The following statement may blow some city hall watchers minds: Your faithful scribe can find attending a council meeting a bit of a snoozer some days.
I know, quelle horreur.
But with all the amendments to the amendments and points of order and clarifications on procedure bylaws and political posturing andzzzzzzzzzzz.
The chamber can be a bit stuffy and dark, toowhich Im sure produces an unhealthy amount of melatonin for this journo and upsets my circadian rhythm.
But I have to say it was with the enthusiasm of a pre-teen boy that I planted my keester at the varicose vein-inducing media table at city hall Tuesday.
Sadly, that enthusiasm wasnt related to the fact that Mr. Mayor was celebrating his 48th birthday! (See latest Kudos and Kvetches for more insight on His Worships 48 years on this happy planet).
No, it was because the birthday boy was recognizing Hastings Little Leaguers for winning the Canadian championships this summer and advancing to the World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
The team opened with a 13-9 win over Mexico but ended up dropping the next two games 8-3 to Panama and 4-3 to a squad from the Caribbean.
Eight of the 12 players managed to convince their teachers that missing school for a few hours Tuesday morning to chin wag with Gregor Robertson was a worthy educational experience.
They all showed up in uniform with manager Vito Bordignon and assistant coaches John Wong and Mike Mitzel. The mayor made like a PA announcer and introduced the players, including Thomas Tom Tom GPS Neil, before posing with the team for a photo.
Then Robertson, whom I thought was a baseball fan, made a recruiting pitch to have the 11- and 12-year-olds consider giving up their dreams of becoming the next Derek Jeter to think about a future as apolitician?
You guys really represented well, made us all proud and made us believe that champions like you guys can lead this city. Right now its on the ballpark, but in future hopefully youre able to apply those leadership skills and all that dedication to serving our city in other ways, maybe even sitting up here and making these big decisions.
Say again?
This coming from a guy who once owned a refurbished wooden ketch named Shoeless Joe and has a son named Satchel, who, as I recall, was named after the great fireballer Satchel Paige.
So what did pitcher/shortstop Steven Moretto think about the mayors political pitch? Well, suffice to say hes not ready to hang up his glove quite yet.
Id love to make this a career, I love playing baseball, said Moretto, acknowledging the recognition by Robertson was pretty cool.
Bordignon said he was grateful for the invitation to the council chambers, which is often filled with men in suits and uniforms of a police and fire kind.
Its a great experience to come out here and get recognized for representing your community, your city, your province, Canadaits a great feeling and an honour for these kids, the manager said.
Bordignon isnt making any predictions for how far next years team will go, noting hes losing 10 of his 12-year-olds to a higher division. But hes confident his group of 11-year-olds will battle and compete at a high level.
Which, I believe, is coincidentally the mantra of council.
Twitter: @Howellings
