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Subject: On Georgia Avenue, Cheers, Hugs and Carryout<By Michele L. Norris and Ruben
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 04:44:31 EST
Message-ID: <30.1992Nov19.044432@AmeriCast.com>

On Georgia Avenue, Cheers, Hugs and Carryout<By Michele L. Norris
and Ruben Castaneda=Washington Post Staff Writers=

For all the planning, the neighborhood primping and the metal
detectors, President-elect Clinton strolled Georgia Avenue yes-
terday like a regular guy, handing out high-fives, sampling
Chinese food and greeting a fellow Georgetown University alumnus
with a hearty "Yo, my man!"

Cheered on by hundreds of onlookers, Clinton visited for an hour
with merchants between Hamilton and Ingraham streets in one of
the city's prime black business districts. Then, to the delight
of onlookers, he walked the length of the police barricade to
shake hands and hear what was on people's minds.

"Welcome to your new home town, President Clinton," yelled
Charles Edward Jones Jr., who carried his 3-year-old son, Charles
III, on his shoulders. "We've been waiting a long time for some-
one who was willing to bring some pride back to this city."

The walking tour along a commercial corridor beset by crime gave
Clinton a chance to reaffirm his campaign commitments to rebuild-
ing inner cities and supporting small businesses.

It also was a bright moment for the city's elected officials, who
said they hoped Clinton's street tour would mark the beginning of
a more amiable relationship between the White House and the D.C.
government. Clinton was flanked yesterday by the District's top
elected officials, including Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, Del.
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and several members of the D.C. Council
and the school board.

"This is going to be a source of hope and pride for years to
come," said council member Charlene Drew Jarvis (D-Ward 4), whose
district includes upper Georgia Avenue. Clinton's visit was a
political coup for Jarvis, a national co-chairman of the
Clinton-Gore campaign who is rumored to be in line for an ap-
pointment in the new administration.

The first business Clinton visited when he emerged from his
limousine shortly after 3 p.m. was the Hamilton Seafood and Gro-
cery Store, owned by Tesfaye Kumbi.

"He said he used to work in a family store like this and knows
what it's like for small businesses," Kumbi said. When he asked
whether Clinton would be making any purchases, Kumbi said, the
president-elect "checked his pockets and said, 'Not today.' "

Nonetheless, Kumbi said Clinton's visit gave him a "great feel-
ing.  We have seen presidents come and go, but none of them came
to Georgia Avenue, let alone here to the stores."

As he made his way down the block, Clinton stopped to chat with
9-year-old Tiara Dews, a Hyde Elementary School student who
presented him with roses. Tiara, who wore a tiara and a glittery
banner proclaiming her Miss Metropolitan Princess, proudly told
Clinton that 80 percent of the students at her school had voted
for him in a mock election.  In her most polite and princess-like
voice, Tiara asked Clinton for an invitation to the inauguration,
one of the hottest tickets in town come January. Clinton took her
name and address and promised that she would be invited.

"I felt so happy," Tiara said. "I almost forgot half my speech."
A few doors down, Jing Qiang Chen, who owns the Sing Long Chinese
carryout, had a surprise waiting for Clinton, presenting him with
a container of the house specialty, large fried scallops.

Not known as one to pass up a snack, a delighted-looking Clinton
dug in. With his mouth half full, he passed the container to an
aide. "Put this in the car," Clinton said.

"He said it was delicious," Chen said.

Time and time again, Clinton told the shopkeepers that the revi-
talization of small business would be one of the cornerstones of
his economic recovery plan. He talked specifically about
strengthening the federal government's Small Business Administra-
tion and changing the way banks are structured to increase incen-
tives for loans to mom-and-pop operations.  "We've got to get
people back to work," Clinton told Yong Chong, who owns Hamilton
Beverage. "Most Americans don't know this, but "It lets me know
he's all right, that he is going to do what he says. I mean, he
didn't have to come here."<

- Tijuana Roberts>

almost all of the jobs created during the past decade were creat-
ed by small businesses, fifty units or under."

With an ear-to-ear smile and a hearty handshake, Chong told Clin-
ton, "You're going to be a great president."

At Bernie's Hair Salon, beauticians in pastel smocks talked to
Clinton about statehood for the District - "He said he's for that
and will try to get that through," said stylist Althea Wims, 63 -
and health insurance for the self-employed.

When Clinton greeted the group from Bernie's, Tijuana Roberts,
33, let out a wail. "Whoooeee! Their prices are going to go up
now," said Roberts, who lives nearby. "Yep, they're going to get
good business now."

Roberts, who was pressed against the yellow police ribbon, has
been looking for a job since July. To her, Clinton's visit was a
sign of hope. "It lets me know he's all right, that he is going
to do what he says. I mean, he didn't have to come here," she
said. "Bush didn't come here." The businesses in the 5200 block
of Georgia Avenue are an ethnically diverse mix: a Korean-owned
liquor store, a West Indian restaurant and a shoe store owned by
a black family.

Almost every store on the block has been broken into at least
once, and merchants there take great pains to shield themselves
from crime. Bernadine Cary, the owner of Bernie's, keeps the
front door locked and requires patrons to use a doorbell.

But the area also is peppered with working- and middle-class
neighborhoods whose streets are lined with tidy, meticulously
landscaped houses.

Many who went to see Clinton said they were struck by his infor-
mal demeanor. "He's so normal-looking," said Adiam Berhane, 20, a
Howard University student. "Look at him, he talks to people as if
he's really one of them."

Perhaps it was Clinton's informal demeanor that led so many in
the crowd to call him by his first name. "Bill! We love you,
Bill! We want you, Bill!" the crowd yelled.

Rachelle Boucree, however, told others that it was impolite to
call the president-elect by his first name. The 16-year-old Ban-
neker High School student yelled, "Mr. Clinton, Mr. Clinton, I
love you, Mr. Clinton," holding her hand out and jumping up and
down. "We're the future, Mr. Clinton, and we are going to take
good care of you."

When Clinton shook her hand, Boucree rolled her eyes backward in
the classic "I'm going to swoon" gesture.<

The sixth-graders from Truesdell Elementary School had been wait-
ing more than two hours behind the police barricade when the
president-elect finally reached them and the sign they had made
in language arts class. It showed pictures of all three Clintons
- Hillary, Bill and Chelsea - under a banner headline that said,
"Change."

"Did you do this?" Clinton asked, eliciting an exited chorus of
yeses from the girls.

"What are your names?" he asked.

The girls shouted their names.

"Where are you from?" Clinton yelled above the cheering crowd.

"Truesdell Elementary," came the enthusiastic answer.

Someone in the crowd yelled, "Give them a hug," and Clinton
leaned over to give bearhugs to Johnaan Battle, Erica Skrine,
Shani Carter and Niccole Gibson. Clinton offered to autograph the
sign for the girls, but they shouted for him to keep it.

After all, it was meant to be a gift.Staff writers Mae Ghalwash,
Nell Henderson and Molly Sinclair contributed to this re-
port.<02:23 11-19C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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