Mighty Mayor(Dill McLain) It was a beautiful day with clear, blue skies and endless sunshine.
The pretty little town at the foot of the hills prepared with great zeal for the big celebration on this memorable day. From early morning until noon, busy activities and final preparations were still happening in every corner. The attractive small town was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its mayor in office and his re-election for the next five years. The festivities began in the late afternoon with a big ceremony in the main square. Various dignitaries – local as well as from the province – were invited as guests of honour. Among them were mainly representatives from leading industry, the sports sector and church authorities. All residents of the town were invited to celebrate the most famous and successful mayor for several centuries.

This gentleman – the famous mayor – was called Mauro Panettini, the son of a soprano opera singer and a master baker. The man had already attracted attention at a young age due to his great ambition and commitment. After training with a diploma in the advertising industry, two years of language study and an internship in advertising in the USA, he was unanimously elected mayor of the city at a very young age and with great fanfare. In the small provincial town, everyone was firmly convinced that Mauro Panettini would lead the place to great success and splendour. The various innovations and significant projects he eloquently presented at dinner parties with selected representatives of the local upper class, caused everyone to applaud enthusiastically with sparkling eyes. And there were no objections, no ifs and buts, no arguments, no doubts, just pure agreement across the board. All eagerly awaited this tremendous new future.

And so Mauro Panettini took office and enjoyed complete freedom in all his actions. The town actually began to flourish very soon. First of all, a few tourist attractions were skillfully brought into shape. These included the magnificent church – an architectural masterpiece – from the 15th century with preserved hand paintings in various vaults and wrought iron work. Several stately houses in the city’s center, dating from that time, had also been thoroughly restored. Other sights included the cathedral, a small chapel and, outside of town, a romantic mill and a small monastery from earlier centuries. In addition – as a top tourist gem - a massive castle from the early Middle Ages was enthroned on a nearby hill. All these historic jewels could now be visited as part of attractive tours, and from then on, large groups of domestic and foreign visitors flocked to them every day. These tourists brought the city a lot of income, prestige and fame.

Mauro Panettini married the daughter of a highly respected and very wealthy noble family from the provincial capital – with an extended family tree going back many centuries.
Great-looking, well-educated, sporty and culturally up-to-date, the mighty mayor was the absolute star of the city. He put all his strength into the commitment of his duties. He was tirelessly present everywhere. Everyone liked him. For everyone, he was a great role model.

The couple’s young daughter was totally spoiled and acted as the place’s first influencer. All the females followed her; the older ones were somewhat desperate, the younger ones with a certain ease. The two sons, who were also spoiled, behaved like princes and milled through the town in their expensive sports cars. Opulent parties with horribly loud music were celebrated. All the youngsters jostled without question to be invited.
The mayor’s wife presented herself as a great charitable ruler and appeared everywhere with her head held high, followed by a retinue of devoted helpers.
The town tolerated all this without envy or blame, it seemed.

His only leisure activity was – and he sacrosanctly stuck to it - to regularly ride his red Ducati over the hills into the farthest valleys early in the morning. Then he returned and threw himself into his demanding task with enormous enthusiasm and power. Those early morning Ducati rides were all that was needed for him to recover from the tremendous stress his position involved. With a massive grin, he used to declare to everybody who asked him about it, “This way, I can fully recharge my batteries and find new inspiration!”

And now the time had come, the celebrations reached their absolute climax: the speech by the famous mighty mayor followed by the election, which – everyone knew – would be brilliant, unanimous re-election!
With grand airs, the mighty mayor climbed onto the podium to the thunderous applause of his people. In a far-reaching gesture, he stretched his right arm like the famous Greek governors over the people below him and was about to begin the great speech. His eyes looked beyond the townsfolk somewhere into the far distance full of glory.
Precisely at that moment, an unknown, attractive woman quickly climbed onto the podium, stood firmly next to the visibly horrified mayor, adjusted the microphone in front of her and began to speak. With a calm voice but very clearly articulated. She calmly told what the famous mighty mayor actually used to do on his wild early-morning motorbike rides. A 16-year-old teenager stepped purposefully next to her. Then several women entered the stage with children of different ages, others without children, so a more extensive group now surrounded the mayor and prevented his escape. The narrating woman reported loudly and clearly with a slightly smug smile about the erotic escapades of the mayoral Ducati driver in the various valleys over many years.

Excitement and horror spread, and more tremendous tumult broke out. The townspeople were utterly aghast.
Many women in the audience burst into tears or screamed hysterically towards the podium while some men jumped up, showed hateful faces and shook their fists. The angry people wanted to storm the stage. But the courageous woman at the microphone raised her voice commandingly and strongly. She ordered calm and composure and commissioned the vice-mayor to record what she would now say to all the citizens present as witnesses. At this point, the various incursive women and children on the podium formed a circle around the mighty mayor, who stood erect and collected, eyes fixed somewhere in the distance.
The woman at the microphone demanded that the mighty mayor be immediately removed from office and all his belongings be confiscated and the resulting money fairly distributed to the mothers of his illegitimate children. She called upon the vice-mayor to convene a commission from the six city departments, plus as a guest herself - because she had raised the matter and wanted to monitor it. Finally, she explained loudly and clearly, “We affected women have agreed and in no way want to pursue a legal dispute. This would be difficult to justify anyway, since each entered into and maintained the relationship with the mighty mayor voluntarily. Yes, we haven’t known about each other for a long time. We had happy times with him; he was always a gentleman!”

The speaker paused momentarily and looked beyond the waiting crowd to give the words a lasting effect. A lively murmuring and commenting began among themselves. Everyone seemed visibly amazed.
Then, the courageous woman spoke again and demanded silence and full attention, “But the man must be punished. And we affected women are now determining this punishment. The ex-mayor will be given the generous opportunity to prove himself and become for the next three years the toilet attendant in the gatehouse at the bottom of the hill, where the numerous tourists disembark before taking the path up to the restored castle. He will also live in the gatehouse. After three years, he will be free!”

Silence reigned. The people looked up at the podium in disbelief.
To the even greater astonishment of everyone present, the mighty mayor stepped up to the microphone, smiled charmingly at the speaker and explained in a loud and composed voice, “I agree to everything requested and, as a result, I officially accept the toilet challenge. I will sign the relevant protocol as soon as it is ready. May I ask the police to accompany me to my office so that I can collect some personal belongings!”
A cheering crowd then let the illustrious deposed mayor pass, escorted by several police officers.
The festivities were over.

The mayor’s wife was leaving for her parents house the same night and took the spoiled children with her. A speedy divorce in absentia was sought. None of them ever set foot in the city again, where they suffered so much shame. Her very wealthy parents made the daughter refrain from any severance pay. They did not want to be associated with this hideous man who had defiled the venerable name of that ancient noble family and who they considered scum. They made it look like a generous gesture, but the underlying fear was that they might be used, or one would expect them to help support and educate the many children born out of wedlock.

The former gatehouse had five toilets for the ladies and three for men in the basement. Two larger rooms on the ground floor equipped with vending machines served as waiting rooms and shelter in bad weather. And under the roof was a tiny attic room with a sink.
And so it happened that the deposed – once so influential – mighty mayor, now simply called Mauro Panettini, moved into the small attic room in the gatehouse that same night with 3 suitcases, 2 loads of bedclothes and a briefcase with his laptop. He bowed from the door in the direction of the two policemen who were escorting him, who now stood rather helpless in front of their car, thanked them again, waved collegially and then turned around and disappeared inside the gatehouse.

Mauro Panettini started his new job the following day and, as always, with a great enthusiasm and commitment: first thing in the morning he scrubbed all the floors and cleaned the sinks, toilets and urinals. He then walked around the premises with his mobile phone in his hand and made brief notes. With a soft drink from the machine in one hand, he sat down at the small bar in the waiting room and made a series of phone calls.
The castle on the mountain only opened at 10.00 a.m., and before the first tourists - after parking their cars in the large parking lot (once created on the initiative by the ex-mayor) outside the city - arrived at the gatehouse, two delivery vans had already pulled up. An efficiently working team of four unloaded elegant Art Nouveau furniture and garden furniture, and grouped them in the waiting rooms and along the front of the gatehouse with views across the meadows to the river.
Various natural and artificial flower arrangements were carried into the house from the other van and distributed attractively on the tables and the counter. Some artificial flower arrangements - beautiful exotic creations - went into the basement to give the toilets there an exclusively pimped-up aura.
A third van delivered 4 huge paintings depicting festive scenes from opera performances. The works were skillfully placed on the walls. The same team mounted light curtains on the window front, and wrapped them with an artful swing.
As soon as all the delivery vans had gone, two women tourists entered the gatehouse, bought entry tickets for the castle and disappeared into the basement. They then sat down at a small table with a smile and looked expectantly toward the bar. Mauro Panettini walked up to their table, greeted the ladies warmly and served them an elegant welcome drink to celebrate his first day at work, as he explained to them. Two large cool boxes had also been transported to the gatehouse by one of the delivery vans.
The two ladies were delighted and promised to return for another drink after visiting the castle. And so it went on for the next few hours. All arriving tourists were enthusiastic about the generous reception in the lovely gatehouse with the toilets decorated with magnificent flower threads.
They all came back for a drink after the castle visit. There was already a sum in the tip plate that was enough for a simple dinner.

After work, when the castle had closed its gates, Mauro Panettini quickly cleaned the basement and the other rooms and then sat down at the bar, where he again made several phone calls.
A young man on a motorbike brought him a wonderful dinner from a well-known restaurant in town where he used to be a regular guest with his visitors. The explanation for this food delivery was straightforward: Mauro Panettini sent on all interested tourists there to eat from now on, and a corresponding poster was already hanging up at the entrance to the gatehouse.
That night and the following two nights, various craftsmen teams showed up and worked several hours in the gatehouse. The bar counter and the space behind it were remodelled and redesigned, a sink, a small stove, grill and microwave were installed, and a rustic wine rack was mounted. Two beautifully painted refrigerators were added. The drinks and snack machines were reduced to one device, creating more space.
The small extension behind the gatehouse - formerly the stable for the horses - had been freshly painted, and with new flooring, converted into a practical storage room with a large refrigerator. And a shower was installed in one corner.
All these working groups came voluntarily, and happily and generously helped to redesign the gatehouse to Mauro Panettini's taste. They knew what he had done for all of them as the previous mayor and that he would continue to recommend them to others because he was a true master of networking. After three weeks, the work was finished - the gatehouse was a jewel, a well-known meeting place - and Mauro Panettini, the charming boss in his new kingdom!
Everyone was satisfied: the castle on the mountain was even more popular, and many guests kept coming back and then stopped at Mauro's. From time to time, there were also groups of women who were not interested in history and whose husbands went to the castle alone, while the women stopped at Mauro's, who always entertained them gallantly and never skimped on giving compliments. An unemployed foreign couple took over the cleaning work and also helped with the hospitality. Two dapper music students in historical costumes took turns as minstrels singing poignant love songs, which were very well received. And there were history quizzes for school classes, which were soon even broadcast on TV.

Mauro Panettini showed perfectly that he could not only work sensibly in a town hall with the appropriate infrastructure and essential guests. No, he was the living example of an entrepreneur who started something great with almost nothing - to be precise, only with a few toilets and vending machines - that resulted in a thriving business with the most beautiful aura.
The guests were not stingy with tips and consumed generously. The good-looking toilet CEO (as Mauro often introduced himself with a laugh) managed well and earned not poorly at all.
The ladies from countries near and far stormed out of the coaches and into the toilet block. They weren't all that interested in the castle, more in the handsome Mauro and his staged performance. After going to the toilet, they sipped their cocktails with a wink, enjoyed his presence devotedly and drew in the well-placed and lively compliments he gave them.
Yes, it was true; several affluent single ladies – widowed or divorced - from overseas were not long in coming to propose marriage.

Sometime after over two years, Mauro Panettini departed on the arm of a more mature, very wealthy South American beauty with a stunning figure, who ensnared him with fiery eyes and a beaming smile. Before getting into the taxi, she swore to the remaining ladies loudly and triumphantly, "Mauro is mine now. I'll never give him up!"
The two were then living their dream on the beautiful country estate with a breathtaking view of a beautiful bay by the sea. The well-to-do landlady had not the faintest idea about Mauro’s frequent amorous visits in earlier years - when regularly riding on his red Ducati to meet selected women in some Italian valleys, nor of the resulting flock of children. And whenever Mauro skillfully smiled at her - the former mayor mastered that like no other man and would have been a real competition for Casanova - whispering a few words of his well-rehearsed and heart-pounding compliments, she did not care about anything else in the wide world anyway.

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