Survival Instinct!!

Times have changed quite a bit since I was a kid.  When we went camping, we never locked the car and always slept out in the open on the ground.   Purses and wallets were left on the picnic table and we never once gave a thought to the words "serial killer".

I got a rude awakening when I moved to Denver Colorado at the age of 18 when my beautiful Chevy Chevelle Supersport was stolen, not once but TWICE.  The second time resulted in a complete strip job ... nothing left but the body.

Back in California, I became acquainted with the Police Department, where I saw more than I ever wanted.  Over the years, that and watching too much 48 hours on TV, has made me VERY careful every single hour of the day.

Such was the case yesterday, when the doorbell rang.  I saw the PG&E truck in the distance, but I wasn't about to open the door.  He wanted to check my gas meter, saying his records showed it was disconnected.  Yeah right ... no way Jose, but I finally let him in the back yard.  I thought of grabbing my gun just in case, but instead picked up my biggest kitchen knife and wrapped it in a hand towel.

I stayed far away as he checked the meter for leaks and spray painted all the pipes before heading out the gate.  Back in the house, I watched him enter the PG&E truck and drive off.  Apparently he was legit after all ... I just wasn't taking any chances.

The same goes for the Magic Kingdom of Bingo.  There's a lot of cash in this black magic box, so I'm thankful that many of the workers are policemen, firemen and the County Sheriff, all of whom pack!!  Course if someone did come in and demand all the money, my survival instinct would kick in.   I'd unplug it and hand them the entire machine in a flash!!  Heck, I'd even carry it to the car for them.

The infernal machine was good to me last night as the expected huge crowd showed up again, throwing more money at me than usual.  Since the Castle Lawyer was gone, I grabbed one of the men to help count cards while I rang them up.  It went so fast we didn't have a single complaint!!  A miracle to say the least!

Total payouts for the night exceeded $8,000 ... pretty crazy, right? ... and we still made money.  Bingo is the single highest contributor to all the Elks charities because as someone so aptly remarked, this is the only entertainment in town!!

After balancing to the penny .... YAY!! .... I grabbed one of the men to walk me out to my truck since it's down a dark alley.  He turned around and went back just as I got to my door.  Funny, my keys wouldn't open the lock.  It took a second to realize it was the twin of my truck two spaces down.  As I started to walk back, I noticed two guys kneeling in front of the next car.  Uh oh!!  The hackles on my neck went up.  I hit the open button, jumped in the passenger seat and locked the door.  

They just looked at me.  I felt rather sheepish as I slid over the seat and started the engine.  I guess I DO watch too many Cop shows and I'm probably just TOO careful.  Or maybe I just have a good survival instinct!!