Sting Operation
We met some people outside of Broadus on our way home. There was a hunter who had been staying with some people and was supposed to be hunting on their property. But the landowner (an outfitter) told him ‘not to bother going out’ (on his own place) because ‘there isn’t anything out there’. The hunter was surprised because there certainly was game, he could see it.
There was a small store where this guy was staying, which was typically used by passing motorists and paying guests. I believe this is where we met the hunter. I explained to him that the outfitter didn’t really mean there ‘wasn’t anything’; rather, he meant there wasn’t anything big enough to be considered a trophy. "He probably planned to take you to a better location."
The hunter replied, “I’m not set on having to get a trophy, I just want to get out, walk around a bit and shoot a deer.”
“You don’t need an outfitter for that,” I said.
The upshot was that I agreed to take him out. We drove around in my old Ford pickup seeing deer here and there. The guy had a great time just seeing the wildlife and being out. At the end of the day, I dropped him off at the motel and then started home.
In the next scene, Kay and I were heading down the highway. I was on a bicycle and she was walking. We got to the ‘Y’ at the junction of highway 212 and 59 and had to stop. A huge semi-tractor with a double trailer was stopped at the corner. A bunch of people like us had to wait in line behind the trailers. I couldn’t figure out where the road construction was and I asked what was going on.
“There’s a sting operation/drug bust going on in that trailer, that’s why everyone is being stopped.”
There was nothing we could do, so I lay the bicycle down and Kay and I joined some others in another vehicle - a van - with video monitoring equipment. The technicians inside were watching the activities going on inside two big trailers.
The trailers were lavishly furnished as living quarters and were being used by a group of movie actors or rock stars. They were all young (under thirty) and traveling across the US doing a lot of partying along the way. A few of the travelers were evidently not engaged in illicit activities because they were, believe it or not, in the monitoring van with us.
We watched the wild partying for a long time. Night eventually enveloped us and I realized getting home on my bike was not going to be fun, and maybe not even possible. We resigned ourselves to waiting it out, talking and getting to know each other better. One girl in particular seemed to want to talk about what was happening. She seemed quite upset. I consoled her as best as I could. I sensed that she also wanted physical contact, but I refrained. By this time, the monitoring van was crowded (and maybe increased in size to accommodate all the people!)
When we were finally free to go, we (everyone) set out on foot this time walking around the edge of a lake. A few people had started out earlier than us and so were further around the lake. All of a sudden from up ahead of us, we heard screams and shouts. People began running back our way, fleeing from a pride of African lions. We were told that a big maned male had already caught and killed one man.
It became apparent that there was no way to go safely around the lake. I decided to fly across the lake to avoid the lions instead. I inflated a rubber life raft and got in then flew (not floated) across the lake. I remember swirling around above the trees and shoreline wishing I could control the flying raft better; but the view was marvelous.
I got to a ranch house, which was evidently our intended destination, and went inside. Everyone was upset about the lions. I made up my mind to go and rescue the other people, including the guy who I thought was already dead. I headed straight out through the corrals, intent on killing the marauding lions, including big maned male, and rescuing all the people.
There was a small store where this guy was staying, which was typically used by passing motorists and paying guests. I believe this is where we met the hunter. I explained to him that the outfitter didn’t really mean there ‘wasn’t anything’; rather, he meant there wasn’t anything big enough to be considered a trophy. "He probably planned to take you to a better location."
The hunter replied, “I’m not set on having to get a trophy, I just want to get out, walk around a bit and shoot a deer.”
“You don’t need an outfitter for that,” I said.
The upshot was that I agreed to take him out. We drove around in my old Ford pickup seeing deer here and there. The guy had a great time just seeing the wildlife and being out. At the end of the day, I dropped him off at the motel and then started home.
In the next scene, Kay and I were heading down the highway. I was on a bicycle and she was walking. We got to the ‘Y’ at the junction of highway 212 and 59 and had to stop. A huge semi-tractor with a double trailer was stopped at the corner. A bunch of people like us had to wait in line behind the trailers. I couldn’t figure out where the road construction was and I asked what was going on.
“There’s a sting operation/drug bust going on in that trailer, that’s why everyone is being stopped.”
There was nothing we could do, so I lay the bicycle down and Kay and I joined some others in another vehicle - a van - with video monitoring equipment. The technicians inside were watching the activities going on inside two big trailers.
The trailers were lavishly furnished as living quarters and were being used by a group of movie actors or rock stars. They were all young (under thirty) and traveling across the US doing a lot of partying along the way. A few of the travelers were evidently not engaged in illicit activities because they were, believe it or not, in the monitoring van with us.
We watched the wild partying for a long time. Night eventually enveloped us and I realized getting home on my bike was not going to be fun, and maybe not even possible. We resigned ourselves to waiting it out, talking and getting to know each other better. One girl in particular seemed to want to talk about what was happening. She seemed quite upset. I consoled her as best as I could. I sensed that she also wanted physical contact, but I refrained. By this time, the monitoring van was crowded (and maybe increased in size to accommodate all the people!)
When we were finally free to go, we (everyone) set out on foot this time walking around the edge of a lake. A few people had started out earlier than us and so were further around the lake. All of a sudden from up ahead of us, we heard screams and shouts. People began running back our way, fleeing from a pride of African lions. We were told that a big maned male had already caught and killed one man.
It became apparent that there was no way to go safely around the lake. I decided to fly across the lake to avoid the lions instead. I inflated a rubber life raft and got in then flew (not floated) across the lake. I remember swirling around above the trees and shoreline wishing I could control the flying raft better; but the view was marvelous.
I got to a ranch house, which was evidently our intended destination, and went inside. Everyone was upset about the lions. I made up my mind to go and rescue the other people, including the guy who I thought was already dead. I headed straight out through the corrals, intent on killing the marauding lions, including big maned male, and rescuing all the people.
posted by elkdreamer at 2:01 PM
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