Devilish Valentine

Prior to moving out West to Arizona, there I was. In the meeting of the common council of the City of Hobart, Indiana. I took my seat as the duly elected 1st District Councilman in this suburban Chicago municipality. This was not any ordinary meeting. Love was in the air Stephen Sondheim. The date was Valentine's Day.

The agenda was filled with plenty of items that would be discussed and debated in earnest that evening. The nine of us officials coming from widely different backgrounds. For the most part, we got on famously. But like any big family, we were dysfunctional at times.

Somewhere in the middle of our agenda that evening, everything came off the rails. The mayor made a comment that rubbed this genie's bottle the wrong way. Usually, I'd shrug off criticisms. Like water off a duck's back. Not this time.

I firmly and succinctly responded to Madame Mayor, "You don't have to be sardonic."

That reply is what did it. More specifically, it was the eight-lettered word I said that sent my colleagues into a tizzy. Sardonic.

One of our city's at-large representatives sat to my left. He'd been a street savvy union boss at one of the nearby steel mills. Never a fella to mince words. In his thick south Chicago accent he let loose, "Did you just call the mayor satanic?"

Before I had a chance to respond, others piled on to vent frustration at my diabolical dig at our mayor. I was in a state of disbelief. Did my associates really think I was comparing our city's leader to a fiery, fiendish hellcat with cloven hooves? WTF!

I spoke up loudly to take back the floor and set the record straight. Explaining that I used the word sardonic. Not satanic. To which one of them asked, "What the heck does that even mean?" Granted, it's not a word that is used often in everyday dialogue. It's similar to the meaning of sarcastic I told them.

Passions cooled down and they were all on the same page after that clarification. They then asked me, "Why didn't you just say that word instead?" And with that remark the audience and my fellow council members entered into collective relief and laughter at the off-the-cuff vocabulary lesson they'd just experienced.

I shook my head and also found myself chuckling at the linguistic lunacy that had just played out in our hallowed chamber.

When the meeting finished and before I could gather the paperwork into my satchel, several reporters enthusiastically made a beeline to interview me. Not about anything on the agenda. They were interested in only one thing. The Mephistophelian uproar I caused.

Once they had their lexiconic fill with me, they hustled out of the building to write their articles for the morning papers. On my way out of city hall, a woman approached me. Not a journalist, official, or a department head. She was a resident who attended the meeting. Requesting a moment of my time. She too wanted to talk about "the word".

Madge was a widowed, retired high school teacher. And an avid cruciverbalist. A person who enjoys doing crossword puzzles. She sat down daily in her breakfast nook with her coffee to take on the challenging thrill of a new puzzle in the local newspaper.

I learned that one of Madge's great loves in life had been the study and use of words. Teaching thousands of students over the decades on the importance of what they speak and write each day. She told me how intriguing it was to hear me use the word sardonic in the meeting. And then to witness the infernal reaction it provoked.

That night, Madge bestowed upon this young public servant an impassioned message. She said, "You've truly warmed the heart of this retired English teacher very much. Thank you for surprising me on this very day with such a special Valentine."

This love, love me do is brought to you by that guy of say you, say me, say it together. That devil is in the details guy is Blake and he can be sent a word to the wise at rblake5551@hotmail.com.

About the Author

Ron Blake Ron Blake is an artist and writer born in Gary, Indiana and raised with four siblings in the Chicago suburbs. Blake graduated with an MPA from Indiana University. He is a proud honorary Pennsylvanian contributing articles for Erie Gay News since the Obama Presidency. Also contributing articles and Op-Ed pieces for numerous LGBT publications as well as for USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and Austin American-Statesman. He now resides in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Instagram, Ron Blake (@blakelateshow) | TikTok, Ron Blake | LinkedIn