Origins of Wednesday lxxxvii: Close calls we have known

    One can just hear the guffaws

    of the actuarily deprived, at

    the sight of this antiquarian

    call box, stuffed full with a

    single listener, not a speak-

    er button to be found. On the

    other hand the luxuriant sup-

    ply of cord permits a grovel-

    ling on the paving for spills

    of coins and pencils and oth-

    er accessories of documenting

    a purchased conversation. The

    closest call of this type I'm

    aware of, this week, was that

    escape from lunch at the Ex-

    active Mansion to work a deal

    to bail its tenant out. Wrong

    way to exit that predicament;

    on the other hand, nice save.