Frankly speaking

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley
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There has been a lot to witness, consider and attempt to understand in recent months.

We’ve had Whirlpool announce they are shutting down and bugging out. The news not only brings an economic loss, but sends a not-too-subtle message that a global appliance manufacturer couldn’t profitably operate a facility in our fair region. Ouch. We may internally argue all day as to the various factors that resulted in the decision, but the world simply sees a company believing Fort Smith is not in its best interests.

Who knows if Mitsubishi will employ a soul at their fancy new multi-million dollar wind turbine assembly plant at Chaffee Crossing. Don’t think the global engineering and energy company is unable to walk away from the newly constructed facility. They would simply send a note to accountants as to how to write it off. Business and civic leaders in the area pointed to the planned Mitsubishi jobs as some relief when the Whirlpool jobs leave, but that’s a lot like hoping the next lottery ticket will be the one that helps pay the mortgage.

Fumbling Fort Smith municipal — elected and employed — leadership continues to give credibility to those who preferred the city when it was small and isolated and managed by folks who were straight and white. As Exhibits A, B, C, D & E, let’s submit:
• The unnecessary drama surrounding the 1% prepared food tax;
• The Van Buren water payment debacle;
• A blind willingness to support the police that results in violating federal rules related to using money related to drug busts to buy weapons (Would someone please explain why it’s a good idea to support a system that incentivizes a police force to bolster their institutional and individual equipment needs through the use of confiscated funds and equipment through drug enforcement action?);
• This unexplained move to restrict timely access to Fort Smith city parks; and,
• Resistance by city officials to invest in a professional public relations department.

The next exhibit will be more of a grade than an exhibit marker.

And that’s just the local stuff. We have a Congress and a White House requiring linguists to come up with a phrase more descriptive than “gross incompetence.” And in Little Rock, we have Democrats and Republicans gearing up to practice the same partisan games that Congress and the White House have poisonously perfected.

Frankly, it’s too much to consider. It’s at times like these when it’s wise to seek guidance from a greater power; from a great psalmist who influenced the culture and thinking of generations; from a man with a great following who once noted: “You’ve gotta love livin’, baby! Because dyin’ is a pain in the ass!”

So said Frank Sinatra. And how would the Chairman of the Board deal with the above noted nonsense?

“I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayers, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s,” Sinatra said.

Kind Reader might retort: “Those aren’t solutions. They are coping mechanisms that provide but a brief respite.”

Relax. There is nothing wrong with respites, brief or otherwise.

However, Sinatra, who helped connect the Kennedy’s with Chicago mobsters, did offer political solutions.

“I may run for the office of President, do it through a write-in ballot. I’ll have a slogan on billboards all over the country: ‘Give me a bottle and a glass and I’ll get American off its ass.’ I’ll make the Oval room into a big bar that wraps around the walls and put slot machines in the hallways. We’ll get off the nut, boy!”

Not sure that would sit well with our religious Tea Party friends, but his campaign strategy contained a lot of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

As part of a 1980 list of New Year’s resolutions, Sinatra pushed another political solution: “Do more to help my country and star by sending the President and Congress tubes of Krazy Glue to brush their teeth with.”

Is it simply a matter of bad luck that Whirlpool officials don’t like us anymore? Possibly. Frank knew luck could be a fickle lady, singing in “Luck be a Lady”:
“A lady doesn’t leave her escort
It isn’t fair, it isn’t nice
A lady doesn’t wander all over the room
And blow on some other guy’s dice.”

She blew on ours. Snake eyes.

What might Sinatra say about those of us frustrated by what appears to be the results of a decade or two of superficial (and that’s being kind) leadership in Fort Smith?

“Sure, I’ve met Frustration, and I don’t like him … I know Discouragement, Despair, and all those other cats. But I guess I knew that sooner or later something good was bound to happen to me …”

Ahhhh, optimism. You had to know Frank, and his ever-present glass of Jack, would eventually try to bolster our outlook.

“Be true to yourself and stay away from the dark thoughts,” Sinatra once responded when asked about advice a father should give a child. Great advice for anyone, frankly.

In the song, “Here’s to the Losers,” Sinatra crooned of the temporary nature of being on the losing side of life (And yes, I realize he sang words written by others).
“Here’s the last toast of the evening, here’s to those who still believe
All the losers will be winners, all the givers shall receive
Here’s to trouble-free tomorrows, may your sorrows all be small
Here’s to the losers, here’s to the losers, here’s to the losers
Bless them all!”

Frank, known for giving short answers to complex questions, replied with the following when asked about what fueled his successful career: “Never to accept anything without question. Never ignore an inner voice that tells you something could be better. Even when other people tell you it’s okay.”

There is much to learn from Frank’s philosophy on life. The best lesson is we can’t let the world beat us down. In “That’s Life,” the Chairman advised: “I’ve been up and down and over and out, and I know one thing, each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race.”

For you Kind Readers frustrated by the lack of practical, productive and progressive leadership, please stay in the race. Sip on a glass of Jack. Relax and reflect. And please know that sooner or later something good is bound to happen to us.