What has value

"House Republicans flexed some partisan muscle Thursday and punished retired Del. James H. Dillard II by refusing to confirm former Gov. Mark Warner's appointment of Dillard to the College of William and Mary Board of Visitors."

That was the opening sentence of Bob Gibson's story in yesterday's Charlottesville Daily Progress about a little dust–up in the Virginia House of Delegates last week.

"Punished?"

Let me just say that if you informed me that my "punishment" would be not having to go, once a month, to Williamsburg to sit in a big room around a big table with a bunch of geezers, all listening to reports and speeches and what–not, for a full day, I'd say, "Can I have some more, please?"

I detest meetings: always have, always will.

I'll do anything I can not to take part in one.

Why the 72–year–old Dillard, presumably capable and accomplished and in full possession of his faculties, would actually want to go to meetings is so far beyond me, they don't have a telephoto lens that can take you there.

And on top of it, at 72 you're more likely than not on the final approach to "till death do us part" and all so why would you possibly consider spending your final fantasy — if indeed that's what life is — in a stuffy board room?

I can think of about 10,000 things I'd rather be doing than attending a meeting of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary.

Stuff like picking at a hangnail, clearing pine cones from my driveway, tossing broken branches down the hillside behind my house, scrubbing the bathtub... anything but a meeting.

The only possible explanation for the delusional thinking that leads so many people to prefer the prestigious meeting route to real life is that somehow they missed the boat when the guy pointed out that time — not money — is by far the most valuable currency of all.

It would appear that most of the world continues to play with — and treat as real — funny money.

More power to them: more time for me.