Sam Lewis was a customs officer. He used to work in a small border town. It wasn't a busy town and there wasn't much work. The road was usually very quiet and there weren't many travelers. It wasn't a very interesting job, but Sam liked an easy life. About once a week, he used to meet an old man. His name was Draper. He always used to arrive at the border early in the morning in a big truck. The truck was always empty. After a while Sam became suspicious. He often used to search the truck, but he never found anything. One day he asked Draper about his job. Draper laughed and said, "I'm a smuggler."
Last year Sam retired. He spent his savings on an expensive holiday. He flew to Bemp3uda, and stayed in a luxury hotel. One day, he was sitting by the pool and opposite him he saw Draper drinking champagne. Sam walked over to him.
Sam: Hello, there!
Draper: Hi!
Sam: Do you remember me?
Draper: Yes ... of course I do. You're a customs officer.
Sam: I used to be, but I'm not any more. I retired last month. I often used to search your truck ...
Draper: ... but you never found anything!
Sam: No, I didn't. Can I ask you something?
Draper: Of course, you can.
Sam: Were you a smuggler?
Draper: Of course I was.
Sam: But ... the truck was always empty. What were you smuggling?
Draper: Trucks!
The first thing they do is to put out an APB and this goes to all the police stations in the country. Next we contact the hospitals. Often the person we are looking for has been in an accident. Then we might try parents, friends or relatives they might be with. We try to follow their movements and to find the last person they saw or were with. Then we try the media. We put photographs in local or national papers—especially papers they might read. There are other things we can do: put posters in places they might be, go on television. Here in America there is a magazine in which there are photographs of missing children. This is often the last hope. Of course, with nearly two million missing children every year, we can't do all these things for everyone. We haven't got the time, the money or the staff.
Are you a morning person or an evening person? That's the question. When do you work best? For me the answer is easy. I work best in the morning. All my creative work is done before lunchtime. I get up at about eight, and then have breakfast. I listen to the radio a bit, and read the papers. And I start. Usually I work from nine or nine thirty until twelve but after that I'm useless. On a good day I write fifteen hundred words or more, sometimes two thousand words, in the morning. Then after lunch I go for a walk, or read. In the evening I like to relax, go to the pub or go out and meet people. If you're a writer you need self-discipline. But if you're tired, it shows: the mind and body must be fresh.