Emergency!

I needed to reach Brick today and the only way I could do it was by calling a neighbor and having her go to the house and wake him up. I'm listening on the phone and hear her say 'Brick, it's an emergency.'

'Emergency' must mean something very different to my neighbor. At our house it's not a word to be used lightly. 'Emergency' means a trip to the Emergency Room or a Life Flight. Someone has been shot, stabbed, or in a critical car accident. Anything short of that only qualifies as 'important', 'very important', or 'extremely important'.

So today was probably a 'very important', I had to reach him, I needed his help, and I needed it quick, but I could tell it took a couple of years off his life before he got to the phone to hear my first words 'I'm okay'.