title:  Rhode Island Official Dresses Middle Aged Man As Little Old Lady For Senior Citizen Photo Op
text: A Rhode Island city official has resigned after she was caught dressing up a male middle aged bus driver as a little old lady to  prove  how well her snow shoveling program was helping senior citizens.Apparently unable to find a single real senior citizen to fill out her press conference, director of senior services Sue Stenhouse got a man who worked at a nearby senior home to don a wig, earrings, lipstick, and a dress to stand next to her while she bragged about the program. Let s just say it was not an effective disguise.Almost immediately, reporters began to question the ridiculous situation, but the sheer audacity of the stunt was such that initially no one called out Stenhouse or the  woman.  It was only later that things began to fall apart.When NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reported on the bizarre story, Stenhouse grew angry. I ve been in a meeting all night being a great public servant for the city of Warwick,  Stenhouse said.  Now, I get this (expletive.) And you guys did not reach out to me. And that was a big lie on the news. However, just a few days later she was turning in her resignation letter.There are, of course, a lot of questions that remain unanswered. Why didn t the officials simply ask a resident from the senior home they were standing in front of to join them for the presser? Why did they need an elderly woman to be in the shot in the first place? What was she thinking? And did Stenhouse get the idea from Mrs. Doubtfire or a Chris Farley sketch?It s difficult to fathom why Stenhouse, who by all accounts had a long and promising career in Rhode Island politics ahead of her, would torpedo her chances on something so monumentally silly. A few of her colleagues expressed shock and alleged deceit when asked to comment on the incident.One theory that seems plausible is that Stenhouse s snow removal initiative was struggling thanks to a mild winter. While not her fault, the lack of bad weather meant holding a press conference to brag about snow plowing was going to go down in flames. What followed was a series of desperate decisions worthy of a sit-com. According to witnesses, city officials had snow shipped to the front of the senior center and dumped in the background of the press conference. The bus driver-turned-old woman was just an extension to an already completely fabricated situation. Whats one more lie, and a little lipstick, after all?Featured image via Mashable