Trouble

Tom Lionel, a meticulous consulting engineer, starts his day with a routine that feels more like a chess match than a morning ritual. While he navigates the minutiae of bills, technical journals, and a stack of puzzling correspondence, his mind is already ticking over a stubborn problem: a town’s unreliable police‑radio coverage. His methodical approach—calculating antenna heights, tweaking wave feeds, and sketching diagrams—reveals a blend of practical ingenuity and a hint of restless curiosity.

As Tom dives deeper, the seemingly routine assignment spirals into a tangled web of technical challenges and unexpected variables. The story captures the quiet drama of a mind that thrives on solving complex puzzles, set against a backdrop of mid‑century scientific optimism and the everyday hum of domestic life. Listeners will find themselves drawn into Tom’s world of equations, coffee‑stained plans, and the subtle humor that underlies his solitary conversations with himself.