Breaking News: Winston was wrong! Tierney exonerated.

nameiz: Winston Edmondson

Many of you thought this day would never come. Some of you, I'm sure, will print this article and have it framed. I did some follow up research on an article I wrote last week and I can now confirm that I got it wrong. After reading an article in the newspaper about John Gorena's swearing in ceremony, I wrote a piece and gave my commentary. After posting it, a few different sources told me that I may not have had all the facts. Late last night I decided to visit Tierney's Cafe & Tavern to find out what really went down.

I enjoy doing the research for articles. I had a blast interviewing the illegal aliens at Huffines Plaza for my day labor story. I have to say that my fact finding expedition at Tierney's last night was the most fun I've had while in research mode in a long time. If you've never been to Tierney's for Wednesday night karaoke, you don't know what you're missing. There were some very talented vocalists singing every genre of music, and the singers that weren't that good were at least easy to look at.

Lewisville's most prominent left leaning writer, Stephen Southwell, was there, and I was surprised to learn that, even though he's a radical liberal, he has a pretty nice voice. Eventually, I caught the bug and did a quick song. I didn't get a standing ovation or anything, but I think I hit all the high notes.

To his credit, Greg Tierney came over after my karaoke debut and was very cordial. Mrs. Tierney came over to say hello as well. If I ever manage to talk myself into going back to the gym, I'm going to beg Mrs. Tierney to be my personal trainer. Her arms are amazing. As we were chatting, I started thinking of excuses I could use in case she suddenly challenged me to an arm wrestling match. "I'd love to, but, ummm, my wrist...carpel tunnel...you know, from all the writing. No arm wrestling for me, I'm afraid. Doctor's orders." That's the best I could come up with. Thankfully, she didn't challenge me. Anyway, Tierney's is a great Wednesday night destination.

As this was not a night for frivolity, but a fact finding expedition, I asked Greg about the swearing in ceremony. "Did I get it wrong, Greg? Set me straight."

"Did you get it wrong? Yeah, Winston, you did. Big time." That's not really what he said, but it would have been a true statement. The quick version of the story goes like this. John Gorena's swearing in ceremony could have been scheduled on any day and at any time. The city council members are all real citizens with real jobs and responsibilities beyond what they commit to doing for the city, so when they plan events, they have to work around each other's schedules. The day that was suggested for John Gorena's swearing in ceremony was a day that wouldn't work for Greg. The council was aware of this, but scheduled it on that day anyway because, even with Tierney's absence, they should have had a quorum and been able to conduct business. On the day of the ceremony, the council ended up being one man short for a quorum. Even though he was needed at his restaurant and was not supposed to be there, Tierney saved the day by showing up. When asked for a quote for the newspaper article, the session where they had scheduled the swearing in ceremony completely slipped his mind. This resulted in a piece where, almost by his own admission, Tierney was the party responsible for the delay. The truth is, Tierney was the hero.

So there it is. I was wrong. I apologized to Greg, and I'll apologize here. I'm sorry. I don't have a problem using strong language when people are at fault, but I don't ever want to come down hard on the wrong guy.