Joey, daring the spotlights that were scanning the warehouse in which he was holed up, took a quick look out the window at the crowd below, and shouted, Never, you dirty, rotten bill collectors! Then he ducked back to the haven beneath the sill.
He recently got more into debt than usual in fact, he found himself surrounded by it and he was having a restless dream about the multitude of bill collectors who were haunting his mind. Being an old movie buff with smiling memories of Jimmy Cagney, his brain had somehow cast him in a role familiar to all who feel a similar attachment to the Cagney legacy. His black suit was dusty, his white shirt was open, and he had a bottle of whisky beside him, from which he took an occasional reinforcement.
Joey, do you hear me? the Verizon customer service rep called through a bullhorn. This is Verizon.
Whaddaya want? Joey called back.
This is a final disconnect notice.
Already? Joey replied, and looked down at the pile of bills scattered on the floor. He started to leaf through them nervously and found the Verizon invoice. I have your bill right here, he yelled out the window. Its only fifteen days overdue....