There actually is a Republican Party in Suffolk but many Republicans do not attend their meetings. I did when I first arrived in this city many years ago but the dictatorial leadership drove me out. I never looked back and discovered I was far from being alone on the outside. There was rancor in that organization with catfights for the highest position. One side lost out for a bit but like a cat bounced back. There were some fine people there who I suspect have stayed the course and are probably still loyal. And the dictator may still hold court.

Robert Nelms is a fine gentleman and definitely a Republican. It speaks loudly on his campaign for clerk signs. I don’t remember seeing any other candidate signs indicating to which political party they belong and I’d rather know. Party designation tells me a lot about a candidate. It’s far more important to me than who endorses them. I did not know that Kirk Pretlow was a Republican and he may not be; but the Republican Party endorsed him according to party chairman Stephen G. Trent. Mr. Trent did a super job of political assassination when he whined that Nelms was unfair for having the word &uot;Republican&uot; on his campaign signs. It never occurred to me that Nelms was intimating he had the party endorsement, which is about as valuable as a fake Rollex watch.

Both Trent and another reporter should be ashamed for their reportage, using their dirt shovels to add totally unnecessary remarks that in no way assisted in making their point that Republicans had not endorsed Nelms. I had not made up my mind who to vote for until I read that smear, they would call it journalism. It was a way of saying that no one deserves a second chance; one can never be forgiven for a misdemeanor. It was more fun to them to tear off a healing scab, and I hope one day someone will come across delicate info that would embarrass both Trent and the reporter, and print it.

It doesn’t matter to me who is clerk of the court; I still believe all the candidates were more interested in a lifetime job, the money and prestige, than &uot;serving the public.&uot; Murden had under his command a great team of employees and they are still there to help the new boss understand what goes on. Only one candidate is trained for the job and she is from out of town. Surely one of our local boys will get the prize.

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We sure were loaded up with &uot;tourists&uot; the past week and all motels and restaurants did so well they might like to see another hurricane knocking down trees and wires. It seems there were electric power trucks everywhere and most from out of town. Those guys looked as though they lifted weights for a living. All the lines were down in our neighborhood and it amazed us onlookers how fast they put them back up on day twelve. And they could handle their chainsaws like lumberjacks. We are grateful for their response and congratulate our power company for quickly sending out an SOS.

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The Pentagon is losing its marbles. Who in the world convinced them to blow a cool million on a hot touring production of Shakespeare’s &uot;Macbeth&uot; to entertain personnel at military bases? It might work if they put the female actors in skintight leotards, assuming they are of decent proportions. I can almost hear the howls and groans if during the war in Europe they had sent in any of Shakespeare’s stuff instead of amply stacked ladies in short-shorts. (I am reminded of a newspaper add, &uot;For sale, wedding dress size 22, never used.&uot;) I had been forced in my early years to read many of Bill’s plays, thinking all the time I was doing well because it was written in a foreign language. I understood most of the words, except maybe &uot;forsooth,&uot; but I had no idea what the play was all about.

Robert Pocklington is a resident of Suffolk and a regular News-Herald columnist. He can be contacted at robert.pocklington@suffolknewsherald.com.