STEAM, BEAM AND GLEAM

What do these three words have in common besides rhyme? To me it is the concept of stimulus. By that I mean with steam your really pissed. A beam is a sight that catches your eye that you were expecting. And a gleam is that dazzle of awe from something that you expected to shine, but it exceeded your expectations.

That’s my definition. At the Limburger Blog for demented ramblings by hopelessly corrupt con men and devoted liars it is my definition that counts. At least for this moment. Tomorrow will depend upon things like how well I keep being able to dodge those questions someone in authority might ask about my interpretation of what is legal in terms of “borrowing” from the city’s coffers. “Ahem,” perhaps we should just move on, shall we?

Now why is any of that important? For me it is because in one way it represents potential response from voters to some of my plans. You end up with those who you piss off no matter what. Then there are those who treat something you say as being like a beam of light that shines directly on their problem. They think you personally did whatever just for them.

Finally there are the gleam folks. They are the ones that are so overwhelmed and grateful that somebody showed and interest in their problem they honestly are so blinded emotionally they don’t listen to the facts.

The one thing they all have in common is the person has faulty perceptions and expectations. You can be darn sure that no matter what happens good or bad they will either hate you or love you for all the wrong reasons. And that, boys and girls is not a good thing.

But you can’t avoid the preoccupied minds that enter into a situation having already made up their minds without ever having seen the facts. So all you can do is try and focus on not doing anything intentionally to give the person an added and real reason to feel the way they feel.

That is just as important with the gullible dreamers as it is with the “I’ll hate your guts for eternity” types. Because there is always the chance that the person will manage sanity eventually and then if that beam or gleam dims, their reaction can be worse than the steam people.

For me all of this detail rattles around my brain whenever I have to deal with somebody as a Mayor. I’m always making a mental note to check and make sure whether the person falls in one of the three categories.

Of minor note is the fact that the person in the steam category really is the easiest to deal with since most of the time they will let off steam about a whole lot of things. So when you see someone they know they will appreciate how crabby the person is and will not worry too much about that person’s complaints when that is all they do.

As for the rest, well I just try to enjoy their light while it lasts. And if the lights go out, I just do my best to not return their phone calls.