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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2007
Story,
Indiana Soon to Designate a "Village Idiot"
Storied Tradition of Designating
"Village Idiots" Originated in the Town's Tiny Saloon
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Story,
Indiana, is too small to have a
Mayor, Town Counsel, Police Chief, or any other semblance of a
government. Yet democracy is alive and well in this bucolic Brown County
backwater: on April 1 of each year, the tavern regulars (a/k/a "town
elders") elect a
“Village Idiot.” This year will be no exception.
“We have a bumper crop of qualified candidates this year. I have
seen the nomination forms, and I am duly impressed" says Rick
Hofstetter, owner of the Story Inn, Indiana’s oldest bed & breakfast.
The tradition of electing an "Idiot" has its origins back in the Clinton
Administration. Throughout the year, tavern regulars write up the
nominations at the bar, and submit them to the bartender. “So far,
no one from the County Election Board has challenged this procedure,
though it effectively disenfranchises adults under 21” notes Hofstetter.
"Its a tribute to the fermentation process."
Last year's Village Idiot, bartender Thomas Doane, seems intent upon
retaining his crown. Two weeks ago, much to the consternation of
Mr. Hofstetter, he opened a bottle of Jordan Cabernet ($80/bottle) so he
could sell it for $5/glass. A month earlier, Thomas decided to nap
in his car in the Brown County State Park after his shift; he was
awakened at 5:00 a.m. by an unsympathetic Conservation Officer, who
issued him a ticket for camping without a permit. The Village
Idiot from 2003 has made a run for the crown, attempting to ward off a
cold with an Airborne tablet. Instead of dissolving it in water,
as the package clearly directed, she chewed it up and washed it down
with Perrier, with predictable results.
Among
this year's new contenders:
**A customer who flattened her mailbox while backing out of her own
driveway.
**A customer who felt nature call while she was on a hike; not wanting
to soil a perfectly good dollar bill, she reached for a leaf--which
happened to be poison ivy.
**A customer who booked a plane flight and hotel in Las Vegas for the
purpose of seeing a Prince concert, but forgot to order tickets to the
concert. She arrived, to discover that the concert was sold out.
**A customer who pumped diesel instead of gas into her car: "I thought
it would be good for the car, 'cause it cost more."
**An employee who did not adequately secure a glass display case in the
back of his truck; the glass lid flew off, smashing onto the windshield
of a State cop.
The list goes on . . .
This year,
the Story Inn is soliciting ballots online. "Anyone who is a
customer in the last calendar year is eligible to both vote and hold
this office" says Hofstetter. You may obtain a Village Idiot
ballot online
HERE. "Vote early, and vote often" he says.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Richard R. Hofstetter
(812) 988-2273
storyinn.com |
