1. I think that from time to time,
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2. everyone wonders
what it would be like
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3. to be someone else,
somewhere else.
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4. Maybe I'm wrong,
but I bet that even
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5. Chinese tech billionaire
Jack Ma
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6. imagines what life would be like
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7. if he were Indian
tech billionaire Shiv Nadar.
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8. My life is very good,
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9. and I know it's wrong
to ask for anything more,
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10. but sometimes,
I can't help but think
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11. how wonderful it would be
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12. to work for the Alberta, Canada,
Rat Control Program —
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13. the organization that
has kept the province
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14. completely rat-free.
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15. I usually don't tell anyone,
but since Sarah kept her promise
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16. not to let me fall off
the back of her snowmobile
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17. and also shared her dream
that she could play
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18. French horn in
the Cleveland Philharmonic —
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19. she tried but failed
three times —
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20. I thought I owed her something
honest and revealing.
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21. Are you serious?
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22. Yeah. It'd be such
a great job
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23. to drive each day
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24. through the Medicine Hat
countryside,
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25. inspecting all the barns
for rat's nests.No. No.
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26. No. There are no rats
in Alberta?
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27. Yeah. I thought
everybody knew that.
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28. I thought rats
were, like,
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29. everywhere always.
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30. No,
to the contrary.
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31. Since she seemed interested,
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32. I told Sarah what I knew of
the Rat Wars in Alberta, Canada,
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33. over the next three hours,
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34. from when the rats first arrived
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35. on the Saskatchewan border
in 1950,
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36. and crop supervisor
William Lobay
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37. conceived a way to stop them,
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38. through the creation
of the official program
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39. that continues to this day,
and probably will forever,
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40. because the rats will never
stop trying to get in.
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41. So you're telling us
that there has been
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42. an ongoing war
in North America
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43. for nearly 60 years
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44. between Canadian
humans and rats,
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45. and nobody's even
talking about it?
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46. It's crazy, right?
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47. We have to do
the musical about this.
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48. "Hello, Dolly."
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49. Yeah. I'd see
a show about rats.
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50. It's only two months
away, though.
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51. You can do this.
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52. We gottado this.
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53. Yeah.
We can do it.
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54. I think we can...
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55. Working at my usual pace,
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56. it would take me
10 years to finish,
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57. but when she said that,
something happened.
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58. I swelled with music,
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59. and it began
pouring outwards...
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60. I think I got a start.
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61. and kept
pouring outwards.
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62. What do you think?
- Wow. Wow.
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63. That was a problem, though.
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64. In "The Civil War,"
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65. Ken Burns covered
four years of history
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66. in 111/2 hours of show.
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67. I needed to cover
68 years of history.
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68. I almost left out a scene
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69. about the public-education
campaign in 1963.
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70. Miss Conner,
you gotta see this...
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71. Did you know
that early on,
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72. many Alberta residents
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73. didn't even know
what rats looked like?
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74. I'm serious.
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75. I want you to
go over to her,
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76. put your arm her, and just
give her a nice smile.
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77. The news program
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78. has certainly made
rural residents...
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79. All right, everybody.
If you can hear me, clap once.
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80. If you can hear me,
clap once.
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81. Great job. Okay.
It's gonna be go time,
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82. so let's get into
our rendezvous points.
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83. Okay, and Mr. Pera,
any words?
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84. Okay.
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85. Uh...
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86. Do it.
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87. Okay.
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88. Places, everyone.
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89. The news program
that aired on BBC in...
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90. Hey, is everything
all right?
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91. Yeah, just working on
my pre-show presentation.
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92. What is that,
like 60 pages?
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93. I think the audience
will enjoy
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94. the show even more
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95. if they get a little
background information
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96. on Canadian geography
and rodent taxonomy and...
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97. Do we get paid
for tonight?
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98. No.
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99. Joe, I think you might
tire them out.
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100. Maybe you could just
stick to fire exits
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101. and, you know,
"Thanks for coming" —
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102. that kind of thing.
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103. It's only 15 minutes.
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104. No, Joe,
just tell them
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105. to turn off
their cellphones.
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106. I gotta go warm up
the pit orchestra.
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107. Good luck.
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108. Okay.
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109. Uh... hello.
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110. Thanks for coming,
and there's a fire exit.
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111. I think that
from time to time,
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112. everyone wonders
what it would be like
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113. to be someone else
somewhere else.
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114. Maybe I'm wrong,
but I bet even
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115. Chinese tech billionaire
Jack Ma —
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116. Sarah?
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117. This would have made so much
more sense if they saw a map.
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118. Why don't we use warfarin?
It's safer than arsenic.
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119. But how do we get
them to eat it?
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120. Three words —
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121. coarsely rolled oats.
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122. Good idea.
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123. That was freaking cool,
Joe.
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124. Thank you, Gene.
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125. That's a man on
a mission.
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126. Sarah?
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127. Can I talk to you
for a moment?
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128. Oh, yeah. Sure.
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129. Uh, it was
a good show, huh?
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130. I — I really didn't like
how you cut me off.
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131. I — I had
a lot to say.
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132. Come on, Joe.
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133. T-The audience must have
been so confused.
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134. I'm sorry.
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135. I — I do think
that we have
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136. a lot to be proud of
tonight.
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137. You know,
the kids did great,
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138. and the parents
loved it.
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139. You know, what more
do you want, you know?
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140. T-The fun is in
the information
and the details,
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141. and they missed them.
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142. Ah, that's a big deal.
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143. It's a play
about rats.
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144. It's — I mean, nothing
against you or the kids,
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145. but it's not
a big deal.
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146. It's...
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147. Especially when
you think of
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148. what's going on,
you know?
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149. There's rising
water levels
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150. and nuclear war,
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151. and there's population
displacement,
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152. drones —
ours and theirs.
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153. You know, there's a...
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154. What — what about, uh,
solar flares, huh?
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155. You ever think
about that?
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156. Or the Yellowstone Caldera —
how about that?
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157. Or what about the fact
that at any moment,
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158. there could be an attack
on our electrical grid?
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159. What are you gonna
do then? Hmm?
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160. What are you gonna
do then?
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161. Is that what -
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162. Is that what
you think about?
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163. It'd be dumb not to.
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164. You'd be dumb not to have
a fortified basement
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165. with canned goods
and water
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166. and a generator
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167. and medical supplies
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168. for barter and use
'cause it'd be —
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169. What are you
going to do
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170. when you don't have
any cash?
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171. Ooooh!
And I like you,
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172. but I shouldn't because
b-between your glasses
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173. and the fact that
you can't even
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174. get through
a kids' musical,
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175. you have probably a less than
10% chance of surviving.
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176. Every bone in my body
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177. says that you won't last
past the first wave
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178. because you keep talking
about wands and ping-pong
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179. and sing-songs
and ding-dongs!
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180. Y-You like me?
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181. I just wish you thought
about real stuff.
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182. I got you this knife
for opening night.
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183. I-It's certainly big.
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184. Joe!
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185. You and Sarah
did really great.
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186. I had no idea
that rats
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187. liked to eat
scrambled eggs.
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188. - I'm glad you liked it.
- Yeah.
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189. Nicole,
you did great.
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190. You really inspired me
to go kill some rats.
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