I'm on my way to Kommunity Kollege (Not it's real name, but I wish to preserve its anonymity). KK ia 6 week seminar, (two hours every Tuesday night) sponsored by the town I live in. It's an opportunity to meet city officials, tour facilities, talk to technocrats, and watch presentations by politicians and bureaucrats and see how the city is run, its plans for the future, and other topics of interest. It's quite an honor to be invited, every year only a couple of dozen "community leaders" are invited, mostly contractors, developers, civic leaders, businessmen, well-to-do citizens, and other dignitaries and celebrities. These are people the city fathers want to get to know, and know them.

As a recently retired minor civil servant, I don't know how I managed to qualify for this honor, but I suspect its because I know the Mayor, a neighbor of mine I have worked with briefly on some of my own community activities, and because I am our neighborhood's only "professional writer". I think my former ties with County Planning might have have something to do with it too.

At any rate, I plan to take full advantage of this activity and integrate myself into the political side of community life. I hope to do some hob-nobbing and brown-nosing, and a little snooping around, and maybe make some influential friends. I do know my town has recently survived a major scandal, in which several city officials were dragged off in irons by the Fed for all sorts of financial skulduggery, real estate and zoning bribes, that sort of thing. So no doubt things are not quite stable yet and "opportunities for leadership" are yet to be identified and begging to be exploited.

So you'll excuse me while I powder my wig, polish my shoe buckles, brush off my best tricorn and cockade and saddle my horse to go into town. I'll give you a full report.