Mark those words down because you don’t hear me say them too often.

How would you like to be Secretary of State right now? There have been rough times before in our nation’s history, but it seems as if things are going a little crazy around the world.

As Secretary of State, one’s job is to be the United States’ diplomat to the world and the “keeper of the peace.” While the Secretary of Defense worries about waging wars, the Secretary of State is there during the ramp up, duration, and winding down of every conflict the United States engages in.

To fill these large shoes walks in Hillary Clinton, former candidate for president who was beat by a junior senator from Illinois, then chosen to be his Secretary of State at a time when our nation was engaged in two military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and our influence around the world was waning. She thought her plate was full. However, it seems that as technology gets faster so does the rate of the issues that must be dealt with by the Secretary of State.

Secretary Clinton and President Obama walked into a global recession, two wars, and the rise of terrorist attempts worldwide. The world watched as oil spewed from the Gulf of Mexico’s ocean floor. Then, the Middle East’s powder keg erupted and began a domino effect that continues to this day: Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the list grows by the day.

If that wasn’t enough, a 9.0 earthquake rocked Japan, triggered a tsunami and severely compromised the integrity of several nuclear reactors leading to an international crisis of supply disruptions, air travel fears and economic market shake-ups.

Then, the dictator of Libya refused to step down as a growing popular uprising urged his departure. In an effort to rid the world of an evil dictator, an international force supported/led by the US began waging war on the unruly dictator on March 19, 2011, exactly eight years after the start of the Iraq War.

It’s no wonder Hillary Clinton said “no” to serving a second term as Secretary of State. Her plate is full, the crises are growing, and it looks like it will get slightly worse before it gets better. Good Luck!

The last bite…

This weekend we kicked off the first St John Firefighter Calendar at New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Co. to raised funds for the St John Relay for Life. The event was a huge success, and the calendars are selling quickly, so get yours soon. At the end of the event, we got to sit down and pig out on some great food. I got the All American Grilled Chicken Sandwich with the generous serving of their garlic fries! Service was great because the St John Firefighters served the guests all night. I give it 5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of LaPlace, is a former parish administrator and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears every Wednesday in L’Observateur.