“Is everything as urgent as your stress would imply?”

– Carrie Latet, American author and poet

“Where’s the fire?” The police officer’s sombre tone matched the look on his face.

“Down the road a couple miles,” replied Johnny, jabbing his finger in the general direction. “Liz has got a fire in her basement! If you follow me you can help, but we’ve got to hurry!”

When Liz discovered the fire, she immediately called the local farm implement dealership. That may seem odd but not when you consider the nearest volunteer fire department was half an hour away and the farm implement dealership was five minutes. Besides, the dealership was really the hub of the community – a place where most of the men hung out when...

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