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False Alarms

Dear Diary:

When I was 7, I noticed a fire alarm box on Central Park West, several blocks up from the Museum of Natural History.

Not far from the alarm box, I found a Popsicle stick. For some reason, I thought it might be a good idea to use it to activate the alarm.

I was too short, and the stick wasn’t making the reach any easier. Then I spotted an older gentleman in a black overcoat. He was watching what I was doing. As he walked toward me, I knew instinctively that I was in trouble.

Unexpectedly, he smiled. I did not anticipate what followed.

“If the fire trucks are here, and there’s a real fire at your home, the firemen won’t get there fast enough to save your family,” he said.