Oops....

Perfection is the enemy of good enough and I smile when we become captives of the game we have been running on ourselves. So often we are prisoners of our own routines and are unable, or unwilling, to get out of our own way. And almost nothing speaks to this better than what I call The Edifice Complex in government (local, state or federal; it makes no difference).

Given the opportunity to go bombastic, and do it on someone else’s dime, we create monumental buildings with cathedral ceilings you could play basketball in, when plain vanilla would get the job done at a far more reasonable cost. But economical is never as impressive as eye-watering ostentation.

Almost a generation ago, in a town that shall remain nameless here in Connecticut, as a response to the “bump” in property taxes bringing a nuclear power plant on line created for the community, the police department went out and bought Swedish-made patrol cars (I’m sure this guy approved). Of course, in the here and now, as the taxable property has continued to depreciate and the tax revenues from it continue to decline, they might be better off driving a Fjord (I never tire of that joke).

Even something as humble as floor coverings can be opportunities to excel and sometimes also for excess. And sometimes, even more than what we bargained for as happened in the Land of the Hanging Chad (but not Jeremy), Florida. In light of theological concerns by some about the construction of snowmen (admittedly NOT an issue in the Land of Anita Bryant and fresh-squeezed OJ, liquid not incarcerated), I’m not sure we’re better off not creating situations where people stand on the Lord. Unless you’re a dyslexic or an atheist.

-bill kenny