IRWIN, PA—In a feat of extraordinary patience, auditory precision, and monklike concentration, 42-year-old Pat Baer interrupted his favorite TV program in order to track down and isolate a cricket in the foyer of his home Saturday evening. "At first it sounded like it was coming from everywhere, until I realized it was near the front door," said Baer, adding that he was able to overcome the cricket's tactic of not chirping when someone gets close to it by standing perfectly still, listening "really hard," and waiting for the sound to start again. "It took a half hour of dedicated searching, but it was all worthwhile when I actually got to see the thing making the noise with its wings there." The cricket was pronounced dead at 11:37 p.m.
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