istaking Professor Hamblin

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Professor Hamblin was the chief advisor to the Baron. Oftentimes, the Baron and his fiancée, Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, would consult with the professor, who became their advisor for state matters, about almost any topic of interest.

Professor Hamblin was a former Cambridge University professor who was hired by the Baron’s father to come to Lilliland to tutor the young Baron. Lady Angela had also been tutored by the Professor during her early years.

One day, a tall, very distinguished-looking, gray haired man was visiting Lilliland. He walked around Lilliland wearing a long gray coat and black tweed hat. The visitor complained to the police department that strangers were coming up to him and complaining about numerous things about Lilliland. People complained about the post office losing their mail, the trash collection was not on time, street signs needed to be repainted, and the church bell was too loud.

The Lilliland Police Department brought these complaints to the attention of Professor Hamblin because the tall man wore the same type of gray overcoat and tweed hat, and resembled the Professor.

The Professor asked to meet this man and sure enough the coat and hat were similar in appearance. Professor Hamblin commented that the other man could almost pass himself off as a relative.

The Professor thought about the problem for a while and decided that he wanted the other man to enjoy his stay in Lilliland, so he sent the man to the clothing store and invited him to select a new hat and coat of his liking, but different enough from the ones that Professor Hamblin wore so as not to be mistaken for the Professor.

When the Baron was told of the situation, he was amused and said that it seemed that Professor Hamblin was good at solving all kinds of problems. Several months later, when the Professor decided to buy a new coat and hat, he went to the same clothing store that the tall man went to and made sure that he did not buy the exact same style hat and coat so that history did not repeat itself.

Professor Hamblin looked over the list of concerns and complaints about Lilliland and they all seemed reasonable. The concerns about lost mail, trash pick-up, and street signs needing new paint, would all be attended to, but the one about the loud church bell would stay as it was because as the bells tolled over Lilliland they reminded everyone how nice Lilliland was and how wonderful the people were who lived there.