said...

Can I ship some of my mosaic statuary there for you to sell to the carriage trade? Just kidding - envy only.

The photos remind me of the the line from You, Andrew Marvell by Archibald MacLeish

High through the clouds and overblown

I think you would like the poem

kbrow said...

Aaaarrrrrggghhhh! That is the plaintive wail of someone who moved to that area for 5 years and had to deal with them being Bush inaguration years. I would love to be there for this one, and I'm a serious introvert. I like the idea of the house rental. Keep us posted on the proceedings.

Reya Mellicker said...

Yes Merle. We must!

Details will be provided as events unfold, definitely. Don't they call that "live blogging?"

Deborah said...

WOW

love you so very much

Washington Cube said...

Absolutely blog it. I think you were smart to lease out. You should make out very well.

Reya Mellicker said...

Though the three of us (who have lived together for 7 years) will no doubt get on each other's last nerve, in my heart of hearts, I think it's going to add to the energy of the weekend. I like Val's word - "festive" - yes.

And afterwards, the stories of how we wanted to strangle each other while the houseguests stretched out and enjoyed themselves will be soooo funny.

And as I said to John and Manuel last night, afterwards it will be so good for all of us to reclaim our own spaces.

Gary said...

Sounds like a great idea. And with all the demand you can afford to be picky and choose someone(s) who 'feel' right. This could be very lucrative - so best of luck.

Lynne said...

So, will you have access to your kitchen or will you just dine out?

Bravo! If you have the space to rent, why not?

Reya Mellicker said...

We agreed to share the kitchen. I will offer to cook breakfast, if the guests want me to.

LadrĂ³n de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Oh, I wish my teeny trust fund were larger or I'd put in a bid for that event. Maybe I should do the same should anything of this magnitude ever happen in San Francisco.

hele said...

How cool to be living history in this way.

lettuce said...

hmmm - we've wondered (not very seriously) about renting out house out for the 2012 olympics.

but i don't think that competes even slightly with your occasion!!

Steve Reed said...

That is a GREAT idea. I was going to say, "Come to New York that weekend!" But of course you'll want to be there, along with everyone else! (I'll watch on Webcast. :) )