The first carload of Boy Scouts had left my house minutes earlier, bound for our three-day wilderness trip.  As I backed my own van load of Scouts out of my garage, I noticed a pair of hiking boots on the back steps, so I stopped to retrieve them.

An hour later, we caught up with the first car, which was parked at a highway rest stop.  Seeing me pull up, my assistant Scout leader rolled down his window.  "Your wife just called on my cell phone," he said.  "She asked if you knew anything about the plumber's boots that were on your back steps."