When the timer made its loud beeping sound, went downstairs. As he turned the corner and the laundry room, he heard the washer going. didn’t make sense, he thought. The washer should finished. Entering the laundry room, he saw his -washed clothes piled on top of the dryer. His basket, half full of unwashed clothes, was now on the floor. Someone had set aside his basket and put their own clothes into the . Their second load sat atop the washer. Irritated, put his damp clothes into the dryer and it on. Then he walked over to his neighbor’s apartment. He knew who had “cut in ”—it was the maid.

“Excuse me,” he told her, “ saw that I had a second load of to wash. I was there ahead of you. didn’t you just wait till my second load washed? That’s the polite thing to do.”

“Oh, ’m so sorry,” she said. “You see, I have pick up my kids at four o’clock, so needed to do the clothes quickly. I’m so .” Kerry looked at her and shook his head. ’t do anything wrong in the first place and won’t have to apologize for it later, he . Had she waited her turn, she still would finished doing her two loads by three o’clock. , me, me, Kerry thought—they should just rename this “America.”