Ben’s 15 seconds of fame

Ah, the joys of small towns. Last night was the city council meeting and Ben spoke about the crazy tax hikes (we’re paying nearly three times as much in property taxes as we paid 10 years ago) in Burlington. He had three minutes to speak and it appears his well thought out speech was good enough to make it to both local TV and newspaper. I didn’t see the TV coverage but was amused by this in the newspaper story “Late Monday, after listening to complaints from residents who waited in a long line for their three minutes to vent their spleens at the tax increase, the council voted 11-2 to approve the $45.1 million General Fund budget delivered by Mayor Bob Kiss that calls for a 6.3 percent tax increase.” How exactly do you vent a spleen?

Ben’s recently decided he wants to get involved in politics for the intellectual stimulation it has the potential to provide as well as a feeling that he can make a difference in our community. I say good for him! He’d like me to get involved as well but I see my role as more the supporting cast. I’ll feed him tidbits of information I’d like him to pursue, read his materials and make suggestions of additions or changes, and watch Sam to give him the time to get him to pursue this. But I won’t, as he suggested, run for state senate. Ack! The headbangingly tedious and frustrating political process would drive me crazy. Put that on top of the schmoozing requirement and the need to SPEAK IN PUBLIC and it’s a recipe to make me, a complete introvert, run away screaming.