Helicopters circled overhead. Men in black suits and sunglasses roamed Main Street. And the locals wondered what was going on.
From the local library to the coffee shop to the hair salon, everybody in Mount Airy seemed to be talking Thursday about President Bush coming to town.
In downtown, all three blocks of it, Bush?s planned visit for World AIDS Day today had people wondering how their little town merited a visit from the leader of the free world ? and how they should prepare.
“Should I dress up?” asked Bosah Okoye, whose carpet and tile store sits next to Calvary United Methodist Church, where Bush is to speak.
The president is visiting the church to honor its work with 55 children in Namibia, Africa, whose parents and family members died of AIDS.
Nearly 20 people went on the church?s trip last summer to the Children of Zion Village in Namibia, bringing books, teaching vocations and building shelters.
Spotting the Secret Service agents outside the church, Okoye said, “I saw some people in suits out there, and I said, ?What?s going on?? I never expected the president to be coming.”
“I think it?s weird he?s coming to Mount Airy,” said Dan Caiola, owner of one of downtown?s few restaurants.
Most townsfolk found out about the president?s plans from newspapers, TV or excited neighbors Thursday morning.
Ginger Berndt was amazed that the president would be across the street from her house.
“I was in shock,” she said. “Mount Airy is such a great little town. It kind of puts us on the map.”
Her husband is taking the day off from work, and several neighbors and friends from around town asked whether they could sit on her lawn or front porch to try to catch a glimpse of Bush.
“Oh, it?s going to be crazy,” Caiola said.
