Laura Farrington ’s life and career as a set designer in the theater were flourishing in New York City when the dreadful Corona virus struck.

No longer able to afford her expensive rent in her beloved Greenwich Village apartment, she was forced to move to New Jersey where she found a flat in an older tenement in Hoboken.

Lonely and isolated from her friends on Broadway, she decided to adopt a dog from a local animal shelter. Charlie, a golden retriever mix, quickly became her best friend.

Slowly Laura began meeting her new neighbors, an assortment of friendly, eccentric, and colorful characters whose interests included books, music and Irish culture.

The McCarthy sisters, Tara and Rita, hailed from County Mayo and loved the haunting music of Enya, a popular Irish singer-songwriter who lived in a castle and cast magical spells.

Louie Payon, a retired psychologist, who resided in apartment 2-A, collected books and adored the novels of Robert Louis Stevenson. Laura and he enjoyed discussing classical literature over endless cups of tea.

Mary, the elderly Chinese super, was the strangest character of all. She roamed the hallways at night in search of her dead husband and missing children while mopping the stairs with buckets of dirty water.

Laura missed her New York friends, Jesse, an editor at Simon and Schuster, and James, a talented Broadway actor.

One day, weeks before the pandemic struck, Laura met Tom, a handsome, unemployed actor whom she assumed was gay. He was everything she could imagine: intelligent, sensitive, well-read, and intriguing in an alluring, mysterious way.

Their friendship slowly blossomed after several unexpected encounters and quickly intensified after James, a close friend, became ill and was hospitalized with the virus.

Laura was still reeling from the shock of James’ serious illness when she suffered another devastating shock.

Tom’s brother, Jake, had been gunned down outside the Schubert Theater and Tom was now a suspect in the murder.

Laura was convinced Tom was innocent and unjustly victimized by police who were anxious for a quick arrest. She vowed to help him in any way she could.

Her initial fascination with Tom had turned into love.

After two more young men were shot to death, Inspector Pequod Dyxx, a well-respected detective known for solving difficult cases, and his psychic wife, Evangeline, were asked to assist Detective Jean Blair with the investigation.

Despite a baffling and disturbing series of events involving Tom’s sudden disappearance, Laura’s loyalty remained unwavering as detectives closed in, revealing details she never could have imagined possible about the man she now loved.

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The Philosophical Chipmunk

His name was Mr. Chippy. He was a chipmunk. A philosophical chipmunk to be exact. Something very rare in the chipmunk world. By philosophical I mean he was a thinker, and he became a thinker by being alone most of the time.

Being alone is the nature of chipmunks. They are solitary creatures who live in tiny spaces deep in the ground all by themselves. They have few friends, never marry, and spend most of their time sitting in the sun, rummaging for food, running in circles, and being on the lookout for anything that might eat them. Unlike Mr. Chippy, however, most of them are not thinkers. They do not spend time contemplating the universe, themselves, or why they are chipmunks rather than people.

Instead, they just follow their instincts and eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are tired, and chase butterflies when they are playful. In tune with nature they relish the summer months and disappear under ground into their cozy little homes during the long cold dark winter.

Can you imagine what a chipmunk’s home is like deep underground?

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