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Boston-born first-responder Alex Flynn gets called into the principal’s office in this short story set in rural Vermont, where poor roads and under-funded public services form a comfortable and familiar background. Explore the hidden links and community found in an ordinary New England town when local first responders might or might not have to engage with an active school shooter. Trowbridge Dispatch is part of the Trowbridge, Vermont series of novels and stories, wherein I.M. Aiken draws on her roots in public safety to narrate tales of the everyday heroes that every community depends on.

Al of Trowbridge Rescue works a shift on a commercial ambulance on the day that Vermont experiences the first ears of sweet corn. One medic says: “I wanna eat so much corn, I’ll shit kernels ‘til Thursday.” He partner replies, “The butter and salt will drip down my chin”. The crew of two ambulances celebrate an ersatz holiday.

Alex Flynn, chief of Trowbridge Rescue, recollects poignant elements of a friendship during Alex’s days in government service. The story remembers love, fear, and sadness released when hearing The Steve Miller Band’s song “The Joker”.