MITT ROMNEY NEEDS GENE BARIL

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

As I write this on the morning of Friday, May 11, 2012, probably the biggest news story and topic of talk radio discussion is the report that as a teenager at a prestigious private high school, Mitt Romney led a group of fellow students in hunting down and tackling a gay and somewhat unusual boy and cutting his bleached blonde hair off with a pair of scissors as he cried. My understanding is the story was broken by the Washington Post and that several guys who were part of this incident say they were like "a pack of dogs" and that they never forgot the incident. The victim is deceased.
When asked about this incident, Mitt sort of chuckled, said he was part of some "high school 'high jinks'" and cannot remember it. Almost no one believes Mitt told the truth, but for me, it's been painful to hear conservatives and Republicans calling in shows DEFENDING Mitt's actions and saying things like, "Well...well...OBAMA was a friend of Bill Ayres, what about THAT??!!" Well, what about that? It has nothing to do with anything.

Right now, I have so many personal problems I'm praying about and trying to untangle that the November election to me seems like it's about three years away. But, I admit to being in a quandary. Only once did I vote "Third Party" for President...in 2000. I know "Third Party" is a wasted vote, but I just may have to vote "Third Party" again.

NOW, here is what I have to say about this latest Mitt Romney news story:

Yes, it WAS something that happened almost fifty years ago. I fully believe Mitt remembers it and that Mitt was dead wrong. One caller to a radio show said something I DO agree with: that victim (although dead) is now "getting back" at Mitt Romney, and indeed he is! Mitt should have said something like, "Yes, I did it. It was a very stupid and inappropriate thing to have done. I am ashamed of it. I'm not the same person I was in 1965. I have learned from my mistakes and failures of the past." I think for most people, except the most ardent Mitt Romney haters, that would have been the end of the issue.

Now, why does Mitt Romney need Gene Baril? (For those who don't know this, Gene Baril is my late father. He died in 2000. For many years he was a Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles employee, regarding as one of their big Supervisors at the old 100 Nashua St. headquarters in 1982.) The older I get, the more I appreciate lessons I learned from my father. He liked to lecture, and he could "lecture you to death". The following is from one of those lectures but I never forgot it. Mitt really needs this lecture!

It's too bad that the job of "Registry Inspector" (later "Registry Police Officer") got kind of dumbed down and watered down by the early 1990s and was then merged into the State Police. In the years prior to 1970, a "Registry Inspector" was a highly respected position in Massachusetts. Registry Inspectors knew "Chapter 90" (that is, the Massachusetts automobile laws) backward and forward the way evangelical Protestant pastors know their Bibles. Most Registry Inspectors had previous law enforcement backgrounds. All were driving experts, and all were very well informed and experienced about auto mechanics. Most were Veterans of the U.S. armed services. The civil service test you took to become a Registry Inspector was a very difficult one. In March of 1956, my father had passed that civil service exam. At that time, he'd had five years experience as a Boston Police Officer. He was a Veteran. He was a pretty accomplished auto mechanic. He was always a very good driver. He was 33-years-old, and was the father of a toddler and his wife was about to give birth to their second child. It was in the midst of those circumstances that Gene Baril was called into the office of then Registrar Rudolph King. To be summoned to appear before the Registrar was a big deal in those days.

You see, Dad had met all the requirements to become a Registry Inspector and was about to be appointed to this job BUT there was a serious obstacle standing in the way! As a "kid"...late teens and early twenties...during the time just before and just after he served in World War 2, Dad had been involved in MANY driving incidents. He drove hot rods in those days. There was DRAG RACING on city streets! There were numerous speeding violations and numerous other motor vehicle violations. Such matters were anathema to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, especially for their Registry Inspectors.

Dad stood before Rudolph King. He was literally "called on the carpet". Registrar King read him the lest of violations. While Dad hadn't had any motor vehicle incidents for over seven years at that time, his record for his teens and early twenties was, well, LONG, and embarrassing.

Dad did not know what to do. He had a family. He had responsibilities. More than anything, right now in March 1956, HE wanted to be appointed to become one of these elite Registry Inspectors.

He began making excuses.

"Well...I was younger then..."

"I KNOW you were YOUNGER THEN!" shot back Registrar King.

Dad wished with every fiber of his being he hadn't done those things of his past. The drag racing. The noisy mufflers. The speeding. All of it. HOW could this be haunting him now?! It wasn't fair.

But Registrar King's stern look and firm objections just weren't about to go away.

Suddenly, my father remembered something. In the military service, when a Sergeant came up to you and asked, "Private, WHY IS YOUR BED A MESS??!!" or "Private, WHY did you stay out on leave for 2 hours extra, UNAUTHORIZED??!!" you DIDN'T give that Sergeant crazy excuses. Instead, you came to attention and said, "NO EXCUSE, SIR!"

Right in front of Registrar King, my father came to attention and said, "NO EXCUSE, SIR!"

Registrar King smiled. He told him that's what he'd wanted to hear, and that he expected he would never hear of any more driving infractions from him. At that moment,he was approved to become a Registry Inspector. As I've often bragged about him, he went on to a "distinguished career".

That advice from Gene Baril would go a long way toward helping Mitt Romney now. What do I need to hear from Mitt Romney, "NO EXCUSE, CITIZENS!"