It was high noon in midtown Manhattan. The streets were buzzing with activity: crowds of people scurrying to lunch; auto horns honking; brakes screeching; a siren wailing. Two men mere making their way together through the throng. One was a native New Yorker, the other a Kansas farmer on a visit. Suddenly, the farmer stopped and said to the city dweller, “Hold on! I hear a cricket!” His friend replied, “Are you kidding? Even if there were a cricket around here, which isn’t likely, you would never be able to hear it over all this noise.” The farmer remained quiet for a few moments, then walked several paces to the corner where a bush was growing in a large cement planter. He turned several leaves over and found the cricket. The city man was flabbergasted. “What great ears you have,” he said. “No,” The farmer replied, “Your ears are as good as mine. It’s a matter of what you’ve been conditioned to listen for. I’ll…
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