Local boy does (not so) good…allegedly. And worse, he’s a Robertson County Commissioner.

There are now as many as 40 people who say they are owed millions, and a criminal investigation is under way. Robertson County Commissioner Shannon Polen already faces three civil suits.

I went to high school with Shannon, and it would be fair to say we were friends on some level. I mean, we didn’t hang out at each other’s houses or anything, but we were teammates on a couple of 2-8 football teams and laughed at a lot of the same stuff in classes we had together. Lot’s of laughing in those classes–not much learning.

I would run into him every now and then in college too. I remember bumping into him and another guy we both knew at a basketball game once. We ended up sitting a couple of rows behind Andy Kelly, whom he was heckling just loud enough to not be heard.

I’m sure the Vols lost that night, but I can’t blame that on Shannon with a clear conscious.  While I remember him having a biting sense of humor and being a master heckler, the ability to affect the outcome of sporting events doesn’t stand out in my mind as one of his strengths (see the 2-8 football teams) .

But seriously, how do you heckle Andy Kelly when Wade Houston is in the same room?

Time and malt beverages have ravaged a fair percentage of my memories, but there are a few interesting facts I can tell you about Mr. Polen. Digest them at your leisure and make of them what you will…

  1. He once went as Brian Bosworth for Halloween.
  2. When our Algebra II teacher* had us research a great mathematician, the subject of his research was…our Algebra II teacher.
  3. When busting someone’s chops, he often liked to incorporate a song. He used Steve Miller’s “The Joker” on one friend, but for other people he made up songs. One involved a rat’s nest on a guy’s head, while another was simply a refrain of the words, “Do Wrong”.
  4. He was my weight lifting partner for a year, and I didn’t get much stronger. I’m not saying he was robbing me of my strength, but I can’t say for sure that he wasn’t either.

In all sincerity, this doesn’t smell like a simple misunderstanding, and I hope the people who have lost their savings and faith in elected officials are at least able to get their money back.

UPDATE: Michael Silence has a point.

Sometimes you just have to wonder if stupidity shouldn’t be a felony.

*NOTE: I like to play fast and loose with the word “teacher”