yard hour takes place behind the mayor's house at the usual time, which is the new time. attendance is mandatory and fun. bring nothing. ask nothing.

the residents stand in a circle. the circle is rounder than circles usually are. the mayor stands in the middle. job yard counts the residents out loud, by name. the count is 31. the count is always 31. when job finishes, the mayor asks: "and the others?" and job says: "counted." and the mayor says: "good."

nobody has asked who the others are. asking is not mandatory and not fun.

then the mayor plays the song. his song is "the rent" and everyone claps. then the radio plays the other song. the one that is not anyones. the one with the words. most residents hear instrumentals. the mayor hears it from the inside. pop used to sing along. pop stands at the edge now and does not sing and does not speak and his eyes are open exactly as far as they need to be.

then the mayor walks the circle once, slowly, looking at each resident, one by one. residents describe this as "being counted twice" and "the nicest part." the mayor is checking that everyone is still here. the mayor is checking that everything is still his.

then everyone claps and yard hour ends and it is the best hour of the day. it is the only hour of the day. ask anyone what they did this morning. watch them smile. watch the smile stay.

THE COUNT IS 31. THE CIRCLE IS 32. NOBODY COUNTS THE MAYOR. THE MAYOR COUNTS.

(yard hour is in 20 minutes) (yard hour is always in 20 minutes) (it has been in 20 minutes for weeks)