I could tell by the way the telephone rang that Skeeter Skates was calling. The phone sort of jumps and jangles when he calls. He can be a pretty intimidating guy, even to a telephone. Skeeter is the owner of Skeeter Skates Plow Repair and Stump Removal in Ryo, Georgia. I don’t know many folks in the plow repair and stump removal business besides Skeeter, but if they are anything like him, it is a no-nonsense crowd that doesn’t waste a lot of time with pleasantries. “Hoss,” Skeeter barked when I picked up the phone, “the plow repair and stump removal profession” — Skeeter considers his work a profession, like doctors and lawyers and belly dancers — “is hard enough without you going and messing things up.”