I was asked on a recent Public Radio show to talk about some memories of inaugurations I have attended since 1968, both the highs and the lows. To begin with, it is impossible to have a low about the inauguration of a President of the United States. It is a celebration of our system, of our Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution. How can one not stop and wonder in amazement when they see the orderly and peaceful transfer of power. The most powerful person in the world sits in the stands, watches his (or her) successor be sworn in, receives an embrace, leaves by helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base, and flies out of Washington on what was Air Force One to become a private citizen. In a blink of the eye after the oath is taken, a new person becomes Mr. (or Mrs.) President with all the pomp, ceremony and responsibilities that go with it.

The inaugural this year had a special feeling. For many years the words of our Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal” were not true in our Country. It has been nearly 144 years since the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. It has been 45 years since Congress guaranteed Black Americans the right to vote. The question of equal opportunity for all was resolved by this election of our first African-American President. What a message this sends out to people of all races and backgrounds in our Country and throughout the world. The Statue or Liberty has a big smile on her face; another barrier has been crossed. The last and final barrier will be the election of a woman president, which I believe will happen in the next several decades.

My first inauguration experience was Nixon’s in 1968. I was 33 years old and had just been elected to the United States Congress. I had been sworn-in in early January and the next thing I knew on January 20th I was walking over from the House Chamber to take my seat as a member of the House of Representatives, on the East side of the Capitol, only 50 feet from where Richard Nixon was being sworn-in. I felt like I was dreaming. This couldn’t be happening to me. I was afraid I would wake up and this glorious moment would be gone. In fact, I have never really woken up, and that feeling about our Country, about the magnificence of the occasion has never gone away. To this day I can close my eyes and still visualize what it was like to look out from the Capitol steps over the thousands of people in attendance and listen to Nixon’s speech. Very few people in the House knew my name. I was a Republican in a Democratically-controlled Congress, but I was a member of the United States Congress. At that time I made a vow that I would get to the leadership of the House as early as possible and be a player, which I did.
 
There was a funny side to the 1972 Nixon inaugural. The weather was incredibly chilly and we were not prepared for it. We weren’t prepared for a flood of constituents who came by the office to get warm and eat. We had to race out and get soft drinks, coffee, chips, etc., and also start trying to find some parade tickets. After finding tickets for our constituents we decided to go downtown to the viewing stands. We bundled up the best we could, we must have looked like refugees from the North Pole. My chief of staff, Oscar Juarez, decided that he would drive us. We had eight people in my old 4-door Ford including my wife Marcia, Oscar’s wife Nancy, my law partner Ron Harbert and his wife Lois, and two friends' of Ron and Lois.

The city of Washington in 1972 was like a city under siege. The Country had suffered through the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, had seen demonstrations in colleges all over the Country and was deeply divided over the issue of Vietnam. Many protestors were in Washington and you had to be careful where you went. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find what roads were safe and what roads brought you into the middle of protestors. Oscar made a wrong turn and the next thing we knew we were among a number of protestors who were shouting at us in the car. I feared the worst and wasn’t sure how we were going to get out of the mess.

All of a sudden I heard sirens coming from in front of us and our car picked up speed and the crowd parted. We raced towards downtown and the parade site at over 50 mph. What happened was Oscar had seen a police escort for the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, and decided what was good for George Wallace was good for Lou Frey. We became part of Wallace’s entourage all the way downtown. There were six motorcycles, 4 new big black cars and one old Ford. Oscar finally broke away from the caravan and we found a place to park. We ended up at a party at the Hay-Adams Hotel, which we weren’t supposed to be, but was just delightful. One of the heroes of WWII, Joe Foss, a Medal of Honor winner who shot down 26 Japanese aircraft, was in attendance. He was elected Governor of South Dakota in 1955 and was commissioner of the American Football League from 1959 to 1966. He joined our group and talked with us about his exploits for what seemed hours.

We were lucky that we were able to get away from the protestors. We were lucky we were in an old car and not a new luxurious black car. We were lucky that we were all young, full of hope and energy. We managed to turn what could have been a miserable afternoon into a wonderful lifelong memory.

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Lou Frey represented Central Florida in the U. S. Congress from 1969 to 1979. In his last election, he received nearly 80% of the vote. He was elected one of five Republican leaders in the House of Representatives during the 93rd and 94th Congress. He served on...