By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
Kyle Buzzanca felt the pressure.
His mom’s 60th birthday was coming up. 60 years. A milestone moment.
A gift card and cake wouldn’t do.
“She has always been a big Trump supporter. I was trying to think of something to get her and I couldn’t think of anything else. Her birthday was December 12th. After he won in November, I thought ‘That would be cool for me and her to take a trip up there for the inauguration.’”
So, just after it was known Donald J. Trump would be the country’s 47th president, Kyle got busy. He requested tickets to the historic event in Washington, D.C., from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s office. Before Kyle knew if his request would be granted, Kyle booked airline flights and a hotel.
“We were going to go whether we had tickets or not. Tickets just got you a little closer.”
The Speaker’s office came through, Kyle got the tickets, and anxiously awaited his mom’s birthday.
“When I opened the present, he had the Expedia receipts in there,” Sharon Buzzanca said. “I kept reading. I looked at him and said, ‘In January?’ That’s a busy time for us. He said, ‘I already talked to your boss and got it cleared up, so you’re good to go. You’re good.’ I was like, ‘OK. Oh my gosh.’ Of course, I cried a little bit.’”
Both Sharon and Kyle are Certified Public Accountants. This is the start of tax season. So, it took something special for them to take a few days off.
“I bragged all over. ‘My son got this for my 60th birthday!’”
Because of a forecast of extremely cold temperatures, it was announced last Friday that the inauguration would be moved from outside at the U.S. Capitol, to inside the Capitol Rotunda. That meant a far smaller space to accommodate the public. So, Sharon and Kyle watched the ceremony from Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest saloon, which is just steps from The White House.
“I was pretty disappointed,” Kyle said, “just due to the fact I saw it was going to be sunny, and not a blizzard type situation. I knew if you wore multiple layers of clothes you would be fine.”
“I was disappointed for about 15 minutes,” Sharon said. “Then I thought, ‘The best times you ever have are the ones where you just wing it and things happen.’”
Sure enough, Monday morning, Sharon and Kyle “winged it” and went to The White House Gift Shop. They just happened to be there when the motorcade – with then President Joe Biden and soon-to-be President Trump – left the White House, headed to the Capitol.
“We were probably closer to them there than we would have been anywhere else,” Sharon said. “Getting to see all that pass, we were watching history.”
When Sharon and Kyle spoke with the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Monday afternoon while on the train back to their hotel, they were running on very little sleep. After arriving in Washington late Saturday, mom and son were up at 3:45 Sunday morning, and in line at 5am for a Trump Rally at Capital One Arena. They stood in line, outside and in the rain, for hours. The event ended more than 12 hours later.
“It was a lot of fun,” Kyle said. “It was cool getting to see Kid Rock, Elon Musk, Village People. Seeing (Trump) dance with Village People was pretty funny . . . .There was a lot of excitement. There were a lot of USA chants.”
For Sharon, attending what was likely a once-in-a-lifetime event – inauguration weekend – was something she will always remember.
“It’s not so much about being a Trump fan,” Sharon said. “It’s the entire part of the history that’s coming with it. The people he’s bringing on board. The Make America Healthy Again initiative with Robert F. Kennedy. The thing with Elon Musk. There’s just so much change that’s coming. The Gulf of America. It’s not so much as I was a big, outspoken Trump fan. It was more about being a fan of America.”
And taking in history with her son made it all even more special.
“It’s something that he can talk to his kids about, and they can talk to their kids about. That he and I were here. I think that’s something they can pass down to their kids. Here’s grandpa and his mom. They were there.”
For Kyle, a huge University of Arkansas fan, the experience almost (tongue-in-cheek) lived up to another experience.
“It was a lot like being at an Arkansas Razorback football game and getting to see the pigs pull up to the Hog Walk.”
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.