The narrator could be one of the smalltown misfits on the Mountain Goats' 2002 album All Hail West Texas, but the novella form allowed Darnielle to play with timeframes and expand on what the songs only implied.
You can easily make them more effective - perhaps only attend those meetings that can directly grow your own business or, even more straightforward, simply set an agenda, stick to it, and agree clear action points with timeframes for each.
"The increase of the illnesses closely corresponds with the timeframe of the switch to the Flint River water.
It is also being very ambitious with its timeframe, aiming to have all of this in place by March of next year.
The Greens agree, with a detailed plan listing every coal-fired power station in the country, with a timeframe for their closure.
He said the official consultation process will start by the end of the year, in order to stick with the timeframe of a 2017 referendum on the issue.
The dates reported by Sky News are consistent with the timeframe that supporters have previously flagged but party sources said the dates were not locked in.
Yet with the current mindset, one that allows us to become complacent about the rights of those at the edge of a precipice of disadvantage, the government is permitted to make woolly promises with no timeframe.
The prosecutor, Laura Hamilton, said the crown had "some difficulty with the timeframe" requested by Heard as it had managed to contact only eight of 12 witnesses it intended to call, three of whom would be unavailable until mid-February.
With the timeframe set, the coming months should see plenty of activity for the taskforce as members set up the company and eventually the factory, and inform farmers in the region of the plans.
