NUMBER 17 Mayor Townsell, Hubris or not

I seem compelled to speak out a bit on an issue that has troubled me for quite some time now. In august of 2007 I presented a portrait bust of Mayor Townsell down at the city hall for the purpose of honoring the mayor as a part of the history of Conway. I did not say specifically that the bust was public art nor did I say that it was a personal gift to Townsell.

Townsell told the newspaper reporter, without me being present, that he planed to take the bust to his parents home, that he did not want the people to perceive it as public art. I only discovered that this was his intentions after his comment was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

I then called his office three times at reasonable intervals and expressed to his secretary to please ask him to call me, but I never got a response. So I then called his wife and asked her to relay my request to him. This also got me no response. Later I ran into his father and expressed to him my request. He was rather rude to me and likewise I got no response from the mayor.

This is when I decided to write a letter to the mayor explaining both, my intentions and the intentions of the donors. I sent the letter by Certified Mail with the US Postal Service. This also got me no response. Below please find the letter I wrote to him Word for Word:


Sept. 24, 2oo7


Dear Tab,

I Hope that I have not offended you in any way; I do respect your position.
This is why I produced a likeness of you as Mayor; so that for years to come the
people of Conway and others might see that we wish to venerate our leaders
that have striven to make this a better place to live.

I, along with all the donors that made this possible, were under the impression that
your bust would be kept in public view to show respect for you as a leader and in
the hopes that future mayors and leaders, that make great differences for the people
of Conway, may also be venerated.

Leadership is the crux of growth and betterment within any community, and it is my
belief that these leaders need not be dead nor out of office before they are recognized. This is an old tradition, but with your help a new tradition will emerge by merely placing your bust in the public view. This will not only honor you, but it will also honor the donors that helped make this happen.


Sincerely,

Finton

This was, I admit, a goal of mine to venerated our mayor by producing a likeness of him in a bust and to have it displayed in public view.

I produced a bust of our former mayor, David Kinley. That bust did not satisfy me so I am going to sculpt another bust of him soon. I will be presenting it to the city of Conway when it is completed, and I will seek out the most appropriate ways so as not to create any confussion.

My whole intentions of producing a bust of our mayors, starting with Mayor Kinley, was to establish a tradition within the City of Conway of venerating all of our future mayors regardless of their performance. If they were duly elected or appointed under special circumstances then we citizens should have a bust or statue erected in his or her honor.

I believe that this would be exemplary of the communities gratitude for their mayors service to the community. I believe that these mayors deserve a high degree of recognition. While in office they are at the helm of our city government and when things go wrong the fingers point directly at them, but when things run rather smoothly they get little or no praise.

This should become a tradition that would daily give notice to the memory to our mayors that effected the history of our community. They are a major part of this history and should not be easily forgotten, rather, they should be long remembered.

The bust that I produced of Mayor Townsell was intended to be gifted to the city of Conway and be exhibited as part of the history of the office of the mayors of Conway. I did not intend that the bust become a personal gift to the mayor.

Later in an article in the of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette dated December 16, 2007 Mayor Townsell stated that he did not want to appear HUBRIS. I understand what hubris means and I think Townsells disregard, to the intent and wishes of the donors of this bust, is exhibiting a high degree of being hubris. He is placing his wishes far above the donors of the bust. If the bust was intended to disrespect the Mayor I would completely understand, but, this is not the case. Our intentions were to honor him.

He continually exhibited a high degree of hubris and disrespect toward me personally by deliberately choosing not to return any of my phone calls, and choosing not to respond to the certified letter I wrote to him. In effect he, without a word uttered, deemed me unworthy of a moment of his time. This is unacceptable to me, and I owe it to the donors and myself to do all I can to right the wrong that Mayor Townsell has exacted against us. His actions are unbecoming a public servant. Perhaps he thinks himself loftier than a servant.

I truly believe that he, at the very least, owes to the donors and myself an explanation and return the bust to the appropriate location at city hall for public viewing.

I personally can do without an explanation, but I will demand that the bust be returned to Conway City Hall.



Finton

Number 14 Prayer

I've done a lot of praying throughout my now 64 years and some prayers seem to have been answered but many, many more have not seemed to have been answered, or at least not to date.

Theologians and preachers and people learned in the bible all seem to give vague answers such as 'God works in mysterious ways' or 'He knows whats best for us and will provide for us according to His plan'. They will affirm that God is a just God, a loving God and a merciful God, a merciful father. This sounds fabulous and gives us a sense of security as long as everything is going good, but when troubles come and we are being devastated by financial loss, failing health and pain and suffering to ourselves or our loved ones we look to Him for in our prayers and ask for relief of all our problems and all of our suffering.

I realize, because I've been through many trying times and circumstances and so far I have weathered the storms, but I have known many people that have suffered and suffered and suffered, and lost so very much that it seemed unconscionable that a loving God, a merciful God that created us and the entire universe, and has the power over life and death and pain and suffering could allow this to afflict those that He loved.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This sounds easy enough, but does this command apply to God? If I found God in these circumstances should I, if I had the power, ease His burdens and His pain and suffering? Does it cost God much to heal one of His children, or does He have too many children to care for that it might bankrupt Him?

I know that the questions I ask, preachers would say that I am blasphemous, that I am in danger of hell fire and damnation and that I must repent and pray for forgiveness, but, I don't believe that our creator, or the creative power that is responsible for life and all sorts of tangible and intangible realities would create a literal eternal burning hell fire. I don't believe He would create evil, and I don't believe He is about punishment.

Some of us live to be a ripe old age without experiencing much pain and suffering, and even when we die with little or no suffering we leave a wealthy inheritance to our loved ones or to charity. Some of us struggle throughout our lives and seem not to be able to dodge any of the painful experiences of life, and then there are the tragedies that afflict the sweet little innocent children, the diseases, the accidents, natural disasters, and then the horrifying brutal acts of child abuse. All of this, I admit that I cannot comprehend a reason for other than the fact that this planet earth can only support so much life. Without a ' cycle of life system' this planet would have self destructed long, long ago.

I do believe that there is much more to life than what we experience here in this lifetime, and I believe that that which is to come will be much more exciting and fascinating than we can imagine.

I know just how fragile life is, and I believe that there must be some guiding force that is responsible for the existence of everything that is so very fascinating to me that I cannot deny the force, and I believe also that I will always pray and talk to this force which I still choose to call God. I have even asked, many times, this force that I call God to sit with me and have a cup of coffee while He answers many of my puzzling questions. Unlike many preachers that claim that God has spoken to them I'm not going to start that lie. God has not had coffee with me nor has He spoken to me. Why, I suppose because He doesn't have to? I know, and accept this, and I realize that it is not paramount to His plan that He answer my questions, or that I ever understand His plan, but I will never believe that God is at the helm of the pain and suffering of all of life.

I also will refuse to buy in to what religion calls a jealous, wrathful,and punishing god, a god that created evil and an eternal burning hell fire that many will experience.

I believe that religion is all about the fears of man and the unknown, so they set up rules and ways of life, that if we follow these rules and ways of life we will surely sit in heaven with God and Jesus and the good angels for eternity. They all insist that the creator needs in some way some of the fruits of your labor, this being one of the rules you must follow or you may fall out of favor with the creator.

The things I share with you are not intended to get you to follow my way of thinking, and believing in my beliefs, but that you read about my thoughts. I hope that you will get to know me, and not to rely on the opinions of someone else.

It is very important for you to be at peace with your beliefs about our creation, the creator, the purpose of your life, and where we go after this life on this fabulous planet.

Finton