This column is not; I repeat, not, a criticism of the governing acumen of the elected officials of our fair community. They are all to be respected. Their job is simply impossible.

Just think of all the myriad challenges that face them. The county has to build the new jail. The litter needs to be picked up. The water has to be clean and up to proper standards. Pot holes must be patched; roads must be paved. New industries must be recruited; and decisions must be made as to what new restaurant will be enticed to locate next year.

And then there are the council members of the various municipalities. Confronting other innumerable problems confined to their local area that are separate from the domain of responsibility of the honorable commissioners, these public servants also must be overwhelmed with the tasks ahead.

I wouldn’t have their job. It’s thankless. I applaud their sense of civic duty. Thus, not having run for public office, I am in no place to make a judgment as to their effectiveness. So please do not think this column a critique of their performance, individually and corporately. It’s not. This column is but a reflection on a possible avenue of opportunity that will bring them both more satisfaction in their endeavors as well as adoration.

Having said the above, let me state that the observations below are not in any shape or form directed at the Honorable Judy Bailey or the Honorable Rebecca Hood. I am a fairly astute person. As such, I know when it is not just polite but essential to practice political correctness. Therefore, Ms Hood and Ms Bailey, you will not hurt my feelings if you read no further.

This column is intended to be merely a kindly intended word of advice to Mayor Jimmy Palmer as well as his counterparts in the other cities of the county. Additionally, this is also advice in the same spirit to Commissioners Alvin Long, Richard Gordon, and Phil Garner.

I begin with a question: Have you seen the recent Associated Press pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin? I’m speaking of the picture of him standing in a river with his fishing rod in hand, a bowie knife tucked in its sheath attached to his belt? And he’s naked, nude, scant of clothing, from his waist up. This photo has engendered headlines proclaiming “Russians Gaga Over Putin!”

No, no! Please don’t strip yet! There’s more!

He has a washboard stomach. His biceps are bulging; his deltoids rigid; his pectoralis majors are rippled and his oblique abdominals are sculptured. Let me see try to put this in Gordon County jargon for you. I showed the picture to my daughter and both of my daughters-in-law. Their individual responses were the same, “Hunk!”

Are you getting my drift? In Russia, after viewing their poster boy of masculine prowess wrapped in the persona of their president, they are talking of electing him to a third term no matter what their constitution says about term limits.

Mr. Putin was wearing long pants in the picture. Can you imagine the response had his tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius muscles and quadriceps been visible?

So, here’s my friendly advice. Take advantage of that recreation center down in Sonoraville. Just picture yourself after a year of workout on those weight machines. After seeing you leading the 2008 Unity Run, muscular and rippled chest bare, the voters just might elect you for life.