Chapter 193

• I prepared to run by doing my warmup and stretching exercises. I looked up at my residence. Not too many people could say they lived in the same structure they worked at. Fewer still, would those be that lived in a three-story bank building covering a city block. As I had so many mornings, I admired the Greco-Roman architectural style of the matched granite stone and the Doric columns rising majestically at the front entrance of the building.
• My ancestor had built the first permanent building of the fledgling town. He had studied well the effect he wanted to project. Prosperity and permanence were the assurances that encouraged others to build. They closely copied the bank's architectural theme and the entire city square represented wealth, employment, and industry.
• Or it had, I sourly thought as I looked at the ghost buildings of the dilapidated city square. Now, my bank remained the last bastion. The final reminder of the past that brought so much regret.