An incident occurred on my recent vacation that some might call coincidence… but I know better. My wife and I were strolling around a crowded street fair in Palm Springs when, quite unexpectedly, we heard a voice behind us cry out, “There’s the mayor of Jacksonville.” Sure enough, it turned out to be a couple who were also vacationing from Jacksonville.

This has happened to me often… being seen and recognized by someone in an unlikely place. It started when I was only 14 and very unhappy with school… so much so that I would cut classes and wander around all five boroughs of New York City. Enrolled in a prestigious high school, I can only assume no one ever conceived the notion that a student might play hooky since I wasn’t reported as being absent. My parents were unaware of my budding teenage rebellion… but then it happened. One of my father’s customers spotted me at the beach when I should have been in school, and of course told him about it. In a city of six and one-half million people, and thirty miles from home, a man I didn’t even know recognized me. What followed was a lesson I never forgot.

We’d had our dinner and were sitting around the kitchen when dad asked how school was. With a sense of unease I replied, “Just fine.” Then he asked, “You’re OK in all of your classes?”

Growing nervous at his line of inquiry, I responded that all was really quite well. Beginning to realize that something was amiss, I was now wishing I was anywhere but in that room. “How was the weather?” he asked.

“What weather?”

“The weather at the beach!” Boom! The time bomb in my head went off. Realizing I’d been found out, my bravado turned to jello and I began confessing everything.

Dad conveyed his displeasure at my cutting classes and then proceeded to let me know the worst transgressions in his mind were my lies to cover up what I’d done. How could he ever trust me to tell the truth about anything ever again? Did I understand what I had done by lying?

I had, but it was a hard lesson. My first reaction was to feel sorry for myself, thinking it almost unfair to be caught in such a manner by someone I didn’t even know. In short, I began to lie to myself. It wasn’t my fault. It was bad luck. Fortunately, reality set in. In weaving a web of lies to cover up my own actions, I’d lost his respect and trust. Only time and honesty could help restore what was lost, which eventually did happen. I’d also learned the truth in what Mark Twain said: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” How sad that not everyone understands this.

During my tenure in public office, I’ve refrained from reflecting upon past events in our city. Still, they serve as beacons as we move forward with current issues. Perhaps the biggest of these was the unfortunate stance the city took when the Presbyterian Church applied for a Conditional Use Permit. That application took seven years and resulted in court battles that captured national attention. Years later, when one of the city “fathers” was asked why he’d tried to deny the church’s building permit, instead of taking credit for his position, he engaged in denying ever having any agenda or personal motive. Perhaps the reason was the expensive legal battles that cost the two parties almost one-half million dollars.

Today we are faced with several major issues requiring the attention of this Mayor and your City Council. These include first, the necessary steps to alleviate the problem with the dam, and second, planning and developing the future of the Courthouse. There is another… one currently under development—the Britt Festival and gardens and their changing traffic, parking, and pedestrian egress. Work has been progressing on this for some time. It is complicated by the requirements imposed by the terrain itself… by the need to impact Britt’s neighbors as little as possible… by the necessity to adhere to archeological statute requirements… and by associated cost factors. What is NOT needed are agendas on the part of anyone who, quite bluntly, wishes that Britt would go away. Are you shocked? Well, we have such people, in spite of the fact that Britt literally puts and keeps Jacksonville on the map.

One doesn’t need a college degree to realize the enormous benefit Britt brings to our small town. I think I speak for my administration as well as most members of the City Council when I say that, whenever possible, Britt will receive our fullest support.

A lesson learned almost 70 years ago stays with me still—be open, honest, and up-front in all my dealings. That’s good advice for everyone.

Posted February 26, 2014