Shootout on University and 301   5-27-12

Although Johnnie claimed
she had never fired a gun before,
she hit the target most of the time!
Very suspicious.

One of our more adventurous clients suggested recently that we go shooting together sometime. I suppose she assumed that since we hailed from Detroit and I had worked as a private investigator for a time that we had a certain familiarity with handguns. We do. Our favorite shooting range down here in Sarasota is Take Aim, and we told "Johnnie" that we would be delighted to take her shooting with us. We gathered up our revolvers and semi-automatics and picked her up at her GORGEOUS condo. It overlooks the Ringling Bridge and from now on we will ask Johnnie to stay at the Hyatt whenever we entertain out-of-town guests and pretend the condo is ours. 
Upon our arrival at Take Aim, we spoke with an employee at the counter who "fitted" Johnnie for various handguns as she contemplated a future purchase. Johnnie insisted on paying for the range time and ALL THREE of our membership renewals despite my protests. By the time she bought our ammo as well, I was more than a little embarrassed. But she was adamant....to be continued 

Turmoil in the Large Aquarium   5-8-12
No sooner did we get the water in the 125 gallon fish tank cleared up than storm clouds appeared. I am referring, of course, to the two new Oscars that we adopted. After multiple assurances to the young man that responded to my ad on Craigslist that his pets would be well cared for, after 30 minutes or so I had severe doubts. There was a great deal of um...conflict when the new fish were introduced. Okay, okay, there was a WAR. The new fish were slightly larger than our two, but they were on unfamiliar territory after the stress of being removed from their home and transported. At first my Oscars just did some posturing. Then then started biting. Fortunately, Oscars do not have teeth. But their jaws are strong, and damage to fins and tails was soon inflicted to the newcomers in spite of their attempts to find elsewhere to swim. I separated them with a plastic poker as best I could. Just as it got ugly and started to turn into a rout, the timer clicked and the lights in the tank went off! The effect was almost immediate. The fish paired up in the gloom and drifted off to opposite ends of the tank. To be continued....