🎤 Audio Overview

🎤 Song For This Story

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Act I – The Gathering at Town Hall

The folding chairs in Town Hall had been arranged with a seriousness that suggested consequence, though no one could recall exactly when they had last been arranged for that purpose.

Sheriff Peeler stood near the back wall, arms folded, studying the arrangement like a man who suspected it might rearrange itself if left unattended.

“Feels official,” he said.

Officer Kenny Joe Teeter nodded. “Yes sir. Chairs is facing forward.”

“That’s usually how it starts,” Sheriff Peeler replied.

At the front, Clovis Strickland stood behind the podium with a stack of papers thick enough to imply both research and delay.

“We got a full agenda tonight,” Clovis announced, tapping the stack. “Primary item: agreement on the necessity of doing something.”

There was a murmur of approval. Agreement, as a concept, had always polled well in Sequatchie Crossing.

Eugene “Boot” Barnes sat in the second row, hands resting on his knees, leaning slightly forward.

“What kind of something?” Boot asked.

Clovis paused.

“That,” he said carefully, “is what we’re here to determine the framework for defining.”

Boot leaned back again, expression neutral. “Alright.”

Daisy the hound padded down the aisle carrying a stick, her tail wagging with quiet expectation. She placed it gently at Boot’s feet.

Boot looked down at it, then back up at Clovis.

“Not yet,” he said to the dog.

Daisy waited.

At the far side of the room, Mabel Dean Ashcroft adjusted her shawl.

“I remember when ‘something’ meant fix it,” she said. “Didn’t need a framework.”

Clovis nodded respectfully. “And we intend to honor that legacy by documenting it properly.”

“Documenting it?” Mabel repeated.

“Yes ma’am. So it can be referenced.”

Mabel leaned back, unconvinced.

Pastor Arnold Peeler rose slowly from his seat.

“I just want to say,” he began, voice warm and measured, “it’s a blessing to see this town come together in agreement. Unity like this… it’s rare.”

Heads nodded. Agreement about agreement had already begun to form.

Daisy nudged the stick closer to Boot’s boot.

Boot glanced down again.

“Hold on,” he muttered.

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Act II – Definitions Are Proposed

Clovis adjusted his glasses and began distributing printed sheets.

“These here are preliminary definitions of ‘something,’” he explained.

Shelley Fawn Wexler took one and scanned it.

“This says ‘something’ may include, but is not limited to, actions, discussions of actions, or the formation of subcommittees tasked with exploring potential actions.”

“That’s comprehensive,” Clovis said.

Tiffany Annette Roark raised a hand.

“Is ‘something’ required to produce a result?” she asked.

Clovis hesitated just long enough for the room to feel it.

“Not necessarily,” he said. “The focus is on the doing.”

“That seems important,” Tiffany said.

Maggie Sue Dillard leaned over to Lurleen Davenport.

“I thought the doing part was the result,” Maggie Sue whispered.

Lurleen shook her head. “No, honey. The doing part is the part before the result that sometimes replaces it.”

Across the room, Santiago “Sonny” Morales tapped his pen against the back of a chair.

“If we define ‘something’ too tight,” Sonny said, “we might accidentally end up doing it.”

A hush fell.

Clovis scribbled a note.

“Excellent point,” he said. “We’ll include flexibility.”

Daisy dropped the stick in front of Sheriff Peeler now.

Sheriff Peeler looked down at it, then at Daisy.

“We’re in a meeting,” he said.

Daisy waited.

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Act III – Historical Context Is Introduced

Mabel Dean Ashcroft stood without being asked.

“When my husband fixed the bridge in ’72,” she said, “nobody held a meeting to define ‘something.’ The bridge was broke. He fixed it.”

Clovis nodded again, writing rapidly.

“Yes ma’am. That would fall under ‘direct action.’”

“It fell under ‘common sense,’” Mabel corrected.

Pastor Peeler raised a calming hand.

“Let’s not lose sight of the spirit here,” he said. “We are gathered in unity.”

Coach Freddie Stubblefield leaned back in his chair.

“Back when I coached,” he said, “if something needed doing, we ran drills until it got done.”

Ricky Travis “RT” Mullins laughed. “Yeah, and half the team quit.”

“That’s because they lacked commitment,” Coach replied.

“No,” RT said, “it’s because they had options.”

Clovis flipped to another page.

“I’ve also drafted a historical appendix,” he said. “Examples of ‘something’ from past decades.”

Evelyn Grace Tipton adjusted her glasses.

“Does it include outcomes?” she asked.

Clovis paused again.

“It includes documentation,” he said.

Daisy picked up the stick and carried it to Pastor Peeler.

He smiled down at her.

“Not now, sweetheart,” he said gently.

Daisy sat.

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Act IV – Subcommittee Formation Is Suggested

Shelley Fawn Wexler leaned forward.

“I propose we form a subcommittee to refine these definitions,” she said.

“Seconded,” said Brett Crenshaw.

Alyssa Crenshaw nodded beside him. “Seems reasonable.”

Clovis beamed. “Excellent. That’s exactly the kind of proactive thinking this process encourages.”

Boot raised a hand.

“What would the subcommittee do?” he asked.

Clovis turned to him.

“They would meet,” he said.

“And then?”

“They would refine the definitions.”

“And then?”

Clovis paused.

“They would report back.”

Boot nodded slowly. “Alright.”

Dr. Neil Cowgill scribbled something in a small notebook.

“This is a classic case of procedural substitution,” he murmured.

Doug “Doughboy” Teeter looked over his shoulder.

“What’s that mean?” he asked.

“It means the process is standing in for the outcome,” Dr. Cowgill said.

Doug nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds about right.”

Daisy stood, picked up the stick again, and carried it to Boot.

This time, she dropped it with a little more emphasis.

Boot looked down.

“Still not yet,” he said.

Daisy sighed—an audible, patient sigh—and lay down beside the stick.

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Act V – Unity Is Celebrated

Pastor Peeler stepped forward again.

“I just want to take a moment,” he said, “to recognize what we’ve accomplished here tonight.”

The room quieted.

“We have come together,” he continued, “and agreed—unanimously—that something must be done.”

There was a ripple of pride through the chairs.

“That kind of agreement,” Pastor Peeler said, “is the foundation of progress.”

Clovis nodded vigorously.

“Yes sir. Step one is consensus.”

Mabel muttered, “Step two used to be doing.”

Trixie Jo Bartlett leaned over to Tiffany.

“I think step two got rescheduled,” she whispered.

Tiffany nodded. “Pending clarification.”

Sheriff Peeler cleared his throat.

“So what exactly are we doing next?” he asked.

Clovis flipped through his notes.

“We’re scheduling a follow-up meeting,” he said.

“To do what?”

“To define what ‘done’ means.”

Sheriff Peeler considered that.

“Alright,” he said.

Daisy lifted her head, hopeful.

No one moved.

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Act VI – Complications Are Introduced

Chester Ray Blevins from the print shop stood up, holding one of Clovis’s documents.

“I can print more of these,” he said, “but I need to know if we’re finalizing the wording.”

Clovis shook his head. “Not yet. These are draft definitions.”

Chester Ray nodded. “Then I’ll wait.”

Mister Wade Langston raised a hand.

“What happens if we define ‘something’ and then realize we don’t want to do it?” he asked.

Clovis blinked.

“That’s… a possibility,” he admitted.

Shelley Fawn Wexler frowned.

“We should account for that,” she said.

“Add a clause,” Tiffany suggested.

Clovis scribbled again.

“Opt-out provision,” he muttered.

Maggie Sue leaned toward Lurleen again.

“Feels like we’re building a door to walk through and then installing a lock on the inside,” she said.

Lurleen nodded. “With a sign that says ‘Door Pending.’”

Daisy picked up the stick and carried it to the center of the room.

She dropped it with a soft thud.

No one reacted.

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Act VII – The Follow-Up Meeting Is Scheduled

Clovis cleared his throat.

“I propose we schedule the next meeting for Thursday,” he said. “Same time.”

“Seconded,” said Brett Crenshaw again.

“All in favor?” Clovis asked.

Every hand went up.

“Motion carried,” he said.

Boot raised his hand again.

“What happens between now and Thursday?” he asked.

Clovis looked at him.

“We reflect,” he said.

“On what?”

“On what ‘something’ might be.”

Boot nodded slowly.

“Alright.”

Coach Freddie Stubblefield leaned forward.

“Should we at least identify the problem?” he asked.

There was a pause.

Clovis glanced down at his notes.

“That’s… not currently on the agenda,” he said.

Coach sat back.

“Seems like it might be relevant,” he said.

Pastor Peeler smiled.

“One step at a time,” he said.

Daisy wagged her tail tentatively.

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Act VIII – The Meeting Adjourns

Sheriff Peeler checked his watch.

“Alright,” he said. “If there’s nothing else—”

Daisy stood, grabbed the stick, and trotted directly to the front of the room.

She placed it at Clovis’s feet.

Clovis looked down.

“Well,” he said, “that’s… something.”

The room chuckled.

Daisy looked up expectantly.

Clovis bent down, picked up the stick, and held it for a moment.

Then he set it back on the floor.

“We’ll address that in the next meeting,” he said.

Daisy stared at him.

Boot watched the exchange.

He shifted slightly in his chair, then settled back again.

“Alright,” he said quietly.

Sheriff Peeler nodded.

“Meeting adjourned.”

Chairs scraped. Papers rustled. Conversations resumed in small clusters.

No one picked up the stick.

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Act IX – The Porch Debrief

Later that evening, several of them gathered on Mabel Dean Ashcroft’s porch.

The air was cooler, the tone looser.

“Well,” Mabel said, “that was something.”

Clovis nodded. “It was productive.”

“In what way?” Mabel asked.

Clovis opened his mouth, then closed it.

“We made progress toward defining the next step,” he said finally.

Mabel rocked gently.

“Used to be the next step was just the step,” she said.

Pastor Peeler smiled.

“Times change,” he said.

Boot leaned against the railing.

“I could’ve fixed something,” he said.

No one responded immediately.

“What would you have fixed?” Tiffany asked.

Boot shrugged.

“Depends on what needed fixing,” he said.

Clovis perked up.

“That’s exactly the kind of ambiguity we’re trying to resolve,” he said.

Boot nodded slowly.

“Alright.”

Daisy wandered onto the porch, stick still in her mouth.

She dropped it at Boot’s feet again.

Boot looked down.

This time, he bent, picked up the stick, and threw it out into the yard.

Daisy took off after it, joy immediate and uncomplicated.

The group watched her go.

“Well,” Mabel said, “look at that.”

Clovis nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s a form of action,” he said.

Pastor Peeler smiled. “And it brought joy.”

Boot leaned back against the railing again.

“Didn’t need a meeting,” he said.

No one disagreed.

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Epilogue – Thursday Approaches

By Wednesday afternoon, the agenda for Thursday’s meeting had been finalized.

It included:

• Review of previous agreement
• Presentation of refined definitions
• Discussion of “done”
• Consideration of next steps

No mention was made of the stick.

Daisy, for her part, continued to carry it.

She brought it to the diner, where Trixie Jo stepped over it.

She brought it to the church, where Sister Lila Mae “Hallelujah” Pruitt declared it “a test of attention.”

She brought it to the sheriff’s office, where Officer Kenny Joe Teeter logged it as “non-threatening.”

Each time, she waited.

Each time, the moment passed.

By Thursday morning, the town was ready.

They had agreed.

They had scheduled.

They had prepared to define.

Something would be done.

Just not yet.

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Disclaimer

No actual “something” was harmed, defined, or completed in the making of this story.

Any resemblance to action, past or present, is purely coincidental and subject to revision pending further meetings.

All sticks depicted are symbolic, though some may be retrievable upon request.

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