Eternity is such a short time.

They have an eternal flame commemorating the veterans of Bullhead City, Arizona. Last Monday eternity came to an end when the gas bill came in. It cost $961.17, so the decision was made to turn it off. Naturally there was some controversy. I love three quotes from this story.


“I rushed to judgment in my conversation, saying, ‘Let's wait. Give us two weeks and we'll take care of it,' ” Mayor Jack Hakim said Friday. “I erred. I should have just said, ‘Turn it back on.' And that's what I thought afterwards.”

“We thought about it, and yes, an eternal flame is an eternal flame and our intentions were to turn it on (Friday).” Hakim said the decision to turn the flame back on was obviously the right thing to do “and it didn't come from pressure.”

“I don't think anyone intended for that flame to be off permanently,” City Manager Tim Ernster said. “And, in hindsight, we should have just left the flame on, and then gone ahead and worked this out.”



I am sure they decided to reignite the flame simply because it was the right thing to do. That is as true as the sun coming up in the west. Like the old joke says, how do you tell if a politician is lying?. His lips are moving. There are several questions I have on this. Of course they will never be answered, but that hasn't stopped me before.

1. The city has paid for this flame since last July. How much has the bill been before that?
2. Is it possible there is a gas leak at the flame?
3. Did it occur to you you might upset some people with this decision?
4. Did you change your minds when you became a national laughing stock? Oh, sorry. Rhetorical question there.

The best part is they were having trouble keeping the flame lit Saturday. Winds kept extinguishing it.

The fifth grade answer will be tomorrow in case anyone else wants to play. You can find the question in yesterdays post.