14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: Manhunt Ends, Baby Found Safe A fugitive couple who hid in a camper are now behind bars.

The kidnapped baby is safe, and the funeral for the social worker who cared the baby is over. It’s been a busy and emotional 24 hours.

What a great little example of content intensification by an almost percussive delivery. What attracted me to the story, of course, was the title where a typical reader will not even notice the dissonance but a certain person (such as one who is then likely to read certain books and listen to certain shows) will be immediately attracted to it and replay it in his or her head. However, the really interesting part are the opening lines. Short, straightforward and leaving a very strong impression. No need to read any further (as indeed, I didn’t). What this reminded me of was the seductiveness of the Homeric narratives which were always intensified by their meter or performed poetry - I’m reminded of a superb performance by Yevtushenko in Prague once and regretting never hearing Mayakovsky. Of course, also a great opening sequence in a potential noir criminal narrative. Change the first article to definite and you’ve got Marlow. I’m not trying to elevate this simple news account by any means. Rather, I’m fascinated how the often highly praised classics rely on some very basic mechanisms - something I wouldn’t hesitate to call a localized textual performance.