orry, I Must Have Forgotten Again

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

The Baron’s fiancée, Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, was getting somewhat concerned about the Baron’s health. She told him that he seemed to be forgetting some appointments and activities of late. She also mentioned this to the Baron’s chief advisor, Professor Hamblin. The Professor agreed that he had noticed the same thing. Usually, the Baron was very sharp about remembering the slightest detail about an activity, but now it seemed that he had to apologize from time to time for forgetting an event.

Just the previous week, the Baron forgot Lady Angela’s birthday and that he had planned on something special for the occasion.

Professor Hamblin tactfully brought up the subject and recommended that he have a psychiatrist from Vienna examine the Baron and give a professional opinion about the situation and his health.

The Baron agreed and the Viennese psychiatrist came to Lilliland for the purpose of evaluating the Baron’s forgetfulness problem.

A few days after the evaluation, the conclusion was offered that the Baron did not have any problems with his thinking and remembering processes. His lifestyle was just disorganized. He needed an appointment secretary added to his office staff.

It was noted that many royal family leaders attended ceremonies and gave brief speeches that were all written for them by a royal speechwriter. They were often described as mere figureheads and did not engage in the problem-solving process of the country.

The Baron was far from a typical figurehead. He worked on the problems of state everyday and attended all the ceremonial functions that were expected of him. He said his own words and wrote his own speeches. Doing all of this was an overload and things often got forgotten.

The appointment secretary would go over the agenda for the Baron everyday and have a long-term agenda for future events. If, and when, a delay or conflict might arise, the appointment secretary would be equipped to handle it diplomatically and very smoothly.

The question was who to find and hire for the job? The Baron asked Lady Angela to help in the selection of the appointment secretary. She said she would be delighted to help.