The Narrow Escape. (Chapter 1)

 The sun rose from behind the hills overlooking Newberry, Ohio, pop.
12,725 on a late summer morning. It was on a Saturday so traffic was
minimal. As the sun continued its slow rise from the east, it eventually
cast its beam on the town's water tower which stood on the west end
of the downtown area. The silvery metal of the tower glared back as
if in a duel with the rising orb to outshine it.
 About two miles east of the city within the corporation limit a small,
custom-built one-bedroom home lay on the right side just off of
Newberry Road as one would enter into town. A large sign stood just
before this small dwelling not much more than twelve feet which read
                                 
                                  WELCOME
                                         TO
                            NEWBERRY, OHIO
                                   pop. 12,725

 The house seemed to be the soul structure outside the city. The rest of

the vast open areas were primarily farmland run by family-owned farms

that were widely spread throughout the county.

 The sun eventually rose from over the rolling hills and into full shine as
it shined its dazzling morning light onto the the small single-level home
with its seperate two-vehicle garage so as to form a shadow on the front
of the house and garage and to cause a tall oak tree behind the house just
to the left to cast its shadow on the roof, as if to shield it from the sun's
rays. But the sun's rays found a gap between the tree's branches and
leaves and cast a single beam into a window at the back of the house.

 Inside this house Wayne MacArthur "Mac" Davenport, thirtyish, awoke
to the sunlight that broke through the narrow spaces of the venetian blinds
of his bedroom window and shone directly on his face, for he lay facing the
window. He threw his right arm over his eyes as he rolled over in the other
direction and threw off the covers. He looked over at his classical-looking
alarm clock with its twin dome-like silver gongs and saw it was 7:45am.
 Mac never set the alarm for Saturday mornings as he didn't have to work
weekends, but with his window facing where the sun rose he didn't need to
set it. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he looked back at the window
and muttered to himself, "I don't need an alarm clock when I have good ol'
Mr. Sunshine to wake me up."
 As his feet touched the floor he heard a jingling coming toward his bedroom
doorway along with the clik-clik-clik of padded feet on the linoleum floor of
the tiny hallway that lead to the kitchen. Mac caught the brown and dark-
-masked face of his mastiff dog Cornelius emerging from the hallway and
right toward Mac where he put both paws on his lap as Mac sat up on his
bed. Cornelius looked up at Mac with large round, melancholy eyes and
panted excitedly. Mac knew what this meant.
"I know, I know. You're hungry, so am I," Mac replied, "I'm up, so let's eat,
shall we?" Cornelius gave a short woof in reply.
 As Mac got up from the bed he happened to glance back and noticed a
bulge in the covers that started to move.
"Uh-oh," Mac responded in mock exclaimation, "Sorry about that, Kato."
He pulled the covers back to reveal a fawn and dark-brown colored
Siamese cat that had been sleeping on the left end of the foot of the bed.
The cat looked up at Mac with pale blue eyes framed in a dark brown
mask as if to say, "Why did you do that?"
Mac grinned at Kato and said, "I haven't forgotten you."
 Mac headed immediately for the kitchen to feed Cornelius and Kato as
Kato rubbed against his leg and Cornelius followed at a close distance,
not taking his eyes off Mac as he prepared their food. Mac glanced back
at the two of them, turned to pour their food in their bowls, then shook
his head and grinned. He thought, You two are bottomless pits.
 With their bowls down in front of them Cornelius and Kato ran to their
assigned bowls and chowed down. Mac grinned at them as he headed to
the bathroom and said, "Bon Appetit."
 As Mac prepared to do his morning hygiene, he thought of the upcoming
pinewood derby which his church would be having next weekend. Tonight
was going to be car-building night which he and his close friend Gary Canfield
would be heading up. They were going to have pizza along with it. He was
looking foreward to this event as it brought parents and kids together, which
was something he greatly encouraged, though he had no children himself.
 To Mac, the children of his church, Newberry Community Church, were the
children he never had. He was especially fond of Brian and Dawn Canfield,
ages 12 and 9, who were the children of his friend Gary. They and a few of
other children referred to him as Uncle Mac.
 Mac and Gary both were skilled in working with wood as Mac's hobby was
building wooden antique cars and Gary a skilled craftsman in creating and
building household fixtures. Both ideal skills for heading up a pinewood derby
race. In fact, Mac's agenda today was to get with Gary in preparing the track.



 Mac finished his morning hygiene then jumped into a t-shirt and jeans to
head outside to feed his rabbits. Mac was a rabbit breeder on the side.
The rabbits he raised were Flemish giants and mini-lops. He headed to
one hutch which housed his Flemish giants and said good morning to them
with the same warmth and friendliness he would say to the people of his
church.
 Mac looked into the hutch at the three giant rabbits and chatted with them
as he placed the bowl in their cage.
 He left them to eat with the same words he said to his dog and cat, "Bon
Appetit."
 He then headed to another hutch which housed a pair of white mini-lops,
the doe being pregnant.
 Mac looked at the doe and said, "Remember now Duchess, you're eating
for several" , then turned to the buck, "And you Duke, don't hog the food."
With his chores done, he put the rabbit feed in the tool shed at the rear of
the house then headed to the garage to change the fan belt on his 1966
Ford Mustang coupe before heading to the Canfield's to prepare the
pinewood derby track.
 Mac got out his toolbox and took a fan belt he placed on the garage
wall the way mechanics did in their shops so they would be handy
and proceeded with his automotive task.

This concludes Chapter One.