Bill caught the news caster in mid sentence “…reasons there is no work today. Officials are asking everyone to remain home except for essential personal only.” As Bill listened he could tell this was not ordinary alert, ‘Not go to work? That makes no sense.' As he thought about it Bill had a scrotum tightening moment of anxiety that seemed to grow and grow. He was in the left hand lane of the highway and he came to a decision fairly quickly. He checked for oncoming traffic then shifted his truck into four wheel drive and drove across the median and headed back home. He was about ten minutes away and as he drove he fumbled for his cell phone to call his wife.

Trisha woke to the ringing of the telephone. “Six-thirty!” she moaned, “Someone better have died!” She rolled over to Bill’s side of the bed on her hands and knees to prop herself over the half awake form of her semi-sleeping nine year old, Max, and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Trish, it's me. There is some kinda emergency, the authorities are saying for everyone not to go to work. Turn on the radio or TV and see what it is all about. I am gonna run by the market and load up on stuff before everyone beats me to it.”

At first Trisha was thrilled, she was behind on a big project at work, no work, meant the project would be delayed and her tardiness would be unnoticed, really good timing! Then the realization of what was going on hit her. She stammered, “What? There has to be some mistake, no one is going to work?”

“Yeah nobody, that is what the radio is saying, no wait they said the national guard, police and medical personal are to report to work as normal. You just stay put, I am gonna burn our checking account at the store. I will call ya if anything goes wrong. You call me if there is anything else. Get John up, so we can put up the plastic sheeting around the vents and windows when I get home, okay?”