My wife works as a "gas meter reader" at the city's gas company... You know, the ladies in work clothes who occasionally visit your neighborhood during the day, checking gas meters and going from house to house. The other day, she told me that in her assigned area, there are households with unpaid bills, and sometimes she has to visit them to request payment. As her husband, I thought, "That's just part of the job," but I felt a slight unease...