ncsfsgm
Contributing Member
Chapter 25
Bob Dennison watched as the Cat K2 dozer shaved and tamped the berm while a loader dumped fresh buckets of soil where the dozer operator wanted them. They were making 6’ berms down the sides of each range. The intermittent rains made the soil moist enough that the driver was able to pack the soil firmly. With safety procedures in place and followed, they shouldn’t have anyone shooting over the berms. He turned as Winnie spoke to him.
“The garden club and the nursery are donating Asiatic jasmine for the berms.” Winnie said.
“That’s a lot of plants,” Bob said.
“Actually, the nursery will be hydroseeding the seeds. The plants are drought resistant, and deer don’t like them,” Winnie said.
“That’s good. I certainly wouldn’t want the shooters to have to run the grazing deer off the range before firing. I’m getting hungry, let’s go grab some lunch,” Bob said.
“Sure. Crabb & Company have a BBQ plate on special today,” Winnie replied.
“Sounds good,” Bob said.
“Come on Sweetie. Let’s go out to lunch,” Jim said.
Katie jumped up from her desk and grabbed her jacket.
“Where are we going?” Katie asked.
"Crabb’s has a BBQ plate special I want to try out,” Jim replied.
“I want to get some of those gator bites and fried catfish!” Katie said.
“Whatever you want, Honey.”
The parking lot was plenty full when they got there, and the seating left consisted of a picnic style table. They took a seat, ordered the iced tea, and looked at the menu. Jim ended up ordering the special and Katie ordered the fried catfish plate and a side of gator bites for two to share with her Uncle Jim. The waitress brought out their tea and the basket of gator bites when a couple came in and asked if they could share the table. Jim said, “Sure” and noticed the man was dressed in a forest service uniform. He glanced down at the pistol he carried on his left hip and commented, “I notice a slight burr on your pistol. If you’d like to get it taken out, I could do it for you.”
“Yeah, last week, I was down at the marina and one of the boaters lost control of his sailboat mast in a wind gust and it caught me. I dove to the side, but the mast came down on my hip.”
“You were lucky. Have you fired the weapon since then?”
“No, I haven’t. I’ve been waiting until the range complex is finished so I could use it when it opens.”
“Range complex?” Jim asked.
“Yes, we’re opening a range in the Wappapello State Forest. They are finishing up the work in a week or two. Are you a gunsmith?”
“Something like that. I’ve got all the FFL tickets to build, sell and maintain guns, and design parts for guns.” Jim said, handing Bob a business card.
“You know, if you were to make yourself available, especially on the weekends, when the range is open, you could probably pick up some easy beer money from the shooters with gun problems.” Bob said.
Jim chuckled. “Money isn’t something I am short of, but I could probably come and help out with problems they run into,” Jim said.
“I’m sure they would appreciate it," Bob said.
“Just where is this range located?” Jim asked.
Bob looked in his phone notes and wrote down the GPS coordinates of the range entrance road.
“I hope this helps, if not here’s my phone number. I’ll call you and see when you can check my pistol out,” Bob said.
“You can bring it over any time. I have nothing but time on my hands these days,” Jim said.
They finished up their lunch, and Katie and Jim had a bowl of banana pudding for dessert. Winnie and Bob left, and Jim and Katie sat and enjoyed the pudding. Jim received the bill and was getting up to pay it when Katie squealed “SHAYLYNN!” and went running toward a woman walking toward their table from the back of the restaurant.
The woman grinned as Katie grabbed and hugged her, the woman hugging her back. Jim looked at the pair, puzzled.
“Uncle Jim! Don’t you know who this is?!” Katie said breathlessly.
“No, I don’t believe I do,” Jim replied.
“This is Shaylynn Debois, actress and singer!” Katie said with a hint of exasperation.
“Ma’am, I apologize. My niece can get quite excited at times,” Jim explained.
Shaylynn smiled. “No apology necessary. I’m surprised anyone recognized me here.” Holding out her hand she said, “Hi, I’m Shaylynn Debois, recent transplant and Wappapello Lake resident.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Shaylynn,” Jim said, shaking her hand.
People in the restaurant began stirring and Jim blushed.
“I’ll go pay our bill and get out of here. I think we’ve caused a bit of a stir,” Jim said.
“Yeah, me too,” Shaylynn said.
They paid for their meals and walked outside.
“I apologize for not recognizing a celebrity as yourself, but my niece’s genre in music and mine don’t always match up.”
“That’s okay, I’ve enjoyed my anonymity but occasionally someone recognizes me.”
“Do you live on the lake?” Jim asked.
“No, I have a place near the dam. When I want to get out, I take my kayak over to Eagle Point to launch."
“We don’t live on the lake either, but we have a beautiful creek and a mill pond.” Katie said.
“A mill pond?” Shaylynn, her eyebrows raising questionably.
“Yes, I use it to generate electricity.” Jim replied.
“Oh? Interesting.” Shaylynn said.
“Do you want to come and see it?” Katie asked, excitedly.
“Katie, I’m sure Miss Debois has more interesting things to do.”
“No, I’m serious, I find it interesting,” Shaylynn said. “Could I get your address? I’ll call before I come.”
Katie jumped into the truck, wrote the address down on a piece of paper, jumped out and handed it to Shaylynn. “Please come to see us. I’d like to talk to you about your movie 'Princess Dove',” Katie said.
Shaylynn giggled. “Well! You really are a fan!”
She looked at Jim and asked, “Would Saturday be all right? I take the weekends off from writing.”
“You don’t really have to if you don’t want to,” Jim said.
“Oh, no! I’m looking forward to it. It is refreshing to have such a young fan,” Shaylynn said.
Katie walked with Shaylynn to her Jeep and watched as she drove out of the parking lot.
Jim got in the truck followed quickly by Katie.
“Isn’t she beautiful?!" Katie squealed.
“She’s all right for a girl from Wappapello,” Jim replied.
“Oh, Uncle Jim! You wait! I’ve got her movie on DVD that we can watch tonight.”
“She was in only one movie?” Jim asked.
“Yes. I read in People’s Magazine online that she didn’t agree to some of the things the producers wanted her to do and left California and just disappeared. Did you know she is a real Native American? Or it’s maybe First Nation because she’s from some tribe in Canada.”
Jim drove along listening to Katie drone along, grinning at her excitement.
On the way home, Jim got a call from Bob Dennison asking if he could drop his pistol off that afternoon. Jim told him sure, he was on his way home then. Ten minutes later Jim pulled into the garage. Katie went inside the house and Jim headed to his shop. A few minutes later, Bob parked in the parking area and Jim stepped out of the building. Jim shook Bob’s hand and invited him in. Jim asked Bob for the revolver and was pleased to see Bob clear the weapon and hand it to Jim with the gate and cylinder open. Jim took a receipt book out of a drawer and wrote down the serial number, dated the receipt, and put the time on it, then handed the receipt to Bob and kept the carbon copy. Jim then quickly disassembled the piston and removed the hammer. He inspected damage done to the hammer and checked to make sure it wasn’t bent, then took the hammer over to a garnet grinder and after putting a pair of magnified flip-up safety glasses, began polishing the burr off the hammer. After doing some work with a small file and finishing it off with some fine polishing, he wiped the hammer down with a silicone cloth and reassembled the revolver. Jim got six rounds of .38 Special out of a new box of ammo and handed them to Bob.
“Load it and come over to the shooting barrel,” Jim said.
Bob walked over to the barrel, loaded the revolver, and pointed the into the sand filled barrel.
“Thumb the hammer back each round and see if you can feel any irregularities.” Jim instructed Bob, handing Bob a set of electronic earmuffs.
Bob fired all six shells, thumbing the hammer back each time.
“Nope, can’t even feel where that nick was,” Bob said, shucking the shells into a brass box and reloading with his .357 duty ammo. They walked back over to the chest-high desk and Jim asked for Bob’s receipt back. Jim annotated the date/time the job was completed on Bob’s receipt and his carbon copy.
“What’s the deal with the date/time on the receipts?” Bob asked.
“It’s to cover my own ass,” Jim explained. “The receipts have to match the video recording being taken right now. This place is under video surveillance 24/7. You wouldn’t believe the B.S. ATF pulls when they are trying to go after you.”
“I can understand that” Bob said. “Well, how much do I owe you?”
“Nothing, it was a pleasure, but don’t let it get out I do things for free. I was thinking of setting up a repair trailer and taking it out to your range to fix any problems people have with their guns.”
“Load up on sights,” Bob said. “You’ll probably find almost every complaint will be about needing new sights.”
Jim grinned. “I’ll do that.”
When Bob left, Jim went inside and searched the internet for nearby dealers in cargo trailers. He’d like to have one like a concession trailer and put his own cabinets and workbenches in. He could go ahead and order the equipment and tools he would need and buy the cabinets later to fit or have a cabinet maker build them. An RV air conditioner would be needed and a tongue-mounted generator.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The three-man team began tailing the target as he left Melbourne Orlando International Airport. The man apparently wasn’t very concerned about security. He didn’t attempt to do any security checks of his car that was left in long-term parking between trips, so they basically knew where he was headed but he did stop at a liquor store on the way to his house on the Indian River. So far, there have been no surprises. This was the third time in the last two months he had flown in to spend four days in the sun.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bob Dennison watched as the Cat K2 dozer shaved and tamped the berm while a loader dumped fresh buckets of soil where the dozer operator wanted them. They were making 6’ berms down the sides of each range. The intermittent rains made the soil moist enough that the driver was able to pack the soil firmly. With safety procedures in place and followed, they shouldn’t have anyone shooting over the berms. He turned as Winnie spoke to him.
“The garden club and the nursery are donating Asiatic jasmine for the berms.” Winnie said.
“That’s a lot of plants,” Bob said.
“Actually, the nursery will be hydroseeding the seeds. The plants are drought resistant, and deer don’t like them,” Winnie said.
“That’s good. I certainly wouldn’t want the shooters to have to run the grazing deer off the range before firing. I’m getting hungry, let’s go grab some lunch,” Bob said.
“Sure. Crabb & Company have a BBQ plate on special today,” Winnie replied.
“Sounds good,” Bob said.
“Come on Sweetie. Let’s go out to lunch,” Jim said.
Katie jumped up from her desk and grabbed her jacket.
“Where are we going?” Katie asked.
"Crabb’s has a BBQ plate special I want to try out,” Jim replied.
“I want to get some of those gator bites and fried catfish!” Katie said.
“Whatever you want, Honey.”
The parking lot was plenty full when they got there, and the seating left consisted of a picnic style table. They took a seat, ordered the iced tea, and looked at the menu. Jim ended up ordering the special and Katie ordered the fried catfish plate and a side of gator bites for two to share with her Uncle Jim. The waitress brought out their tea and the basket of gator bites when a couple came in and asked if they could share the table. Jim said, “Sure” and noticed the man was dressed in a forest service uniform. He glanced down at the pistol he carried on his left hip and commented, “I notice a slight burr on your pistol. If you’d like to get it taken out, I could do it for you.”
“Yeah, last week, I was down at the marina and one of the boaters lost control of his sailboat mast in a wind gust and it caught me. I dove to the side, but the mast came down on my hip.”
“You were lucky. Have you fired the weapon since then?”
“No, I haven’t. I’ve been waiting until the range complex is finished so I could use it when it opens.”
“Range complex?” Jim asked.
“Yes, we’re opening a range in the Wappapello State Forest. They are finishing up the work in a week or two. Are you a gunsmith?”
“Something like that. I’ve got all the FFL tickets to build, sell and maintain guns, and design parts for guns.” Jim said, handing Bob a business card.
“You know, if you were to make yourself available, especially on the weekends, when the range is open, you could probably pick up some easy beer money from the shooters with gun problems.” Bob said.
Jim chuckled. “Money isn’t something I am short of, but I could probably come and help out with problems they run into,” Jim said.
“I’m sure they would appreciate it," Bob said.
“Just where is this range located?” Jim asked.
Bob looked in his phone notes and wrote down the GPS coordinates of the range entrance road.
“I hope this helps, if not here’s my phone number. I’ll call you and see when you can check my pistol out,” Bob said.
“You can bring it over any time. I have nothing but time on my hands these days,” Jim said.
They finished up their lunch, and Katie and Jim had a bowl of banana pudding for dessert. Winnie and Bob left, and Jim and Katie sat and enjoyed the pudding. Jim received the bill and was getting up to pay it when Katie squealed “SHAYLYNN!” and went running toward a woman walking toward their table from the back of the restaurant.
The woman grinned as Katie grabbed and hugged her, the woman hugging her back. Jim looked at the pair, puzzled.
“Uncle Jim! Don’t you know who this is?!” Katie said breathlessly.
“No, I don’t believe I do,” Jim replied.
“This is Shaylynn Debois, actress and singer!” Katie said with a hint of exasperation.
“Ma’am, I apologize. My niece can get quite excited at times,” Jim explained.
Shaylynn smiled. “No apology necessary. I’m surprised anyone recognized me here.” Holding out her hand she said, “Hi, I’m Shaylynn Debois, recent transplant and Wappapello Lake resident.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Shaylynn,” Jim said, shaking her hand.
People in the restaurant began stirring and Jim blushed.
“I’ll go pay our bill and get out of here. I think we’ve caused a bit of a stir,” Jim said.
“Yeah, me too,” Shaylynn said.
They paid for their meals and walked outside.
“I apologize for not recognizing a celebrity as yourself, but my niece’s genre in music and mine don’t always match up.”
“That’s okay, I’ve enjoyed my anonymity but occasionally someone recognizes me.”
“Do you live on the lake?” Jim asked.
“No, I have a place near the dam. When I want to get out, I take my kayak over to Eagle Point to launch."
“We don’t live on the lake either, but we have a beautiful creek and a mill pond.” Katie said.
“A mill pond?” Shaylynn, her eyebrows raising questionably.
“Yes, I use it to generate electricity.” Jim replied.
“Oh? Interesting.” Shaylynn said.
“Do you want to come and see it?” Katie asked, excitedly.
“Katie, I’m sure Miss Debois has more interesting things to do.”
“No, I’m serious, I find it interesting,” Shaylynn said. “Could I get your address? I’ll call before I come.”
Katie jumped into the truck, wrote the address down on a piece of paper, jumped out and handed it to Shaylynn. “Please come to see us. I’d like to talk to you about your movie 'Princess Dove',” Katie said.
Shaylynn giggled. “Well! You really are a fan!”
She looked at Jim and asked, “Would Saturday be all right? I take the weekends off from writing.”
“You don’t really have to if you don’t want to,” Jim said.
“Oh, no! I’m looking forward to it. It is refreshing to have such a young fan,” Shaylynn said.
Katie walked with Shaylynn to her Jeep and watched as she drove out of the parking lot.
Jim got in the truck followed quickly by Katie.
“Isn’t she beautiful?!" Katie squealed.
“She’s all right for a girl from Wappapello,” Jim replied.
“Oh, Uncle Jim! You wait! I’ve got her movie on DVD that we can watch tonight.”
“She was in only one movie?” Jim asked.
“Yes. I read in People’s Magazine online that she didn’t agree to some of the things the producers wanted her to do and left California and just disappeared. Did you know she is a real Native American? Or it’s maybe First Nation because she’s from some tribe in Canada.”
Jim drove along listening to Katie drone along, grinning at her excitement.
On the way home, Jim got a call from Bob Dennison asking if he could drop his pistol off that afternoon. Jim told him sure, he was on his way home then. Ten minutes later Jim pulled into the garage. Katie went inside the house and Jim headed to his shop. A few minutes later, Bob parked in the parking area and Jim stepped out of the building. Jim shook Bob’s hand and invited him in. Jim asked Bob for the revolver and was pleased to see Bob clear the weapon and hand it to Jim with the gate and cylinder open. Jim took a receipt book out of a drawer and wrote down the serial number, dated the receipt, and put the time on it, then handed the receipt to Bob and kept the carbon copy. Jim then quickly disassembled the piston and removed the hammer. He inspected damage done to the hammer and checked to make sure it wasn’t bent, then took the hammer over to a garnet grinder and after putting a pair of magnified flip-up safety glasses, began polishing the burr off the hammer. After doing some work with a small file and finishing it off with some fine polishing, he wiped the hammer down with a silicone cloth and reassembled the revolver. Jim got six rounds of .38 Special out of a new box of ammo and handed them to Bob.
“Load it and come over to the shooting barrel,” Jim said.
Bob walked over to the barrel, loaded the revolver, and pointed the into the sand filled barrel.
“Thumb the hammer back each round and see if you can feel any irregularities.” Jim instructed Bob, handing Bob a set of electronic earmuffs.
Bob fired all six shells, thumbing the hammer back each time.
“Nope, can’t even feel where that nick was,” Bob said, shucking the shells into a brass box and reloading with his .357 duty ammo. They walked back over to the chest-high desk and Jim asked for Bob’s receipt back. Jim annotated the date/time the job was completed on Bob’s receipt and his carbon copy.
“What’s the deal with the date/time on the receipts?” Bob asked.
“It’s to cover my own ass,” Jim explained. “The receipts have to match the video recording being taken right now. This place is under video surveillance 24/7. You wouldn’t believe the B.S. ATF pulls when they are trying to go after you.”
“I can understand that” Bob said. “Well, how much do I owe you?”
“Nothing, it was a pleasure, but don’t let it get out I do things for free. I was thinking of setting up a repair trailer and taking it out to your range to fix any problems people have with their guns.”
“Load up on sights,” Bob said. “You’ll probably find almost every complaint will be about needing new sights.”
Jim grinned. “I’ll do that.”
When Bob left, Jim went inside and searched the internet for nearby dealers in cargo trailers. He’d like to have one like a concession trailer and put his own cabinets and workbenches in. He could go ahead and order the equipment and tools he would need and buy the cabinets later to fit or have a cabinet maker build them. An RV air conditioner would be needed and a tongue-mounted generator.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The three-man team began tailing the target as he left Melbourne Orlando International Airport. The man apparently wasn’t very concerned about security. He didn’t attempt to do any security checks of his car that was left in long-term parking between trips, so they basically knew where he was headed but he did stop at a liquor store on the way to his house on the Indian River. So far, there have been no surprises. This was the third time in the last two months he had flown in to spend four days in the sun.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________