I had the opportunity to visit the haunted house this past Sunday held at Lighthouse Hall for the Eddystone children and their families. What a great time and the volunteers were wonderful! Everyone put in a lot of effort and it showed.
An incident occurred, however, while I was standing in line with my nephew, waiting to get in. A lady with her grandchildren was in front of me when she recognized Mr. Orr and with a big smile said, “Hey! I know you! You are the maintenance man who unlocks the gate for me and my grandkids at the park!” Mr. Orr smiled back and said “Who am I?” Again the lady stated that he was the maintenance man and once again Mr. Orr asked her “Who am I?”. They went back and forth like this for a moment longer until he finally stated, “I am the mayor.”
Huh? But isn’t Mr. Orr also the janitor at Eddystone Elementary? I mean, it’s a respectable job and the kids seem to like him, so why wouldn’t he just acknowledge that the woman was correct? He was at a school function…not a borough function. It was obvious she had no idea he was the mayor, but why would it even matter? Why was it more important to him that she recognize him as “the mayor” rather than the “maintenance man”.
I think that’s the problem lately with politicians…they forget about their day jobs; their roots; the reason they probably decided to run for an elected seat. It seems to me that once elected officials cross that line into “Career Politician”, they acquire a grandiose sense of entitlement. My advice to those that are running in this year’s general election? Stay true to yourselves and the people you serve. Most people in town do not go to council meetings and could care less who sits behind that big table. But we all remember when a neighbor looks down their nose at us.