Fletcher's unbridled limo ride

Opinion

Related Photos

June 28, 2006

Anonymous The Richmond Register Wed Jun 28, 2006, 02:35 PM EDT

“The trail is long and the river is wide.

And my ride’s here.”

-Warren Zevon

The trail from the Kentucky Governor’s office to the Governor’s Mansion is about 500 feet. There is a not a river, swamp, nor alligator between them.

I’m 100 pounds heavier than Governor Ernie Fletcher, and I can walk it.

Fletcher has a Lincoln Town Car drive him from spot to spot.

The waste of our money is something to get mad about. At $3 a gallon, it is costing the taxpayers a bundle to have a state trooper drive Fletcher 500 feet.

I’d rather he spend tax dollars on something like the $5000 secret door to his office.The secret door will be there when the next governor takes over. Wasted fuel won’t be.

It is a horrible symbol that the governor is too lazy to walk 500 feet.

I partially empathize with what Fletcher is doing. I used to live a block from my office and occasionally drove. I felt like a fool firing up the car and going around the block but did it anyway.

There have been mornings when I’ve looked like I had been on a three-day bender (I have never been on a three-day bender, but I have the look perfected) and did not want to interact with neighbors. When I was walking to work, I had to.

With his troopers, car, and secret door, the governor never has to interact with someone who is not on his payroll.

Maybe that is why his popularity is at 28 percent. Meeting a few “regular folks” might give him an idea of what people are thinking about.

Dan Rather wrote “The Palace Guard” about President Nixon and said that a lot of Nixon’s problems stemmed from being isolated from the public It might be a good idea for Fletcher to thumb through a copy of that book.

If he takes it to heart, it might save the state a few gallons of gas.

It’s not the gas I am really upset about. Every governor wastes money, and Fletcher is no exception. Governors are supposed to set an example for the rest of the state to follow.

It’s hard for a fat guy like me to be inspired when my governor takes a 500 foot limo ride.

Fletcher threw away the one issue that might have spurred a political comeback. The limo story is getting national coverage, and people will be laughing at Kentucky once more.

It won’t get as many chuckles as when he buzzed the United States Capitol in an airplane, but it is still a knee-slapper.

Governor Fletcher is a former minister and doctor and has the perfect credentials to preach the gospel of healthy living. He could talk to Kentuckians in a doctor-to-patient manner.

Every time I go to my doctor, he tells me to start exercising. He never mentions taking a ride in a limo.

Although my weight recently went from grossly obese to just obese, I am a better spokesperson for fitness than the Governor is.

Two years ago, I started a group called Don’s Fat Guys in Richmond. We meet each week and inspire each other to lose weight.

We recently changed our name to Don’s Get-Fit Guys. Many in the group are no longer fat, and getting fit is our goal.

All of us have lost weight and started exercising. I started working with Steve Carroll, a personal trainer, and Steve has me doing exercises I have not done since childhood.

500 feet would be a cakewalk for me now.

We ought to invite the governor to join our meetings. We can explain why riding 500 feet is bad behavior.

Warren Zevon’s song, “My Ride’s Here”, is about the kind of vehicle the grim reaper might have.

Fletcher needs to set an example for all of Kentucky. He also needs to realize that in a high-stress job such as governor, walking and exercising is a way to ensure that he doesn’t go on that ride earlier than he should.

Don McNay is Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group, where the Get-Fit Guys meet every Tuesday at 5.30 p.m. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com. His award-winning column is syndicated on the CNHI News Service.

Text Only

Opinion

Coffee makers and a gaggle of little girls
Our Keurig coffee maker has died and I am grieving big time.
Loretta has washed it out with two gallons of white vinegar — twice — and followed all the instructions that came with the book that tells about cleaning it and all that, but I knew, weeks ago, that cleaning it was like dressing a corpse.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Fretting over Christmas choices
Right around now is when people start fretting over creches in the public square and arguing as to whether publicly funded Christmas symbols violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. And right about now is also when certain Jewish groups begin insisting that the answer is to place a Hanukkah menorah right next to that creche, which leads atheists to complain about a plague on both their houses.

December 21, 2011 1 Photo
Romney bets on old rules as Newt moves under radar
We’re not going to lose in New Hampshire.” So says Mitt Romney’s state coordinator, Jason McBride.
Stuart Stevens, the Romney campaign’s TV ad-maker, expresses similar confidence. Asked if Romney might finish second in New Hampshire, his answer is an unhesitating “no.”

December 16, 2011 1 Photo
Oma Mullins, 97
July 17, 2011
Food tampering laws overdue
In 2009, co-workers say a cook at a Kentucky State Park in Barren County put food down his pants before serving it to a retired Kentucky State Trooper he did not like. The cook was fired and a lawsuit was filed. It does not appear he was charged criminally.

June 19, 2011
Marilyn Monroe never sang to me The Republican governor of South Carolina probably should have a talk with former Kentucky Democrat governor Paul Patton.

Paul might be able to offer some tips on dealing with the extramarital affair recently disclosed after South Carolina’s chief executive vanished for over five days.
July 9, 2009 1 Photo
Making a bad bill worse How do you make a dreadfully bad piece of legislation -- the nearly $900-billion so-called “stimulus” bill -- worse? Simple -- add protectionism.
February 12, 2009 1 Photo
The national Ponzi scheme The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was set up to combat fraudulent practices. The SEC's website explains that "Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s.
February 11, 2009 1 Photo
It’s a dog’s life in Barker home Anybody who knows me that my promise to not write about my dog doesn’t hold any water.
February 10, 2009 1 Photo
Family planning is essential The right-wing attack machine went into overdrive last week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dared to defend funds for family planning in the House’s stimulus bill.
February 9, 2009 1 Photo
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Related Photos

Fletcher's unbridled limo ride

Have you ever attended a meeting of a local government agency or taxing district?

Site Map