This evening and early morning congratulations are pouring in from family and friends for my appointment as the Chairman Pro-Tempore of my village board of trustees.

I pointed out to each that called or E-mailed that I really didn’t do much to deserve the post. It was mostly because I am willing to stick out an unpaid elected position and am willing to fight for villagers’ issues (small as those might be on the national scale of things).

Still, I can’t help but indulge in a bit of self-satisfaction at the idea the most liberal person in town is now in the village government’s second-most important position.

On that note, I feel somewhat ashamed that I should be self-satisfied in that achievement. I have neither done much to deserve a pat on the back nor advance a progressive cause in an insignificant village in the middle of nowhere amongst cattle and corn.