With all due respect to Funkmaster Flex, I acquired the nickname Flex back in the summer of 1978. For all I know the Funkmaster was called Flex back then as well, but it was certainly considerably before he became famous. He would have been ten years old at the time, just as I was eleven. I'm not claiming priority on the name, just that I'm not him and my nick-name was not influenced by him at all.
I won't get into any more detail about the story. Frankly, the story is not particularly entertaining. Like most nick-names it began as a somewhat derogatory appelation, but as the years went by most people who learned to call me Flex didn't know the origin of the nick-name. As nick-names go, it was pretty innocuous. Some of my other high school friends also had nick-names, but as most of them were not suitable for polite company they have returned to using their given name (aside from the rare occasions when we want to tease each other).
Why should I use my nick-name for the blog title? Well, for a number of reasons. First, it's a very familiar name to me. Most of my friends use it, a number of people I know don't even know my given name, or have to think about it.
Second, while I'm not attempting to maintain a high degree of anonymity, some of the things I will be discussing will be actions which are occuring in my township. I am proud to serve my township, and I will not break any confidentiality requirements (which are few enough) of my position as trustee, and I will not explicitly name individuals. However, I'm also not trying to leverage this blog into a campaign tool, for myself or potential opponents. I'm going to blur my discussions about how local government works to avoid making the township I represent obvious. Oh, since I'll be referancing parks and facilities in the township it will probably only take a few minutes to figure out who I am and where I live, but I believe a little anonymity is a good thing.
Finally, I beleive my observations and arguments should stand on their own merits and not for any associations, good or bad, with the township I live in. Like I said above, I am proud to represent my township, and I believe we are doing a lot of good things for the right reasons. The residents have been well served by the township officials, and the township has been so well run that we are considering a minor tax reduction in our millages this year. There are few townships in Michigan who can say that. However, be that as it may be, this is not a blog boosting my township, it's a blog about how local government works and why it's important.
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