Chapter 15 - Page 201 - The Village Has A New Name

   Thamish thanked him, then said, “Would everyone like to vote for Los Angeles as the village name?”

   Several people said yes. Jim could tell people liked the name and was sure they would vote for it. As Thamish was about to ask for a show of hands, Jim raised his hand again.

   “Mr. Brown,” Thamish said, “did you have something, you wanted to say?”

   Jim rose. “Mr. Mayor, there is an alternative.”

   “What is your suggestion?”

   “Los Angeles is often referred to as the city of angels. It’s a big city, with a lot of crime and corruption. Instead of naming our village Los Angeles, we could just name it ‘Angel Town.’ ”

   “Thank you, Mr. Brown,” Thamish said. He looked around the hall. “Does anyone else have anything to say?” No one raised their hand. After a pause, Thamish said, “Jim built this village, and I, for one, think it would be proper to let him choose a name for it.”

   Jim wished now that he hadn’t said anything. He wanted the voters to choose a name. He raised his hand again. “Mr. Mayor, there could be better names. Why don’t we postpone voting on a name for one week? Everyone could think of names for our village and submit them to your office. We could get everyone, including the children in school, to submit their favorite village name.” Jim sat down to let the discussion continue.

   “Thank you, Mr. Brown,” Thamish said. “Does anyone object to what Jim said?” No one raised their hand. “OK, we’ll leave the ballot box here in the dining hall. We ask that everyone put the name of their choice in the box.”