Characters

I got a press release in the mail today. Guess it had to happen sooner or later. I just don’t envy the person who answers the call — the empty shoes that he or she will have to fill are enormous.

Apparently the Victor Republican Committee is looking for candidates interested in running for “the vacant Town Justice seat left after the death of longtime Judge Edward ‘Marty’ Lyng.”

“Longtime.” The word doesn’t even begin to cover it.

My first encounter with Judge Lyng was at the close of a case involving an autistic student who faced charges resulting from a difficult experience at Victor High School. It was the first time I was actually impressed by a judge — in fact by anyone connected with the court system. He was smart, he was humble, he was informed, he was decisive — he seemed to be a man with a moral compass, a human being with both a mind and a heart. And neither got in the way of the other.

Then I got to meet his mentor, Charlie Rose. (Double my awe.) He, too, seemed to exemplify all the things I respect so deeply and aspire to so completely.

That’s when I fell in love with what it means to be a Town Justice. They’re the heroes who face real people with real problems at any hour of the day or night. They hear the stories, they make the calls, and they hope their decisions will steer people in the right direction. Justices stand at the fork in the road and point the way.

Marty and Charlie did it right. They inspire me to be better at whatever I’m doing, to keep on learning and growing. They inspire me to try to make a difference in the lives of people around me.

So there it is — an open seat for a new Town Justice. And the empty shoes are there too, waiting to be filled.

Up for the challenge? Go for it.