Telling something from shinola
Lead Summary
By
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Human nature can be a troubling thing. One of the problems is that we're all too often predisposed to whatever's new and shiny on the market.
A good friend of mine could take a glance at the Hope Diamond and utter a simple, one-word description in his best Homer Simpson impersonation: "Shy…nee…"
The famous diamond, after all, meets the definition. It's smooth. It's polished. And it can reflect the light of day. (Almost like shiny suits or shiny hair.)
Some of us are shiny. Some of us aren't.
I'm not shiny. Never have been, and have no plans on so becoming.
For those who do meet the description, well, good for you.
Personally, I prefer a pair of Wrangler's or Levi's and a Carhartt jacket to a sport coat and tie any day. After all, my old man taught me how to tell something from shinola more than 40 years ago. He was a perceptive devil, that's for sure.
Hillsboro has, thankfully, two candidates for mayor.
One of them is shiny. One of them isn't.
A week or so ago, I received a correspondence regarding the "not shiny" candidate.
His contributions to Hillsboro are many. His publicity for these contributions has been minimal, at best. He's never been one to seek the limelight.
Along with longtime newspaperman Jim Hardin, he was a major force in establishing the Festival of the Bells. He served on that committee for several years.
He also was an active leader in the Hillsboro Jaycees and its community service projects.
He worked long hours with the local bicentennial committee a few years ago. (You may have seen the bell on the courthouse square. A few of us recall "standing guard" over that bell. He was there with us.)
He also helped organize the local election returns on the radio and TV stations. Because of his efforts, local residents no longer had to stand outside the Board of Elections office to learn about the returns.
He ran for city council. He won some races. He lost some.
It would have been much easier not to get involved in city government, thus avoiding criticism.
He got involved.
He didn't have to run for mayor. Lord knows, he has little to gain and much more to lose than a shiny candidate.
Nevertheless, he served this community well and still does. As one of Hillsboro's most respected citizens told me: "He has done as much or more for the community than any current citizen. No, he hasn’t done it with expected great publicity or fanfare, but more quietly, being pleased to just make good things happen."
No, he is not shiny. Nor is he raunchy.
Webster's defines raunchy as "vulgar, and often sexually explicit."
I'll leave it for local voters to make their own determinations. But I would make this suggestion: Last night, a candidate for mayor of Hillsboro said: "Raunchy is a bit much; I like to think I have more taste than that."
If that is correct, the candidate's newspaper of choice surely has no problem publishing his material. Put it in print. All of it. And let the community decide.
Hillsboro voters have an interesting choice to make between now and Nov. 8. They have a shiny candidate, that's for sure. And if that's what voters want, so be it.
But it's good to know that voters do have an alternative to the majority party. If, for no other reason than it's going to take a lot more than a single vote to elect the next mayor. Believe me, the community is keeping notes. This particular election may have an eventual outcome that's more significant in the 2012 elections than in the 2011 campaign. The scorecard will be published.
There's just so much "out there."
Shine on.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
A good friend of mine could take a glance at the Hope Diamond and utter a simple, one-word description in his best Homer Simpson impersonation: "Shy…nee…"
The famous diamond, after all, meets the definition. It's smooth. It's polished. And it can reflect the light of day. (Almost like shiny suits or shiny hair.)
Some of us are shiny. Some of us aren't.
I'm not shiny. Never have been, and have no plans on so becoming.
For those who do meet the description, well, good for you.
Personally, I prefer a pair of Wrangler's or Levi's and a Carhartt jacket to a sport coat and tie any day. After all, my old man taught me how to tell something from shinola more than 40 years ago. He was a perceptive devil, that's for sure.
Hillsboro has, thankfully, two candidates for mayor.
One of them is shiny. One of them isn't.
A week or so ago, I received a correspondence regarding the "not shiny" candidate.
His contributions to Hillsboro are many. His publicity for these contributions has been minimal, at best. He's never been one to seek the limelight.
Along with longtime newspaperman Jim Hardin, he was a major force in establishing the Festival of the Bells. He served on that committee for several years.
He also was an active leader in the Hillsboro Jaycees and its community service projects.
He worked long hours with the local bicentennial committee a few years ago. (You may have seen the bell on the courthouse square. A few of us recall "standing guard" over that bell. He was there with us.)
He also helped organize the local election returns on the radio and TV stations. Because of his efforts, local residents no longer had to stand outside the Board of Elections office to learn about the returns.
He ran for city council. He won some races. He lost some.
It would have been much easier not to get involved in city government, thus avoiding criticism.
He got involved.
He didn't have to run for mayor. Lord knows, he has little to gain and much more to lose than a shiny candidate.
Nevertheless, he served this community well and still does. As one of Hillsboro's most respected citizens told me: "He has done as much or more for the community than any current citizen. No, he hasn’t done it with expected great publicity or fanfare, but more quietly, being pleased to just make good things happen."
No, he is not shiny. Nor is he raunchy.
Webster's defines raunchy as "vulgar, and often sexually explicit."
I'll leave it for local voters to make their own determinations. But I would make this suggestion: Last night, a candidate for mayor of Hillsboro said: "Raunchy is a bit much; I like to think I have more taste than that."
If that is correct, the candidate's newspaper of choice surely has no problem publishing his material. Put it in print. All of it. And let the community decide.
Hillsboro voters have an interesting choice to make between now and Nov. 8. They have a shiny candidate, that's for sure. And if that's what voters want, so be it.
But it's good to know that voters do have an alternative to the majority party. If, for no other reason than it's going to take a lot more than a single vote to elect the next mayor. Believe me, the community is keeping notes. This particular election may have an eventual outcome that's more significant in the 2012 elections than in the 2011 campaign. The scorecard will be published.
There's just so much "out there."
Shine on.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]