this morning #1880.

this morning, through the facade of a stiff upper lip, i began building my case. knew going in that this could go either way. set down my notes on the podium, hoping i wouldn’t need them. cleared my throat & spoke in a low, mostly-confident voice to the five fellow citizens seated before me. “good morning. as you probably know, my name is gil. for a decade now, i’ve lived in this town. held down a job. paid my taxes. stayed on the right side of the law.” i paused when someone coughed after that last part but tried not to jump to conclusions & assume it represented doubt. my plan was solid. my future relied on it. my past was in the past. i continued & by the time i was done with my pitch, they were well aware of that.