"I read the signs hanging in storefront windows hoping a tale of drama would emerge: Dam Being Torn Down Sale! declared the first. Everything Must Go Before the Dam is Torn Down and Town is Destroyed, trumpeted another. Preflood Sale, screamed a third. Then, like a golfer playing the back nine trying to finish before the heavy stuff comes down, I was struck by a lightning bolt. My God! That's it! That's my story... SMALL TOWNS ARE A BARGAIN HUNTER'S DREAM!"