Playing hockey is a decent alternative to flipping through an endless conveyance of steel bars, culling out the bent and twisted pieces, careful that the razor sharp ends don’t slice through protective gloves. In mill parlance, Thornton that summer was a “flipper,” hired to eyeball defective steel rods and yank them for disposal.

“We have what is called a show me run, where our lead plane pilot (in a smaller plane) shows us where he wants us to drop,” Colonel Barkdull said. “He describes the start point and where he wants the line to run, and advises us on wind conditions and hazards.”

Playing Doody ("Those Magic Changes”) and Frenchy, the “Beauty School Dropout,” the two hit it off right away. They were both hard-working, both passionate about the theater, both committed Christians who consider faith a big part of their lives. Friendship was almost automatic, and promised to lead to more. That kind of thing happens so often there’s a name for it: “showmances.” But, Chris Jones said, they wanted to move slowly. “Rehearsal is always so emotionally charged, you have to be cautious,” he explained. They never even kissed.

Falling house prices have caused property website Rightmove to coin a new phrase. “Brickor mortis” is the paralysing condition caused by sellers refusing to lower prices as they don’t accept their home’s value has dropped. Buyers won’t buy as they think homes will be cheaper in the future—or because they can’t get a loan.

What followed for Franklin was a giant seal of approval, an “oh, that’s why these guys are 15-2” statement. Franklin had what the kids call “fun with two,” as five straight batters reached base as the visitors and CMSBR South leaders took a 2-1 lead and held on to win by the same score. “This group of kids, they never give up. They’re crazy,” said Franklin co-coach Phil Towne.

More likely than the kind of exodus of depositors that quickly sank IndyMac is what some bankers call a slow-motion “walk on the bank” which could cripple financial institutions already weakened by credit woes.

They dropped pills into my mouth from several inches away as if feeding a baby bird, and even the wet-brain drunks wouldn’t come near me.