Living near a metroplex during the winter brings about all sorts of challenges not found during my summer sojourn in Colorado’s smalltown living. Some of these are to be expected like masses of people, traffic jams, increased crime activity and other things found when you have large numbers of people living closely together. I do believe that the higher crime rate we find here is probably just due to more people jammed into a smaller space as it seems to be increasing wherever we go these days.
Last week Miss Trixie and I were in town, and she needed to go to the local grocery for canned mandarin oranges which go out of our cupboard as fast as we stock them. It seems, you see, there are two little mice, Grand #1 and #2, who rob that space bare of those delectable orange sweeties every time they are over at the house.
On this particular day, Ol’ Dutch parked next to the supermarket parking lot in a big mall space due to having a trailer full of lumber on board. Miss Trixie often walked across the parking lot to the same store, so it was business as usual. Almost. Ol’ Dutch was finishing a phone call when two men drove up alongside us and tried to carry on a conversation with me, which presented an impossible situation.
Most of you know that Ol’ Dutch is generally hard of hearing which Miss Trixie calls “selective.” I am not sure if that's a compliment or accusation but will look that up as soon as I get done writing this.
These two guys were shouting across the distance between our cars, and I told them I couldn't hear but they kept it up. So, Miss Trixie got out to see what they needed while Ol’ Dutch, ever the conspiracy theorist, dug around in the seat for some form of protection. In the end it appears that they were trying to sell stereos out of the back of their van, and I guess I looked like I needed one. Trixie politely declined and for once she did not enter into a long conversation with a complete stranger and become new best friends with them.
They drove off but that event got me thinking – a dangerous endeavor according to Miss Trixie. I recalled that the very same thing had happened to me one time before in the same area. Of course, the deals they offer are too good to be true and after doing an Internet search they discovered step-by-step instructions for pulling the scam. Basically, the stereo, radio, computer or whatever they have, when you get home you find out you have an empty box or electronics with no parts inside the cases. A scam-o-rama for sure.
I guess it was the famous circus promoter P.T. Barnum who was credited with saying “There’s a sucker born every minute” meaning there are naive people in untold numbers willing to be conned out of their money. He pulled a lot of cons on people and made a tidy profit on the game too. But in the end Ol’ Dutch escaped from the clutches of another con man and Miss Trixie got her groceries, unscathed by people with ill intent.
I am not sure if there is an increase in these types of activities or it's just that we are more available via cell phones to their tempting ways, but I do know this. A day does not go by that I am not pursued by dishonest salespeople hocking everything from solar panels to sheriff association raffle tickets to life insurance to Medicare plans. All of which I do not want or need.
All I can say is be careful out there and like my neighbor said who lost his donkey to theft last week. You gotta watch your ass.
Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic.com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.
