Rick glanced over at Nappy as he slowly pulled out of the driveway. Was he out of his mind? Why did he agree to this? All he wanted was to be left alone and here he was stuck in his car with the "walking disaster"! Rick resigned himself to the ride and put his mind on "auto" to block out Nappy's voice. Rick's mind wandered off to think about the other events of the day while faintly hearing Nappy say something about preferring Nap to Nappy.

Rick noticed a thickening of traffic as he neared the downtown area...must be road construction up ahead. As he neared the city, he noticed the lights flashing and sirens blaring. Some kind of accident he guessed. Great! Now he would be stuck for who knows how long. What else could happen? Several cars passed slowly in the left lane. He recognized one gentleman go by and waved. It was Mr. Rossenbarc from the middle school. They met briefly at one of the city functions...he couldn't remember when or where...seemed like a sad man to him.

Traffic hadn't moved in some time, so Rick decided to get out and ask some questions. According to the "traffic grapevine", the accident was pretty bad. A bus driver had been shot by an unknown sniper causing an incredible pile up of cars. Already, there were confirmed casualties and plenty of critical injuries. Rick kept hearing a familiar name...Claude Mulligan. Rick remembered him from the gym...they often shared a recquetball court. Claude always gave him a run for his money on the court. What a shame...

Rick heard his cell phone and ran back to the car. As he put the phone to his ear, he heard a voice that sounded like nothing he'd ever heard. It sounded vaguely familiar but he really couldn't understand anything that was being said. He was just about to hang up when he recognized the voice on the other end. It was Cody, one of the boys on his varsity team. He sounded so desparate. Cody was in trouble, real trouble. As Rick listened, he began to tremble. This had never happened to him before. He tensed his body in order to control the shaking. Had Nappy noticed? He had to concentrate on what Cody was saying! Don't panic!, he told himself. He could tell that the young man was either drinking or on drugs or both. He was saying something about not wanting to live...how he couldn't deal with his father's abuse anymore. Rick was at a loss for the first time in his life...there was too much at stake here...more than some lost game or girlfriend or broken flower. What if he said the wrong thing? His mind was racing and so was his heart! He must have been thinking out loud. Suddenly, Nappy grabbed the phone! By this time, Rick was crying and out of control...he released the phone gladly and listened while he caught his breath. Nappy talked Cody back from despair. He even agreed to meet Cody at the hospital and introduce him to his therapist. Rick sat in amazement and shame. He had failed when it really mattered. Here was a man that Rick had always considered a loser, but no more...this man had shown more guts when it counted than anyone he had ever known.

The two men rode on in silence. Rick quietly thanked Nap for his help and offered to wait while he gathered his papers...he was stil shaking inside. Nap declined, saying that he would catch a ride later. He seemed different somehow. Rick was once more left to ride home with his thoughts.

RICK NAP SEDRICK CLAUDE
WHEN ART HAPPENS