The Peterborough Bandwagon – Meet Daryl Bennett – the Next Mayor of Peterborough

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Today’s Blog Post


The Peterborough Bandwagon – Meet Daryl Bennett – the Next Mayor of Peterborough

Yesterday I witnessed the true “Bandwagon” in full regalia in Peterborough, Ontario at Royal Gardens. You better believe it! It was something else.

Now unlike it being like Barnum, the great circus showman, it was only a local wanna be politician that wants to become our next mayor. Darryl Bennett brought a Bandwagon into Royal Gardens for the Seniors to see.

No, no, there was no real wagon.

As I searched more for info on the word “bandwagon” and the phrase “jump on the bandwagon” I found that it has come to relate to primarily all things political.

About Barnum it is noted… quote…
The word bandwagon was coined in the USA in the mid 19th century, simply as the name for the wagon that carried a circus band. Phineas T. Barnum, the great showman and circus owner, used the term in 1855 in his unambiguously named autobiography The Life of P.T. Barnum, Written by Himself, 1855:
"At Vicksburg we sold all our land conveyances excepting four horses and the 'band wagon'."
End quote.

In Wikipedia it states of the “bandwagon”… quote…
The bandwagon effect, also known as the "cromo effect" and closely related to opportunism, is a phenomenon—observed primarily within the fields of microeconomics, political science, and behaviorism—that people often do and believe things merely because many other people do and believe the same things. The effect is often called herd instinct, though strictly speaking, this effect is not a result of herd instinct. The bandwagon effect is the reason for the bandwagon fallacy's success.
End quote.

Hmmm? Daryl Bennett has done this in one classic way yesterday. I thought that this kind of thing might have stopped in the early 1900s or even maybe happening just in the USA. Nope it is in Peterborough too – in 2010.

We arrived at 2:00 PM for the regular program that we have with the small group of Seniors that meet each week at our New Friends group.

Daryl had beaten me there. He was there with a good old time band consisting of two guitars, a fiddle and a keyboard. Each of these instruments was played by an old guy, kind of the down home type.

The best I can describe it was a kind of Blue Grass, country, thigh slappin’ music which “ya haf ta stomp your foot to”.

The audience was considerably larger than last week. The seniors were there with their sons and daughters that were dragged in to make up and big audience of sorts. It was a sea of white hair connected somehow to their walkers and canes.

Now the program began with an old guy that was identified as a former Chaplain. He told everyone that Daryl was a good church goer and a member of the Marks Street United Church Choir, that he was going to be the next Mayor of Peterborough and that he was also going to be the First Singing Mayor of Peterborough.

No kidding! That part caught my attention! My immediate thought was, “This is going to be too good and am I ever glad we are here to watch this Bandwagon!”

Daryl’s campaign has a catch statement/phrase, “Leadership that Works”. As if the other Leadership or Present Leadership doesn’t work! Yikes!

Now Daryl lives up or acts out his catch phrase. He takes off his suit jacket and low and behold he has on black suspenders over his white shirt. Now this is a “workin man” – only he didn’t role up his sleeves… just looked like he might.

Now Daryl is a hard working business owner that has done well so they say. But I am pretty sure that Darryl has hired others that role up their sleeves to do the work.

Now compare this to last week and our meeting the Present Mayor of Peterborough, Paul Ayotte. Paul had the same brown suit that I have seen him in a dozen times. He was with his wife and sister – that’s it. No band or bandwagon. Paul spoke honestly and openly about what the city has done and is doing. He asked for support and then came to meet us all.

Daryl was different. Daryl can sing and did sing with the fellers that were doing the strummin and croonin. And my, my, the dude can sing a tune and hold one too. I found my toes a tappin and hand a slappin.

Now the bandwagon music had been specially chosen for the occasion. Some of the songs were “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”, “I’ll fly away and “Ring those Golden Bells”(I think that was the name of it). All three refer to getting ready to leave this world. I think all three of these are sung or have been sung at funerals. Old favourites of the Old People present – but way too close to the day that many will have it sung over them! Yikes!

Hey but Daryl can sing and apparently loves the old Christian, thigh slappin, toe tappin kind of Southern Music.

I do not know how that will fit into the next City Council sessions where some the present collected politicians are kind of far from Hymn singin, thigh slappin, out and out Church Goers.

I don’t know how Daryl will fit into next year’s Gay Pride Parade… cause the people that attended this year were kind of NOT THAT KIND OF PEOPLE!

In fact Daryl may be a one of the good old boys… but not sure how that will work in city council. DUH!

At one moment yesterday I kind of thought maybe I was some where in the movie “Brother Where Art Thou” with the political meeting takin place… and people up thar a singin their little hearts out. Hokey Mokey.

Deep reflections are going on inside of me now. I am retired and looking to do more in the community. Maybe I could be Mayor too.

Next time around I could have my own band ready. I can’t sing worth a ding dong, but hey – who knows what I could try in a few years from now?

I have a gut base band – at least all the instruments… and I know some good old boys that could join me to do the strumming.

Hmm?

Now who the heck do you vote for?

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/


Source:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/jump-on-the-bandwagon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwagon_effect
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/
http://darylbennett.ca/