(The following story by Kathleen Gray appeared on the Detroit Free Press website on January 7.)
DETROIT — Roy Gross knows the 120-mile train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17 will be so much more than just a way to get to the presidential inauguration.
“It’s just going to be the beginning,” said the 49-year-old Taylor resident. “We’ll look at it as the definite moment in time when things began to change.”
Gross, a business agent for the Teamsters, will be one of 40 everyday Americans who are to join President-elect Barack Obama and his family for a one-day whistle-stop train ride to a four-day whirlwind of inaugural activities in Washington.
The tour is to include public events in cities that hold essential spots in America’s history: Philadelphia, Baltimore and the nation’s capital, where Obama will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
The 40 people asked to hop on the train are representative of the nation’s diversity, including Gross, a single dad of a college-age daughter and former truck driver who has seen many of his friends and coworkers lose their jobs; Kansas City, Mo., social workers Jim and Alicia Girardeau, and Cleveland community activist Liza Hazirjian.
“Each one of these families has their own remarkable story to add to our American story,” said Josh Earnest, spokesman for the inauguration committee.
For Gross, his story began in Detroit in 1986 when he moved to the region for the promise of steady employment. Although his job has been safe, the last few years have changed that perspective.
“Thousands of jobs have left. I’ve never seen it this bad in my life,” he said Tuesday.
His story led him to the Obama campaign where he was tapped to introduce the presidential candidate at a town hall forum at Macomb County Community College in May.
“He came up behind me and touched my shoulder, which startled and surprised me, but he exudes such a reassuring calmness,” Gross said of Obama. “And we talked for about 20 minutes. He was probably the most fantastic listener I’ve ever met.”
That introduction led to an invitation to take the stage for a few words at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August and then the call New Year’s Eve about joining the train tour.
“I’m just so honored,” Gross said. “I was expecting to watch the historic moment on TV.”
But now, he’ll be on the train with Obama, attending ceremonies commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday on Jan. 18, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Jan. 19 and the inauguration.
And Gross is trying to find the time to rent a tuxedo because he’ll be going to one of the inaugural balls with his girlfriend, Paula O’Rourke.
“It just doesn’t seem real right now, but I’m sure the emotion will come as soon as we’re near the stage,” he said.