1. Iron.
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2. It makes up most
of the earth's core
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3. and is in our blood.
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4. It's also the reason
we're here, for the most part.
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5. In 1844,
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6. the Marquette Iron Range
was discovered.
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7. And soon after,
north Michigan iron
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8. was building the country,
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9. shipped through
Marquette's harbor
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10. and across the Great Lakes
to be made into steel
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11. for railroads, skyscrapers,
ships, and bridges.
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12. So if you like
this train bridge,
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13. you have iron to thank.
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14. Hello.
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15. My name is Joe Pera,
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16. and unlike previous
family generations,
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17. I'm not a miner,
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18. but a soft-handed choir teacher
who is just in awe
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19. of Michigan's geological
splendor.
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20. Simply put, the upper peninsula
is a rock hound's paradise.
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21. And I'd like to introduce you
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22. to some of the most special
of our rocks and minerals.
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23. The story of an area
can be told by its rocks.
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24. Geologically speaking,
the U.P. is very old
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25. and has been through a lot.
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26. Two billion years -
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27. Two billion years ago,
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28. geologists said -
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29. Uh, excuse me for a moment.
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30. Hi.
I'm Sue Melsky.
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31. Is now a good time?
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32. Yeah,
it's a good time.
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33. Okay, great.
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34. Oh, you want to come in?
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35. Yeah,
we were looking at houses
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36. and saw your sign
out front.
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37. Don't touch that.
Don't touch that.
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38. You want to ring it?
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39. You can look around
the room, okay?
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40. Yes. Here's a bell.
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41. Someone else put
the sign on my lawn,
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42. but I guess I gotta honor it.
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43. Should we take
our shoes off?
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44. Yes, please. Okay. Come on.
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45. I'm Mike.
That's Nicole, Josh, and Kelsey.
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46. Oh, nice to meet you.
This is, uh, Gus.
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47. We're thick as thieves,
and we share everything.
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48. That's where Gus sits.
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49. That's where I sit.
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50. Uh, what are those
rocks for?
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51. I'm doing a presentation.
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52. Are you a teacher? Yes.
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53. This is my music room,
but it's also got technology.
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54. Ho! Up!
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55. What a lovely
back yard and garden.
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56. I don't know
how it happened,
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57. but this year is
the year of zucchini for me.
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58. What are
you doing?
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59. I'm looking
at the appliances.
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60. Don't they look really
well maintained?
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61. Yeah.
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62. Thank you.
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63. I wipe them down
every time I use them.
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64. Hey, how about
we make some turkey, huh?
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65. Aah! Huh?
You want to get in the oven?
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66. Come on!
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67. Let's get you in the oven!
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68. This is seriously
one of the top 10
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69. best kitchens I've ever
been in in my life, okay?
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70. Do you entertain a lot?
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71. Sometimes
Gene will come over
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72. and we'll watch
"Phenomenon."
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73. This room's mine.
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74. Okay.
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75. I know this sounds crazy,
but I love this bedspread.
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76. Here. Mike and I
wrote down a number.
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77. We hope it's all right.
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78. Our contact info
is on there, too.
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79. Let us know
when you can, okay?
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80. All right.
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81. Can I have this copper?
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82. Yeah, sure.
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83. Thanks so much for letting
us take a look around.
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84. Hematite.
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85. Azurite.
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86. Pyrite.
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87. And the Lake Superior agate.
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88. These are a few of my
favorite regional minerals.
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89. Wow.
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90. My friend Gene
is a true rock hound
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91. and agreed
to share what he knows
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92. about
the Lake Superior agate.
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93. I was gonna ask you
about minerals, Gene,
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94. but can I ask you
something else first?
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95. Okay.
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96. Is your house for sale
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97. if someone else puts
a for sale sign on your lawn?
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98. I think I'm being pranked
again by local teens.
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99. One time, I was at
a yard sale with Lulu.
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100. I got a blue dot sticker
stuck to my shirt.
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101. Someone offered me
three dollars for it.
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102. W-What happened, Gene?
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103. I thought about selling it,
but I couldn't.
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104. It's a shirt
my sons designed for me.
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105. Yeah.
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106. And also,
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107. I didn't want anyone
to see my nipples.
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108. I understand that.
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109. I was a chubby boy.
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110. Yes.
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111. The family
was so nice, though,
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112. and I don't think I can bring
myself to let them down.
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113. At the same time,
I can't imagine
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114. moving away
from Marquette.
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115. Remember the time
we talked about
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116. how different
our lives would be
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117. if we lived
in Thunder Bay, Ontario?
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118. To throw stones
into Lake Superior
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119. from the other direction.
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120. It's only eight hours away.
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121. Oh. Can you give this
to Nana?
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122. I must be a magician
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123. 'cause I made all those
cookies disappear.
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124. I'm gonna miss you, Gene.
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125. Walking across
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126. the four-billion-year-old
quinine peridotite
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127. and worrying about
my upcoming move to Canada,
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128. I reminded myself that,
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129. if there's anything
I have learned from rocks,
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130. it's that change
is a good thing,
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131. that, without the underwater
volcanic activity
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132. along the mid continental rift,
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133. there would be no copper
in the U.P.
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134. And if the Laurentian
Ice Sheet hadn't formed,
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135. then retreated,
there would be no Great Lakes,
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136. and when Lake Superior
was just a shallow sea trough,
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137. if iron sediments
didn't build up
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138. and become part of
the Huronian rock formation,
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139. there would be no Marquette,
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140. no walks by the Lower Ore Dock,
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141. or watching freighters
load at the Upper Ore Dock.
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142. No football
at the Superior Dome,
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143. the largest wooden dome
in North America,
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144. no bingo supplies, no books,
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145. smoked whitefish,
fried whitefish,
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146. and no great view from
the Range Bank parking deck
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147. where you can just stand
by your car and look.
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148. I don't want to move to Ontario.
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149. But I also can't have another
lawsuit in my life right now.
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150. I need an ice cream.
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151. Can I have
some of your ice cream?
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152. May I?
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153. Thank you.
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154. That's very nice of you.
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155. Hi, Mike.
Hi, Sue. Hi, kids.
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156. Hey, Joe. We're just
having a celebratory...
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157. May I please
tell you something?
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158. sundae.
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159. I-I'm not a rock.
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160. I'm a person, and I can
choose where I live,
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161. and I decided that, right now,
I've gotta be here.
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162. It's my fourth year
teaching,
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163. and I know good things
are up for me and my choir,
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164. but also, it's my house.
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165. It's where I grew up.
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166. It was my grandparents',
but now, in the garden,
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167. I plant my own squash,
if you know what I mean.
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168. And it's got
my best thinking spots —
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169. the piano bench,
the chair that faces the yard,
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170. and my side of the bed
where I can look
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171. out the window
and think about stuff
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172. like, "What is the future
of casual dining?"
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173. Because it's cold in m—
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174. Because I am a single man
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175. in a place where it's cold
most of the year,
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176. I have plenty
of thinking time.
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177. I know I'm no Mr. Einstein,
but I do try
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178. and think about
interesting stuff,
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179. like, "How come some birds
live at the airport?
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180. And what's the number one
Chinese lake?"
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181. Plus, Gus lives there,
too, and one time,
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182. seven wild turkeys walked
through my back yard
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183. and I fed them Apple Jacks
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184. and I'm hoping
they'll come back.
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185. Please don't buy my home.
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186. Sure.
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187. Uh, we called the number
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188. on the for sale sign
to get in touch
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189. and found out
it was the Johnson's house
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190. across the street,
which we ended up buying.
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191. Sorry we didn't let you know.
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192. We just figured
it was a little weird anyhow.
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193. Oh.
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194. Um...
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195. well,
since you now live here,
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196. you should own
some iron.
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197. Uh, here.
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198. Lake Superior agate.
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199. Hi, Nana.
I have good news.
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200. I'm not moving
to Thunder Bay.
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201. What's that, honey?
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202. Also, Gene gave you
a Lake Superior agate.
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203. But I gave it
to the Melskys
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204. so that they wouldn't
buy my house.
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205. I-I also gave them
iron and copper.
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206. That's all right, honey.
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207. I think I have
enough paperweights.
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208. Oh.
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209. I should be forward
about the lawsuit I'm in.
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210. Me and Gene are just
suing each other
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211. to learn
about the legal system,
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212. also to determine if there's
racial bias in the courts.
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