er son had made friends faster than her. In fact, for his birthday tomorrow, they had invited over 20 people. At eight years old making friends was definitely easier than at 28. There were a lot of people she knew, but really couldn't consider any of them friends. Sure, she had pleasant conversations with many people every day. But what kind of business would she have if she didn't? Granted, she was the only Veteranarian for 50 miles, but good customer relations was part of the job. It was just good business practice.

So far, the day was pretty slow, at least for her. But the small town was busier than it had been since they had arrived. The Grainery was doing a booming business. She supposed that that must be what it was like this time of year. Truck after truck pased by, first loaded with corn, then empty. This would continue into the night. Tn every field, farmers were harvesting corn and soybeans. The big rush, she supposed, was to beat the big rain storm that was headed their way. But, then again, she really didn't pay much attention to the weather. She didn't really have anything to complain about. After all, where else could you get a house and 10 acres for less than the apartment she had last year. Just thinking about that made evrything worth the effort.

About an hour before she had to leave to pick up her son, a well dressed young man walked into the clinic. She knew him, he worked at the church in town. I hope he doesn't start again, she thought to herself. He's always trying to get me and my son to come to church. She had allowed her son to attend church with some of his friends, but even he was starting to get on her nerves. She finally had to make him quit going. She didn't want to hear any of that Bible stuff. And to her, if God did exist, where had he been her whole life. This bitter though permeated her mind as the young man greeted her. This time he only came to invite her to a "pig pickin" they were having. All she had to do was "bring an appetite and a folding chair" because there would be plenty. Besides whatever "get et would get throwed to the hogs". He was always saying something like that. It made her laugh, and she wore a smile until she remembered who he was. She wanted to say no, but somehow she slipped and said yes.

After closing the clinic, she drove over to the school. There, as she waited, she noticed the long line of trucks waiting their turn to unload their cargo. She never realized before that there was so much going on in a small town like this. The door opening snapped her back to her routine. But instead of getting into the vehicle, her 8 year old asked excitedly, "Can I spend the night with my friend? They'll bring me home in the morning." A little disappointed she began to say no, but saw how excited he was, and allowed him to go. He flung his book bag into the car, and with a quick, "ok-see-ya-later", was running back toward his friend.

Well, it was going to be a quiet night, she thought to herself. So she decided to go rent a couple of movies and veg out in front of the T.V. She needed to pick up some things for the next day anyway. As she was pulling into a parking lot, she noticed big trucks loaded with farm equipment passing by. Each truck that passed had two huge harvesting machines, and they were followed by even more trucks for hauling grain. This didn't seem normal to her so she decided to ask someone what was going on. Since she knew many of the people in the area, unless a lot of people had suddenly moved in, this parade of vehicles had to mean something.

While checking out at the register she asked about what she had observed. The clerk told her that there was a big push to get the crops harvested before the rain started. It looked like there was going to be a lot of rain. Too much rain would make to ground too soft to operate the equipment. Plus, if they got too much rain, the farmers would loose most of their crop. She explained that it never occured to her how important the weather was to farmers. Still not fully grasping the big picture, she asked, " Couldn't they buy grain from another town or something? On the roads here I saw lots of fields." Amused, the clerk responded, "They could, but that's not really the idea. You see, most of the people around here depend on selling their crops. It's how they make their living. The bigger farmers could probably survive losing their crop this year, but the smaller farmers live year to year. One bad year could spell big, big problems for them." They talked a few more minutes, mainly about the big "pig pickin" coming up, then bid each other good evening.

It was almost five o'clock when she walked in the front door. After sitting the packages on the counter, she reached for the phone. Then, running her fingers down the list close by, dialed the number where her son was spending the night. After about 12 rings she hung up the phone. She'd call later, after she finished getting things ready for tomorrow.

Her son and his friend were playing one of the family's favorite games. They took turns pretending to be an animal and everyone had to guess. It always seemed to get silly, but that just made it more fun. While all this was happening, and being a mom herself, she decided to give the "lady Vet" a call - just to check in. When she picked up the phone, placed it to her ear, and started to dial, she noticed the phone was dead. Tha lines were down again she figured. It wasn't a big deal, it happened frequetly in that area. So, she'd just call again after supper, if the "lady Vet" didn't call first.

Engrossed in the movie, our she never noticed how heavy the clouds had become just west of her. They were very dark, almost black, with purple and reddish-orange streaks. Close to the ground, beneath the clouds, it looked like someone switching a light on and off. In this area, it was common for folks to sit out in the evening and watch the "heat" lightening. It was like watching fireworks or a tremendous light show. Usually the lightening streaks ran across the sky and hardly ever toward the ground. Some folks even brought popcorn and beverages - making it a family event. But this was different, a lot different.

Just when the movie was getting really good, the phone rang. At first, she tried to ignore it. She hoped that it would ring a few times then stop. But it continued. Slowly she walked over to answer the phone, then with a sudden frenzied notion, she rapidly grabbed the reciever. Something must have happened, she was thinking, he is so accident prone. With panic in her voice she said, "Hello, this is...." But before she could continue the man broke in. "Could you meet me at the clinic, I have a very sick animal here. I'm on my way, I'll see you there". Then, the phone was silent.

In rapid succesion she stopped the movie, grabbed her jacket, and was out the door. Almost running to her car, she didn't take time to look around. Along the way, as she sped towards town, she didn't notice the repair truckj frantically working to restore phone service. With that storm coming, the phones would be critical, and they had to keep the lines up as long as possible.

Just as she planned, right after supper, the woman tried again to call the "lady Vet", but again the phone line was dead. All she really wanted to do was make sure this "spend the night" deal was on the up and up. It would have been nice to get a heads up, but emergencies are emergencies. She didn't know what the emergency was, but her son wouldn't lie about a thing like that. If he said an old man told him there was an emergency and his friend needed to stay the night, well, it was good enough for her. Besides, she would do anything for that girl. Had it not been for her, their best brood mare would have died.

The drive to twon went by quickly. Soon she pulled up in front of the clinic. The streets were empty and all the stores were dark. Everything closed pretty early around there. It took a while to get used to it, but eventually she like it better. Living in a place that never slept had it perks, but this relaxed lifestyle seemed more natural. Once inside the clinic, she switched on the lights, then the computer, then began readying the emergency kit. Even though she didn't know what was wrong, she had to be ready for the worst. Farm animals had a nasty habit of getting hurt badly. Moments later an elderly man, with white hair, walked into the clinic. Without a word he presented her a shrew, gently cupped in his hands. With a powerful, but gentle voice, he explained the poor creature wasn't breathing. As she gazed into the old man's face, hardly believing that this was the emergency, she couldn't be angry. His eyes had an uncanny sparkle and his face looked like the sun reflected off it. As she took the little thing into the room, she feared it was too late. She gently laid it on the cloth she had prepared and turned to get her scope. When she looked back, the little thing was gone. She panicked at first, it was so small it could take all night to find it. Well, she'd better get the old gentleman to help her look she concluded. She peeped through the doorway to call the man, but didn't see him. She stepped back to the desk, but he wasn't there either. The mouse was gone and so was the old man. If that didn't beat all!

Puzzled she waited for a few minutes, just in case the old man had gone to his car for something. After 10 minutes she shut down the computer, turned off the lights, and locked the door to the clinic. Sullenly she cranked the car, and headed out of town. She only went a little over a mile before she had to stop. There was a huge pile of rubble completely blocking the road. It was raining lightly, but it looked like it could clear up soon. Slowly, she terned the car around and drove back into town. All she had to do now was figure out what to do till the roads were cleared. At the edge of town she noticed the cafe was open. It wasn't open this time of night. It was going on nine o'clock. But, the lights were on, and it looked like someone was in there. She took the parking place in fron and dashed to the door. It was raining hard now, but the wind was blowing the rain and is stung her face as she ran. Once inside, she greeted the dear lady behind the counter and took a seat beside the only other customer. just as she started to initiate a conversation, she noticed this was the same man that had the shrew. A little surprised, and annoyed, she chose her words carefully. She began explaining how the shrew just disappeared, but how she really didn't look for it much. Somehow, as she went on, it didn't really seem very important. Very assuredly, the old man told her that the little shrew would find it's way home, that there was no need to worry. With that settled, they all sat and talked late into the night. They talked like old friends, and they talked about everything. During their time of sharing, the pain of her recent loss ebbed out. She didn't know why shewas telling him all this, but it sure felt good to get it out. With it off her chest, she suddenly felt realy sleepy. The dear lady, noticing how tired she looked, asked her to help make the extra beds in the back. Excusing themselves, they went to the back of the cafe and prepared two beds-one for the old man, and one for her.

When they waled back up front, the old man was gone. On the counter, by the place he sat, was money to cover both meals, and an envelope. The two women looked at each othe blankly, but being very tired. they just wheeled around and stalked off to bed.

A few things bothered her as she lay at the very edge of sleep. the phone call, the old man, yes, and the things he told her; the cafe, and the .... Sleep overpowered her quickly and completely.

Her eyes popped open and immediately she look at her watch-11:30! She jumped out of bed, slightly disorented, and stumbled into the cafe. She was immediately greeted by what looked like half the town. Through barely open eyes she peered at the world. Oh my gosh, she had to go get her son. They were probably wondering where she was. But, it would have to wait until she hada cup of coffee! A few more minutes woldn't matter, she'd call while she was having her coffee. After all, the party wasn't until this afternoon.

Sipping along on her coffee she listened to people talking about the big twister that came through last night. The twon was lucky, but outside town some folks weren't as fortunate. For nowhere it came, did its damage, and was gone just as quickly. It wasn't until about an hour ago that the phones started working again. They'd been out in the whole contry since about four o'clock yesterday afternoon. And, only minutes ago, they got word that what was left of a house, was finally off the road.

After she picked up her son she headed home. She'd give him a few things to do while she got things ready for the party. As they neared the hosue she looked upon the debris with disbelief. By now, her house should be visible! it should be just up there, on the right. But it wasn't! She stopped the car, right in the road, and just stared at the heap where her house used to be. her son, also not wanting to believe where he saw, began flooding her with questions. She could hear him talking, but it just didn't register.

The knock on the window startled her. As she turned to look, the officer was asking if she were ok. Instantly the officer reacted, instructing her to pull the car off the road. Then, loading her and her son in the police care, he took them back to town. Things happened very quickly. The lady at the cafe threw together a birthday party, while others began organizing folks to help clean up. Everyone pitched in and, in what seemed like only minutes, found a place for her and the boy to stay-at least until something more permanent could be arranged. In the midst of all this, the lady handed her the envelope. Mechanically, she slowly tore it open. Inside were three things: The first was a birthday card for her son; the second was a note that read:

"Thank you for giving of yourself to help these, the animals that are often neglected, mistreated, and want only destroyed. I hope this will take care of the expenses. Don't forget your promise."

The last item was a check, written out to her. She handed the card to her son and the check to the lady- just before she fainted. There was enough to cover the expenses alright, and build a new clinic, and a new house, and then some.