Warm Wishes On A Frosty Inaugural Morning to Mayor Emanuel

I really like Rahm Emanuel's pre-inaugural weekend of pulling weeds and tilling Chicago soil in Englewood. The Mayor-elect brought his children into the labor that was so much more than a photo-op. Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel stood in the elements among the people he will serve.

Politics is an art and very vicious one at that. However, I know many public men and some women who manage to remember exactly where they come from and whom they serve. These are public servants and not power players. They have happy home lives and their children grow up unspoiled and un-Entitled. They learn about service and some follow their parents into public life.

They do not step to the front of the lines. They don't flash Dad's Office and never say " Do You Know Who I Am?" These children of public persons learn to try out for the teams on their own merit, wait their turns, pitch in and help, serve their neighbors and help those in need.

Happiness comes from leading a life that recognizes something larger than oneself. Happiness has nothing to do with velvet ropes, or VIP treatment. Happiness comes from making a better world than the one that welcomed you.

Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be sworn in as the forty-seventh Mayor of Chicago ( 1837-2011) - The Harrisons pere et fil and the Daleys Dad and Lad were the longest serving Mayors and Davis Orr served but eight days.

The people of Chicago welcome Rahm Emanuel to lead this city. I wish Rahm Emanuel only best for his term of office, but more so, I wish his wife and children peace and happiness during these heady days to come.