Yep, Lemoore has its own brand of 'good ol' boys' and that can be a good thing

Is everything that occurs in our fair city, from implementing a Code of Conduct to harassing miscreants who violate school speed zones, a product of this unseen network of ne’er-do-wells?

Is one of our elected councilmembers suggesting that the good ol’ boys and the silent misogynists are laying waste to our city’s goals and ambitions? She may have hinted as much.  Councilmember Blair has issued a plethora of rabid tweets and comments, tossing out labels like misogynist and good ol’ boys with a reckless abandon.

We must act. The Leader suggests – somewhat benignly – that maybe the city council should consider the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Ms. Andrade Blair’s concerns, but if we’re going to conduct a witch hunt, let’s do it properly. Bob Mueller might be available soon.

We should get to the bottom of this, and if there is a good ol’ boys' network, we should expose it. We should pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of our city.

The words are from President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, and they still inspire – sort of like a reverse Twitter.

What exactly is a good ol’ boy?

Definition of the term as defined by the scholarly source Wikipedia: In a positive sense, the term “good ol’ boy” is generally a term derived about men from a rural or southern locale who exhibit humble, well-meaning attitudes.

Negative attributes generally can refer to someone who engages in cronyism among men who have known each other for a long period of time. Collectively, these people are often referred to as a good ol’ boy network or good ol’ boys’ club.

I have a slightly different definition from the above. I contend that there is, in fact, a network of good ol’ boys, and they’re not hidden at all, but are visible and productive members of our community.

Take for example the local optometrist who served 30 years in the United States Navy. Without fanfare, he spends much of his free time acting on behalf of the good citizens of Lemoore.  He once served many years as a Lemoore planning commissioner. He has been known to distribute free eyeglasses and exams for those who can’t afford either. The former Lemoore Citizen of the Year belongs to service clubs that continually give back to the community in a myriad of ways. He and his family of good ol’ boys (the call themselves Lions) every year visit neighboring Mexico, helping to improve a school they long ago adopted.

He’s on my list of good ol’ boys.

There are plenty of good ol’ boys I know. For example, members of the Lemoore Police Department, who, when they’re not “terrorizing” local councilmembers, work in schools, provide shoes and distribute food to the disadvantaged, and in their spare time sip morning coffee with local constituents. Lemoore officers created the thriving Police Activities League (PAL). The department’s Volunteers in Policing program is perhaps the most popular program in the city, and the police Explorers’ program is producing a crop of potential police officers.

The department also created the Problem-Oriented Policing (POP), a critical outreach program for the community.

Talk about some your good ol’ boys (The term good ol’ boys, while not explicitly so, also denotes the contributions of women).

Remember the businesswoman who owned a downtown shop for years? She served two terms on the Lemoore City Council and was a Lemoore Citizen of the Year, the Kings County Peace Officers’ Citizen of the Year, and California Woman of the Year. She also served as the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce Director.

I’m proud to have her as one of my good ol’ boys.

How about the guy who spent his adult life in the California Highway Patrol, busting crooks and then moved up the ranks to command a giant hunk of California before retiring a few years ago? What did he do? He got another job and then ran for the Lemoore City Council where he helped to establish a Big Brothers, Big Sisters program in our local schools.

He too is one of my good ol’ boys.

How about our local service clubs, from the Rotary to the Odd Fellows, the hundreds of men and women who serve the community just because they care?

Good ol’ boys all!

The Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department is bursting at the seams with good ol’ boys. At the sound of a pager, the dedicated volunteers drop whatever they’re doing – day or night – to fight fires, attend to the injured, or just maybe find the time to rescue a stranded kitten from a towering tree.

Good ol’ boys, each one of them.