With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
by: Todd Thomas
It may surprise some folks, but I never actually held a public office before becoming the Foursquare Mayor of several locations around Bethesda. When I was suddenly thrust into the public life I found myself reflecting on my newfound responsibilities. This is some serious stuff, my friends.
Being the Mayor of a local business or institution is a full-time undertaking and demands a certain amount of dedication. Anyone seeking such a public office should be prepared to focus on their constituents, and not on their own welfare alone. Checking in at Sisarina Inc, I often find myself moving refrigerators, offering vital dating advice and delivering coffees to the hard-working, seriously cute gals in the office. You may laugh, but I find this kind of public service very rewarding.
I’m always amazed at how hard working our owner/operator is at North China Restaurant, so it was only natural to volunteer to take her two youngest trick-or-treating on Halloween this year while she worked. I mean, to think that I help make your Hunan Chicken possible any given evening of the year? It’s truly humbling.
Thanksgiving Day? I was delivering lunch to one of our favorite employees down at my Exxon on Old Georgetown. Which reminds me, the guys at my Exxon seem to be thoroughly unable to comprehend that I’m actually their Mayor. You may need to be prepared for that if you are running for the office of Mayor somewhere. But no worries, I’m not deterred in the least by it. I can be their Mayor with them none the wiser. And if anyone knows Japanese, I’d love to be able to find out how I can better serve my good
folks at Hinata Sushi.
One of my greatest points of pride was becoming Mayor at Ten Thousand Villages on Elm Street! What a fabulous work they do, supporting fair trade cooperatives all around the world… and I’m their Mayor! Some days, it’s enough to just wake up and lay in bed thinking of all the great things my constituents will be doing that day. I don’t even have to get up.
As we get into the holiday season it behooves us as Mayors to consider what we can do for our people, not vice versa. Let’s work hard to help our people finish the year as well as they can, because as easily as we became Mayor, someone else might steal the joy. I’m going to remove my tongue from my cheek now and get some work done. Cheers!
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Todd Thomas, AKA Mr. Mama Teresa, is a transplanted Texan who pastors Church in Bethesda and takes his role as a Foursquare Public Servant very seriously. He can be found checking in and stealing mayorships from Bethesda locals or hanging out in Second Life.
Website: ChurchinBethesda.org | Twitter: @swirlyfoot
