Monday, May 28, 2012

The Bounty Hunter

"You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?" asked the rental car clerk in the St. Louis airport. Robin had just walked up to the counter, and the clerk hadn't yet seen his gun case.

"I can't tell you," Robin replied, placing his gun case in view.

"I know you're a bounty hunter," said the clerk, completely convinced Robin was on a man hunt. It was late at night, and the clerk had been notified a latecomer was on his way and to keep the doors open. The clerk made a new pot of coffee for this "bounty hunter" who was up late and on the road. They upgraded his super-economy sub-compact car to a Volkswagen Passat with built-in GPS and satellite radio. "We know you're on a man hunt," he said. "Good luck, we hope you catch him!"

Premonition? Turns out that while Robin was turkey hunting in Kentucky, he didn't really see any turkeys. Which was strange, having hunted this area before and knowing there were usually tons of turkeys. He mentioned this to his friends, who were all mystified at the lack of turkeys. The second day he went out, he saw a couple of unidentified hunters ... who did not have permission to hunt in the area.

Robin's friends confronted the trespassing hunters, demanding they drop their weapons. Fortunately, they complied. Robin's friends called the sheriff, who summoned state fish and game and other law enforcement. Turns out these "hunters" had a warrant out for their arrest. The criminals had 80 turkeys in the freezer and several live cows they had stolen, among other things. In addition, they had a meth lab on the property. A trial is pending.

When Robin returned the rental car, a different clerk was working, but he knew the "bounty hunter" when he saw him. "Well, did you get 'em?" the new clerk asked.

"Let's just say that Kentucky is a safer place," were Robin's parting words.


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