Chirp........

I've noticed that low-income inhabitants of certain high crime communities don’t change the battery in their smoke alarm.  It beeps once a minute for weeks until the battery dies. They just get used to the beep and don’t even seem to notice it. I’ve heard it called the “ghetto bird.”

A while back I called some company, I can’t even remember what it was about. You know what?  I think it was an unauthorized charge on my credit card. 

A young man answered - I forget his name - and it turns out he was helpful.  But I heard in the background a smoke alarm beep. Obviously, he was working from home. 

I interrupted myself and asked, “Is that your smoke alarm beeping?!”  He said no, he doesn’t have a smoke alarm. 

So he lied to me. Instinctively.

Sixty seconds later it beeped again. And I said, “There’s your smoke alarm again.“ This time he had no comment. 

He did take care of my credit card issue.