Mechanical Desk-Foldout Bed Pinned Him for Six Hours
Robert Hunsecker, a Republican congressman from Indiana, missed the Bush inauguration yesterday because he was trapped in an elaborate combination desk and foldout bed in his office.
The second-term congressman apparently pressed the wrong button while working alone in his office before the inauguration ceremony and the desk immediately turned itself into a bed. He was pinned facedown between the desktop and the mattress and remained there for six hours until House office building maintenance workers heard his calls for help.
“It was frightening at first, but after a while I could see that I wasn’t going to die or anything, so my biggest worry became the pressing need to go to the bathroom,” Hunsecker said last night from his office as he prepared for bed. “I’ve learned my lesson about which buttons to push and not push.”
Hunsecker is one of a growing legion of members of Congress who say they cannot afford to establish a full-time residence in Washington on the $150,000 annual salary they receive. Instead, they opt for living in their offices during the week, often sleeping on a couch, and commuting home each weekend.
Newer members of Congress often don’t get the most spacious office suites, so running a congressman’s office and living in it can become logistically difficult.
Mindful of Hunsecker’s plight, last fall a group of supporters raised $15,000 and commissioned an Indianapolis firm to build a sophisticated desk that converts into a full-size bed and back into a desk at the push of a button. The desk-bed’s manufacturer boasts that the conversion is complete in 30 seconds.
Hunsecker said he was the only one in the office when he pushed the wrong button while sitting at the desk catching up on paperwork. Staff members had already left for the inauguration and none returned to the office afterward.
“That desk is a marvel of ingenuity and I really love it,” Hunsecker said. “But it moves really fast. It caught me unawares, and before I knew it, I was stuck.”
Hunsecker said he spent the first hour struggling to extract himself, but the more he tried to wriggle free, the more trapped he became. A group of maintenance staff members performing routine checks of office heating systems heard Hunsecker’s calls for help when they entered the congressman’s office suite.
“You learn things about yourself in situations like this,” Hunsecker said. “At first I wanted to get out and get to the inauguration. But after a while, I just wanted to get out by myself so I could be spared the embarrassment of anyone knowing about it. But after a couple of hours, the need to go to the bathroom became so great that I swallowed my pride and started calling for help.”
He said the maintenance workers were startled to discover him and his predicament. Coached by Hunsecker, they located the desk-bed’s controller and gave the commands to turn it back into desk.
“The worst part of it all was that once I was freed and those guys could see I was alright, they just dissolved into laughter. They damn near busted their guts laughing,” he said.