24 | 5:00 am to 6:00 am

The following happens between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

“Tony, this is Jack Bauer. I’ve heard about your situation. I just wanted to let you know my guns are loaded and my cell phone is charged and I’m ready to jump in and help you deal with this.”

Jack’s call, of course, woke me up from a dead sleep, so I was still groggy as I was trying to process what Jack had just shared. I couldn’t believe, though, that he was offering to come to Granger, Indiana and help me deal with this challenge.

Tony: “Mr. Bauer, sir, I really appreciate what you’ve offered, but I think I’d like to try to tackle this one on my own.”

Jack: “Tony, haven’t you been reading John Maxwell enough to remember that a team outperforms the individual every time?”

Tony: “I realize that. And I also know there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team.’”

Jack: “You’re correct, but there is an ‘I’ in ‘kill,’ and that’s what I’m prepared to do for you.”

Tony: “Mr. Bauer, I know this may be hard to believe, but sometimes problems can be solved without killing people.”

Jack: “What are you talking about? Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Do you think anyone is going to be willing to come back and read your last post of this series knowing someone isn’t going to die during these 24 hours?”

Obviously I had let my hero down. I’m no Jack Bauer. But, I only had one choice in this matter. I needed to confront my challenge–man-to-man. It was time to head to Starbucks…