So what I’m doing, almost as a New Year’s resolution, is trying to control my mouth a bit, and, once that’s accomplished, control my impulse to throw charges at people. I’m trying to not forsake tomorrow for today’s offenses, which I realize sounds like greeting card copy, but it seems to be working.
For the most part.
Earlier this week I went to one of my community meetings. Since the meeting was held the night of the big game the Oregon Ducks were playing in, which they lost, the attendance was way down. Even though there were very few agenda items, and even though there were no presentations, we managed to make sure the meeting did not end until two and a half minutes past the official end time. Even though there was absolutely nothing being accomplished at this meeting, the little old lady who volunteers to keep the church where we meet open still had to come and stand in the doorway at 8:29 to signal that she was going to lock the building in one minute. As usual, we ignored her.
My first opportunity to exercise keeping my mouth shut was presented to me at the beginning of the meeting. Two officers drop in every month to give a report on crime statistics in the area and answer general questions. One of the officers asked the guy who chairs the group, who I admire a great deal, to please let them speak at the beginning of the meeting because it was a busy night for the police. “No problem,” he said. Then he proceeded to ask us all to introduce ourselves to one another by describing something we thought was a curse but is actually a blessing. I said that heating bills were a problem but that their existence meant we have yet to completely destroy the climate. Then we all talked about the introductions and made a few jokes and comments, most of them directed at a woman who said she couldn’t think of a single example. Was her life a total disaster? Or was it perfect?
Anyhow, car robberies are up in the area. Homicides are at their lowest in 40 years, but, according to one of the cops, there are a lot more suicides, and that may be a factor. I had to think about that one. I still am, actually.
And later, the grand finale. It has been proposed that one of the board positions be divided into three new positions. It’s a great idea, I think. But on Monday night it came up again. Someone moved to do this at the previous meeting, and the official documents have been posted online, in accordance with various procedural guidelines, so now, let’s vote on it and make it official. Not so fast: the rule says the documents need to be posted for 30 days following the proposal and preceding the official vote, giving any and all a chance to voice objections. And, since the December meeting was on the 13th and this month’s meeting was on the 10th, as of Monday night the documents had only been online for 28 days, not 30. The days were counted, manually, then there was more discussion, and then it was decided that we should vote to approve the new positions tentatively and then, at next month’s meeting, provided there were no objections, vote again and make it official. A woman volunteered to make a motion, but then said – quite sensibly, I think – that she needed to know how it should be worded. And that was followed, of course, by more discussion. A lot more discussion.
Why, I wondered, why on earth would a group of people spend time tentatively approving something, fine-tuning the details so that the motions are worded correctly and it’s all correctly recorded in the minutes, why on earth not wait until the next meeting and then have a simple vote to approve the motion? I have no idea, and I’m trying to make than my mantra: I have no idea.
So, rather than say anything, I sat quietly as every last minute of the scheduled meeting time was indeed consumed by voices steering official business. When the meeting ended I went to the grocery store and bought milk and a loaf of bread. Then I went home I took a very nice bath, read for a while and went to bed.
