Later， people said that the United States woke up one<br >morning to find itself defeated， but that was only true<br >on the East Coast. The news came at 7:30 a.m. Eastern<br >Time and in the western states most people were<br >roused from their beds. Some had been wakened ear-<br >lier. There were those who would never wake again.<br > Martha Adams， in her New York apartment， was<br >already up. She had been on the telephone， trying to<br >reach her husband， but the lines were out of order.<br >Josh Adams had called the night before from Grand<br >Forks. He had been fussing about his life insurance.<br >The premium was due and he wanted the amount of the<br >policy increased.<br > " Call the broker， honey，" he had urged， as he had<br >done before， but she had forgotten. "The inflation makes<br >that seventy-five thousand look very small. "<br > Martha didn t really agree. She had a job of her own<br >and Buzz was starting college next week. His expenses<br >had been settled years ago.<br ><br >