Yes, I’d rather be a lumberjack
This is why little boys and girls never say, “county commissioner,” or “city councilman” when they are asked what they want to be when they grow up.
It’s too freakin’ hard.
In the past week there have been two such instances that prove little boys and girls are smart when they say something like, “lumberjack” when asked what they want to be when they grow up.
Example one: A Memorandum of Understanding to be sent to the city of Oak Ridge in regards to the Anderson County General Sessions Court II, located in Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge is supposed to pay for that.
County Commissioners Robert McKamey and Steve Meade spearheaded the MOU (a cool way of saying Memorandum of Understanding).
However, Commissioners Jerry Creasey and Teresa Scott, for lack of better words on my part, wanted a kinder, softer version of an MOU — a sort of MOU Lite.
And you can’t blame them. It’s like, yeah, let’s get the money, but let’s not be bullies about it.
And you can’t blame McKamey and Meade for wanting something with a little more uumph.
It’s like, yeah, let’s get the money and let them know we’re very, very, very serious about it.
Which position is right is something the 14 county commissioners present had to decide.
Not an easy decision by any means, because both options are correct.
And keep in mind: The city of Oak Ridge — and all those Oak Ridger people over there — are Anderson Countians. It’s not like anyone is asking a foreign country to pay us back for a shipment of foodstuffs or whatnot.
So yeah, I can see Little Johnny or Little Brittany saying they’d rather be a zinc miner in Mongolia than a county commissioner when they grow up.
The other example came from the Clinton City Council Monday night when that body decided to table talks with the county about converting the old armory into a senior citizens center.
Yes, I do believe the city of Clinton wants to be a good neighbor, a good partner in this venture.
It’s understandable they want to table such discussions because there is no way of being 100-percent sure when the building is going to be available.
There’s not a Tarot card reader in the county who can honestly predict that.
So, when Clinton City Councilman Jim McBride made a motion to table the discussions until “the time is right,” then that’s what he meant.
Yes, sign me up for those Arctic explorer classes because I sure don’t want to be a city councilman.
The only reason I bring any of this up is because we like to pick on our elected officials sometimes.
I like sharing my opinions about these kind of instances as much as anybody — maybe more so.
Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don’t.
I mean, it’s never personal and opinions are like ...
Well, you know.
I think we all need to realize something else — this isn’t a hobby for these people. They take their responsibilities very seriously.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: City councilmen and county commissioners don’t need me, or anyone else, taking up for them.
They are all adults and can take up for themselves.
But I think we need to take a look, sometimes, at the tasks these folks are looking at day in and day out.
They’re not simple tasks. It’s not like, “Do you like orange. Or green?”
There’s a little more at stake.
And sometimes you don’t like either color, but that’s the only option you’re given.
But sometimes the decisions are neither correct nor incorrect; they’re just decisions made by a person based on the facts at hand.