Singer Glenn Frey may not have been thinking about Ferriday, in 1984 when his big hit “Smuggler’s Blues” hit the charts, but the song certainly fits the town’s present conundrum.

“It’s the lure of easy money,” Frey crooned. “It’s got a very strong appeal. Perhaps you’d understand it better, standin’ in my shoes. It’s the ultimate enticement. …”

The former Eagles star was singing about illegal drug smuggling, but the lyrics are equally applicable to what many people consider another “vice” that’s up for consideration in Ferriday — bingo.

The money a proposed bingo parlor could make for the Town of Ferriday is certainly appealing to town leaders.

And it is difficult to blame them. Let’s face it the town could be in better shape economically.

Ferriday just lost its Wal-Mart anchor store to an expansion in neighboring Vidalia.

Its mayor and police force have turned sections of roadway into what could easily be the South’s most lucrative speed trap, having written thousands of speeding tickets in recent history, presumably all to raise some public dollars.

So now, the lure of “easy money” as Frey sang, may just be too tempting to pass up.

Before parish leaders sign off on the bingo parlors, Ferriday residents need to decide what they want in their community and then voice their opinions.

If the majority of residents truly believe bingo to be the savior of the town, then turn on the microphone and start the games. Otherwise, let’s refuse this potentially “losing proposition,” as Frey sang.