During a fire drill at the university, and at the very end of the semester, I took advantage of the forced evacuation from my office to wander over to the farmer's market, which takes place on campus each Thursday. Despite the market’s having just a handful of vendors, a varied fare is featured: Belgian waffles, organic produce, pita bread and hummus, kettle corn, tamales – and assorted cakes and cupcakes at a stand called Kingdom Cake.
I perused pastries while most of the other evacuees were preoccupied with a single question: over and over again I heard, “Do you know what set off the fire alarm?”
The King of Kingdom Cake -- a tall, dark-haired and T-shirted fellow with sunglasses and a baseball cap -- joked with me, "I did it! I set off the alarm so everybody would be out here to buy my cupcakes!"
“Oh, right,” I laughed, “it’s the last day of the market, isn't it?"
"Yes," the King said, suddenly shouting, "Fire sale! Fire sale!"
