eluctant Interview

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

The Baron was faced with a slight dilemma about an interview with a member of the press. It seemed that while the Baron was traveling around Europe, he visited many dignitaries. One of the important dignitaries owned a newspaper and asked the Baron if he would grant a reporter an exclusive interview. The interview would focus on life in Lilliland for the Baron and Lady Angela.

The Baron had a rule of not granting interviews because in the past, when he read his interview in print, sometimes it came out too differently from what he actually said or meant when answering a question. Therefore, to avoid any further occurrences again, he stopped granting interviews. But this time he made an exception.

The reporter arrived and the interview began with the Baron and Lady Angela in the castle study. The questions seemed rather routine about the typical day in the life of the Baron of Lilliland.

Toward the end of the interview the Baron was asked what one word would best describe his success and the success of Lilliland. The Baron thought for a few minutes and said that the word was “INTEGRITY.” The reason everything worked as well as it did was because of the integrity of the workers and all the people in Lilliland.

Because everyone believed in the system of government that was in place, it worked out very well.

The Baron believed that if one group tried to line their pockets with gold at the expense of the other groups, then that would be the beginning of the end. Integrity, and the respect that went along with it, were something that the Baron and everyone else must practice everyday.

The people of Lilliland had to continue to believe that the Baron’s decisions were in their best interest and in the best interest of the future of Lilliland.

Sometimes, in the Alpine Mountains of Lilliland, Mother Nature could be very harsh, with avalanches, storms, drought, forest fires, and other calamities. The Baron was expected to take care of the situation, no matter what, and ensure that Lilliland would come out of the crisis as good as ever.