It was a Friday afternoon and I was preparing for a meeting at Village Hall later on that day. I would be conducting a quick tour and then speaking to the group of 40 or so about my duties as mayor and the operation of our Village government. The open forum would allow my visitors to ask questions. I was pretty sure that someone from the local media would be there. I was still battling the remnants of the flu and had finished teaching class earlier in the day, but the thought of meeting with some of the Village's residents got my adrenaline flowing. I put on my best suit and headed to Village Hall.

The anxious crowd was already seated in the courtroom. I walked slowly towards the door and could already hear their raucous banter. They were waiting for me, just itching to start delving into the most personal aspects of my life. I have dealt with crowds like this before and I knew I just had to go in and be truthful and answer the best I could in the most simple of terms - terms that even a child could understand. I heard the whispering as I made my way to the dais. I welcomed the group and started to make my presentation. I was only a few sentences into it when hands were raised and questions yelled out. This was not going to be easy. With some help from the group leaders we were able to calm the ever growing impatient crowd, assuring them that all questions would be answered, no matter how long it would take. This seemed to appease them for the time.

I concluded my presentation and I knew that it was time for questions. I planted my feet firmly on the floor, straightened my tie, bit my lip and slowly asked "any questions?" Well, it was like a steak being thrown into a lion's cage. It seemed like every hand in the room was up. Arms waving, feet stomping, I even saw two members of the audience actually standing on their seats. The leaders again interceded in calming the very anxious crowd.

I took the first few questions: "What does the mayor do?" "How can you handle all of this?" "Why did you want to become mayor?" "How long is your term?" All good questions. "I ran for mayor because I wanted to be part of the government process. I wanted to make changes to policies that I and others thought needed to be made. I wanted a more open village government." Then the question from the floor that basically ended any sense of order for the rest of the meeting, "Can I bang the gavel?"

"Yes you can, all the Cub Scouts here will have a chance to call a meeting to order just like I do each Village Trustee meeting." That ended any interest in asking any further questions. All the Scouts from Packs 57 and 601 banged the gavel, got their Village 100th anniversary pencils and went home knowing a little bit more about local government, what a mayor does, and keeping a positive attitude and setting goals. I went home feeling very good about sharing my experiences and ideas with these very bright children and thinking that the future of Farmingdale looks promising.