Remember that goofy fellow who showed up in Decatur a few weeks ago and requested a key to the city in exchange for a little community service?  No?  Well the Decatur Minute documented the whole thing.

That was comedian Steve Hoffman and now he’s now found himself on the CBS Evening News, speaking about the 95 keys and counting that he’s collected from city’s all over the country.

And while Decatur escapes exposure in the televised segment that seems conflicted between laughing along with Hoffman and feigning upset at the devaluation of the honor of key-bestowing, Mayor Floyd’s photo with Hoffman is front and center in the accompanying website article.  A similar photo below is from The Minute.

So, as only a national newscast can over-generalize, should a key to the city still mean something (in every single city across the country)?

Umm…well that sorta depends.  Did your city only reserve keys for burning-building heroes and eight term mayors up until Hoffman came a knockin’?  Or are keys kinda blase’ in your city these days?

In short, instead of asking “Should a key mean something?” perhaps the more appropriate question would be “DOES a key mean something?”

I mean, it’s not like Decatur gave him a Hometown Hero award.