The Sound of Sirens

I'm working on Cub Scout stuff, getting ready for the Pinewood Derby in April and the Pack Overnight Campout next weekend. Heather's sitting in a chair in the living room going over a marathon training schedule. The boys are in bed...the house is nice and quiet.

Along the road outside we hear sirens. They sound like American emergency vehicles. You can tell the difference in the sound of the sirens from American and Italian. I never realized how desensitized I had become to the sound of sirens.

I very good friend lost her son in a car accident several weeks ago. It's such a small community here that the sound of sirens outside actually gets me thinking. I hope everything's OK, I wonder if it's someone I know, what kind of vehicle was it...

We go to the grocery store and run into a dozen people we know. You can't go to Applebees for dinner without stopping at three or four tables to say hi to someone. Being part of such a small, close-knit community is comforting most of the time and worrisome at others. There goes more sirens...