A grumpy day goes extraordinary

Work has weighed me down so much recently that I've contemplated locking the door behind me and throwing the key in the river on my way home. I am an elected official. Our sole raison d'être is to do the people’s work. Sadly, I work with some appointees who see job security in obfuscation. I’d rather roll water uphill than deal with them. But I must. That story has no end—yet. Stay tuned.

The other shadow in my otherwise gay and sunny life is the end of the audit, my usual clean audit. But one of the trustees (the elected officials with authority!) came through with severely trampled toes. Completely self inflicted; the auditors were only doing their job. But I dreaded tonight’s exit conference.

So, I went for a ride this afternoon. The sun was shining, the breeze blowing, and a beautiful afternoon. Pictures always help.  I went in search of one or two. I took a picture of the road department yard; the road super is making everything shine for Memorial Day, and he laid new striping with a paint roller. “Sequestered funds,” he says. He’s funny.

Actually, I went back to town because of the rain barrel. I've mentioned our road super is the poster child for conservation. Boston was selected to display one of the rain barrels painted by the local high school art class and auctioned recently. The road super was insistent I get a picture for the web site, and I didn’t see how I could be in two places at once on Memorial Day, with my own marching band in another town. But he came into my office this morning and said I could take a picture right now, it was here! I came back in the afternoon to do it justice with my “real” camera.

I looked at the river behind a new shop. It’s still flowing down hill. I went into the shop and discovered the proprietress is an old friend. But I’ll save it until I make a tour of all the shops again.

I stopped to take an absolutely magnificent picture of dogwood blossoms mingled in a spruce tree. A bury your face in the blossoms picture. But, the wind would not stop blowing and I could not get high enough to photograph down into them. Next time I’ll figure how to get on top of the dumpster.

I came home for a nap, and went to the meeting. It was superbly contentious, until the lead auditor took control by literally outshouting the trustee. Point made the auditor assembled her papers to leave. I asked her to remain and review the audit with the rest of us. 

It was a good audit of my books, but, the auditor noted, the management letter must reflect one trustee would not sign the “representation letter.” It basically says the trustees and I represent our records are correct, blablabla. I saw the wheels turn; the trustee took up pen and signed the public document.

Passing the auditors in the parking lot I smiled broadly and wished them a wonderful weekend.