AN old friend of Sumitro’s visited him at his boarding house in Sawotratap, Sidoarjo, in East Java. Although they were once neighbors, it has been some months since they have seen each other. Previously they lived at the Tanggulangin Anggun Sejahtera I housing complex in Sidoarjo. The housing complex is now buried in mud from Lapindo.

After chatting and exchanging funny stories, out of the blue the old friend tried to persuade his host to acce