REDEFINING BILLY BEER :

Lajitas takes wounding of its mayor -- a goat -- seriously (Jim Yardley, August 5, 2002, NY Times)

This isolated place along the Rio Grande in West Texas is called the end of the road, but it might as well be the end of the world. The closest commercial airport is five hours away. Cell phones do not work. There is no municipal government, and the elected mayor has no powers or duties, which is fortunate, because the mayor is a goat.

Not a goat in figurative terms but a real goat, Clay Henry III. He is admittedly a symbolic figure, a mascot of sorts, a publicity tool. He does not involve himself with zoning or ribbon cuttings. He is not a strategic planner.

His claim to fame is that he drinks beer.

Suffice it to say, it gets stranger from there. Although, having worked in West Texas, it's easy to believe he was the best man for the job. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 6, 2002 07:48 PM