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House guests! And…dogs!
For a few days in January 2009, Washington D.C. is the place to be—-in the world. Like Beijing, Athens, Turin or Sydney during the Olympics. Or Germany during the World Cup. Or New York’s Time Square on New Years Eve (I mean, I never really wanted to go…but a lot of people do).
And now, all of a sudden, everyone wants to be here. And what do we do? Try to rip them off or complain about them being sprawled across our floors. Hell, it’s only natural. Seriously.
And no one has captured this better than Veronica Miller, a contributor to The Root.
Here’s a taste:
The calls started coming in as soon as the election results did.
“So, Veronica,” the caller would begin, “what’s up for inauguration?”
The query seems innocent enough—if you don’t live in Washington, D.C. But if you do live in the District—as I do—you soon realize that people don’t really care about your plans for inauguration. They just want to know if they can book a flight to come crash on your couch.
No. No. And HHHHELLLLLL no.
I’m not being mean or stingy, I swear. I understand the yearning to be a witness to history. In fact, three of my close friends have secured spots on my air mattress, on the loveseat and in the pullout bed; I’m quite excited about our little reunion. But the irritation comes when either:
A.) You get requests from people you haven’t heard from since the Attack of the Hanging Chads.