the more things change, the more they stay the same

from The Jar of Pennies

Darryl and Annice Stewart lived on Hill Street, the only busy street in Whitmire, Texas, because it was the highway leading out of town. One morning Darryl stormed out of the house carrying his tool belt when Annice came out behind him wearing only her nightgown. “Darryl, Darryl,” she called, lifting the gown over her head to show her completely bare body, “You can have it all if you’ll just apologize.”

Darryl dropped his tool belt on the hood of his pickup and went back inside. The belt was still there at 4 p.m. It’s Whitmire. Nobody wants somebody else’s tools.