When the story begins, the carpenter, Jerry Ferro, is at the end of his tape measure -- no money, no contractor's license, no prospects, no girlfriend, and soon to turn 40 in the bargain.

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For any given commission, her tools are a tape measure, a rag and a pack of dollar-store chalk nothing else.

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McRaven greeted Obama on the tarmac. (They had met at the White House a few days earlier the President had presented McRaven with a tape measure.) McRaven led the President and his team into a one-story building on the other side of the base.

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