"Last mile" frustration

NORRIDGEWOCK -- The last mile. It's a term the telecom industry uses to define the distance from the edge of a service provider's network to a customer.

Barry Norling Weathervanes exists in that last mile. Where Beech Hill Road turns to dirt, past grazing cows and autumn-blazed woodland, Barry Norling turns copper sheets into whimsical weathervanes and sells them on the Web. At least, when his customers can reach him...