What is Your Perspective as a Local Government Official?

Sometimes it takes only the perspective of a child to remind us of what’s really important. The quality of our lives is based solely on our individual perspectives.

One day a very wealthy businessman, who was the father of an eight year old boy, decided to take his son for a trip out into the country.   He thought by visiting a rural area he could help teach his son some basic facts about life and more importantly help him appreciate all the things he had living a "The Big City". 

The father wanted to show his son how life would be if they were poor. So through a friend - the father arranged to spend a few days out in the boondocks - on a small farm owned by a family that everyone in the local area considered to be very poor.  

The father took off a Thursday afternoon and all day Friday from work.  He and his son got in the car and drove for about four and a half hours to the middle of no where to reach the farm were they had planned to stay at.  Upon arriving they were warmly greeted by the farmer and his family and so they spent the entire weekend with them.  After three days and three nights on the far the father and his son got back in their car for the return trip home.

As they drove the father turned to his son and asked "Well Son how did you like our farm visit".  “It was great, Dad,” the son replied.

“I now see how poor people live?” the son said. The father couldn’t help but crack a broad smile - his plan worked. 

“So tell me Son, what did you learn from this trip we took?” asked the father. Without hesitation the little boy said, “I saw that we have one dog and but that family had four. I know we have a pool behind our house that reaches to the middle of our yard and they have a creek that has no end. 

Mom buys fancy us all those fancy imported lanterns that she hangs in the garden but this family has stars to look up at each night.

Our patio deck is almost as wide as our house but when that family sits on their small back porch they have the whole horizon to look at everyday. 

We have a very small piece of land to live on in our neighborhood and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but everyone in that family is always serving each other.

Mom buys all our food in the grocery stores, but they grow and raise most of what they eat themselves. 

You built that big fence around all our property to protect us; but this family has good friends and neighbors who watch out and protect them.”

The father was numb and speechless as he tried to catch his breath.  Just then his son added, “Dad I really do want to thank you for showing me just how poor we really are.”