Published: June 28, 2006 02:35 pm      

Fletcher's unbridled limo ride

“The trail is long and the river is wide.

And my ride’s here.”

-Warren Zevon



The trail from the Kentucky Governor’s office to the Governor’s Mansion is about 500 feet. There is a not a river, swamp, nor alligator between them.

I’m 100 pounds heavier than Governor Ernie Fletcher, and I can walk it.

Fletcher has a Lincoln Town Car drive him from spot to spot.

The waste of our money is something to get mad about. At $3 a gallon, it is costing the taxpayers a bundle to have a state trooper drive Fletcher 500 feet.

I’d rather he spend tax dollars on something like the $5000 secret door to his office.The secret door will be there when the next governor takes over. Wasted fuel won’t be.

It is a horrible symbol that the governor is too lazy to walk 500 feet.

I partially empathize with what Fletcher is doing. I used to live a block from my office and occasionally drove. I felt like a fool firing up the car and going around the block but did it anyway.

There have been mornings when I’ve looked like I had been on a three-day bender (I have never been on a three-day bender, but I have the look perfected) and did not want to interact with neighbors. When I was walking to work, I had to.

With his troopers, car, and secret door, the governor never has to interact with someone who is not on his payroll.

Maybe that is why his popularity is at 28 percent. Meeting a few “regular folks” might give him an idea of what people are thinking about.

Dan Rather wrote “The Palace Guard” about President Nixon and said that a lot of Nixon’s problems stemmed from being isolated from the public It might be a good idea for Fletcher to thumb through a copy of that book.

If he takes it to heart, it might save the state a few gallons of gas.

It’s not the gas I am really upset about. Every governor wastes money, and Fletcher is no exception. Governors are supposed to set an example for the rest of the state to follow.

It’s hard for a fat guy like me to be inspired when my governor takes a 500 foot limo ride.

Fletcher threw away the one issue that might have spurred a political comeback. The limo story is getting national coverage, and people will be laughing at Kentucky once more.

It won’t get as many chuckles as when he buzzed the United States Capitol in an airplane, but it is still a knee-slapper.

Governor Fletcher is a former minister and doctor and has the perfect credentials to preach the gospel of healthy living. He could talk to Kentuckians in a doctor-to-patient manner.

Every time I go to my doctor, he tells me to start exercising. He never mentions taking a ride in a limo.

Although my weight recently went from grossly obese to just obese, I am a better spokesperson for fitness than the Governor is.

Two years ago, I started a group called Don’s Fat Guys in Richmond. We meet each week and inspire each other to lose weight.

We recently changed our name to Don’s Get-Fit Guys. Many in the group are no longer fat, and getting fit is our goal.

All of us have lost weight and started exercising. I started working with Steve Carroll, a personal trainer, and Steve has me doing exercises I have not done since childhood.

500 feet would be a cakewalk for me now.

We ought to invite the governor to join our meetings. We can explain why riding 500 feet is bad behavior.

Warren Zevon’s song, “My Ride’s Here”, is about the kind of vehicle the grim reaper might have.

Fletcher needs to set an example for all of Kentucky. He also needs to realize that in a high-stress job such as governor, walking and exercising is a way to ensure that he doesn’t go on that ride earlier than he should.

Don McNay is Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group, where the Get-Fit Guys meet every Tuesday at 5.30 p.m. You can write to him at don@donmcnay.com or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com. His award-winning column is syndicated on the CNHI News Service.