goin' to the country store for breakfast

Before anyone awoke, I left early to get some more smokes and treat myself to breakfast. Outside, the truck was covered with ice, the road slippery with "black ice" (which I'd never seen before). So with only two wheel drive and sliding every now and then, I had to stop and check the conditions about a half mile down.

At the store, the unusual weather was the topic of conversation. I ordered my eggs and ham and picked up the local paper while I waited. There it was, the "Pet Issue" with 13 pages of photos of pets. Dogs, cats, lizards, horses and chickens - lamas and squirrels, while I sat wondering how, from my current situation, how can one afford these animals.

Page 3, of the Point Reyes Light, always has the "Sheriff's Calls" - and in rural communities, there seems to be plenty. Over a weekly period, it amounts to 40 some reports. One in particular;

Saturday, December 26th
POINT REYES STATION
"At 9:10 am someone said a woman had handed him (or her) the number for the Sheriff's Office and asked that the caller get her a ride. Deputies told the woman she could leave town on the stagecoach, the same way she rode in".