As nobody ventured a guess - not even the one whose grandson who was attending university, because he would know something as strange as a dilemma.
To rescue them from making stupid guesses about the word and its meaning the pipe-smoker quoted a story regarding an event that had taken place many, many years ago in a magistrate`s court. One of the witnesses commented upon a situation that he had experienced and when he had to take a decision he mentioned that he found himself `on the horns of a dilemma`. When the translator tried to translate this expression he admitted to the magistrate `that the witness found himself on the horns of an animal that the translator had not heard of before`!
The others then enquired from the pipe smoker how this story could be linked to any subject that they should know about in the field of local government.
The pipe-smoker attempted to explain by saying that they should place themselves in the shoes of a town planner and a council that have to consider the application that an entrepreneur had submitted for approval. The application was to completely reshape a piece of land of about fifteen hectares in extent and currently containing a collection of plants and trees that have not been disturbed for over twenty years. These plants represented a number of species that are only found in that vicinity, plus the environment serves as a basis for birdwatchers as well as a practical and hands-on learning ground for the school children that would otherwise have to learn out of schoolbooks. In order to maintain and enhance this area it could be declared a protected area while the entrepreneur wants to change its face to include walkways and picnic spots and places for outdoor exercises.
The choices that have to be considered were sketched as, firstly, to leave the area as it was and only spend funds on it to support the teaching opportunities for the children while also offering the adults who have been ignorant of its existence to enjoy communing with nature instead of watching TV.
The entrepreneur on the other hand wants to spend much money and create open air fitness areas, open air concert areas plus a restaurant and extensive paved walkways that could double up as bike trails and thus create a source of income.
There was a further option, namely to put a security fence around the area and leave it in its pristine state and make it accessible only to serious students of the environment and thus create an exclusive area for the study of plants, birds and the plant life in that area.
It was when these options were put before the town planner, and the municipal council subsequently had to debate and decide, that these apparently competing options were weighed up against each other that one of the councillors, threw up his hands in the air and announced that they were facing a problem that has placed them `on the horns of a dilemma` and that there was no clear-cut answer.
It was nearly solved when it was asked whether the answer should be based on the short-term considerations versus long term considerations which include the total loss of an asset that would not ever be recovered at any time in the future?.
Before they then settled down to enjoy their coffee they asked what the final decision had been, only to hear that it was referred to a consultant!
BY STAN DAVIS
