Writing and rain don't mix
Inside City Hall
10 September 2008

Writing and rain are not compatible. Rain is distracting; I just can’t concentrate on the words. That steady rhythm works better than a sedative, it makes me want to curl up and sleep. Oh, how nice it is.

Part of the problem with rain is the memories it brings to mind. Memories of rain beating on the tin roof of my boyhood home. I’ve heard others talk about the same experience, at how they remember enjoying the sound.

But then the rain stops, the alarms go off, “Wake up! The rain has stopped.” Uh oh, the quiet is even more distracting. What to do? Back to the keyboard and try to think of something to write. Usually by this time I have an idea of what it’s going to be. The rain, however, derailed my thought processes. Did you know it rained over three inches in some areas of Munday?

I thought about writing about thieves. What is a thief? The short answer is: one who steals, especially by stealth. I looked on the world wide web (WWW) to see what I could find. I ran across a word I never hear in this country, rogue. In English-speaking African countries a thief is called a “rogue.” Burgler bars are called rogue bars in these areas. One can learn interesting stuff living overseas.

The web is crowded with games about thieves, page after page of links to such games. These games teach our youth how to steal and not get caught. But that’s not what I want to write about.

At times I have wanted to write about the Chamber of Commerce. In some circles chambers are referred to as a board of trade, a form of business network. Business owners in towns and cities form these boards to advocate on behalf of the business community. Chambers represent the interests of all businesses in a town. Local businesses are members and they elect a board of directors or executive council to set policy for the chamber. The board or council then hires a President, CEO or Executive director to run the organization.

Membership in an individual chamber can range from a few dozen businesses to over 300,000 as in the Paris (France) Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Munday handles things in a different way, so I can’t compare apples to oranges here.

Then I thought about writing about the Industrial Development Board (IDB). The IDB of the City of Knoxville, Tennessee, is authorized under state law to undertake financing and development of projects deemed to promote industry, trade, commerce, tourism, recreation, and housing construction. The Knoxville board acquires, owns, leases and disposes of properties that promote industry and develop trade by inducing manufacturing, industrial and commercial enterprises to locate within the city of Knoxville. They even make loans and provide property tax abatements to new start-ups. Again, Munday handles things differently, so I won’t attempt to write any more about this subject.

The hour is getting late and I need to write about something. The only thing that comes to mind is Roy Bean. Judge Bean was a promoter and a developer. Allow me to pass on the tale of the biggest promotion of the century and in Bean’s tenure as justice of the peace.

Prize fighting was illegal in the United States, Mexico and much of the known world in 1896. But that didn’t stop Bean from inviting Australia’s Bob Fitzsimmons and Ireland’s Peter Mahar to duke out the World Championship prize fight in Langtry. There were snitches in those days, too, and someone told the Texas Rangers who sent men to stop the fight. Mexico sent troops to make sure the fight didn’t take place in their country. But in February, sly old Judge Bean outfoxed everyone by holding the fight on a sandbar in the middle of the Rio Grande River. He built a bridge to the sandbar for spectators and had the fight recorded on film. Fitzsimmons won the fight in one minute, 35 seconds of the first round.

You be the judge, was all the hype and promotion worth the effort and expense?