Once upon a time, our quiet little hamlet ran smoothly. Most citizens didn’t know or care about what transpired in the Town Hall’s halls. Registering to vote and attending the Town Meeting, which was held upstairs in the auditorium, was about the only time they entered the place. Elected officials, most part-time, went about their business with ne’er a mention of controversy.
Unlike today, nobody assumed elected officials were corrupt, up to no good, scoundrels, or were scheming to feather their nest. I can promise you that when I was an elected official, I was not a crook. It appears that is not the case anymore … er, not me, I am still not a crook.
Unlike state and federal elections, no one runs for office be it selectperson, herring inspector, or fence viewer (do we still have a fence viewer?) on a party platform. No Democrats, no Republicans, no Libertarians, Green Party, or any other label. Just citizen.
There is a buzz around town that a new controversy is brewing in our seat of government, a regular bee-gate so to speak. It may be a sign of the times but according to published reports one local political party committee has a bee in their bonnet because one town official allegedly utilized the fire department to remove a bee’s nest from high up on a tree on their own property.
Back when the town was that quiet little hamlet, this would not have sparked a hornet’s nest of debate. The political party committee has suggested that this action was “a misuse and abuse of public funds and resources,” and is illegal according to the state’s “Standards of Conduct” statute.
I wonder if the furry animal were a pussy cat, would there be any uproar. Just recently a resident reported on our local social-network page that their pretty kitty had climbed a tall tree and refused to come down. They called the fire department. Alas, the fuzzball was too high to be rescued. Presumably it climbed down on its own.
Just where does a bee stand on the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. Is a bee not worthy of the same consideration of a cat? Bees provide valuable service to mankind. They pollinate our plants. Where would we be without bees? What does a cat do? Nothing. They just lay around and pose for all those cat videos on YouTube. As a friend pointed out to me, a dog, for example, has a master, a cat has staff. Where does a bee stand?
If your precious feline climbed a tree and wouldn’t come down, who would you call? Ghostbusters won’t come. Cat removal from trees has traditionally been a service of the fire department because they have long ladders. According to firedeptfamily.com, some departments carry pet oxygen masks in case the tree is on fire, which I expect is rare. Should bees not get the same courtesy?
If a town official’s dog went missing (lost dogs seem to be a frequent occurrence in town), would it be an abuse to call animal control and ask for the dog officer to be on the lookout? They’re a town department, too.
I know what you are thinking. I should buzz off. It is none of my beeswax!
Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and happily retired writer. His newspaper columns appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.
Thoughts on…
By Dick Morgado