Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Paranoid in the Nevada Desert part II


Ok, here’s another story from the Nevada Desert. It’s Saturday evening. The first race day at Bonneville is officially over, I’m at the historic and decaying old WWII airport photographing a 1958 Corvette gasser. The last rays of the setting sun illuminate the beautiful colors on the Corvette. A beat up old Ranger pick-up truck comes rambling up towards us and skids to a halt. The driver is an angry town local that quickly lets us know how much he hates Speedweek and how much he hates hot rodders coming into his town. He claims to be the neighborhood watch and accuses all of us (and I mean every human being attending Speedweek ) of being there to steal parts off of his cars and his friend’s old cars.
“You people come here every year and steal parts from our cars”. We told him that we are shooting cars and are not here to steal anything. He keeps on ranting and raving how we are all thieves and don’t belong in his town and how we had better tell all our friends. He then pulls out a gun from his side, sets it on his dash board just above the steering wheel and angrily says “We got ways of taking care of things around here.” Then he speeds off.
We all stare at each other wondering did this really just happen? Then I get mad! Im not happy about getting a gun pulled on me from an angry desert dweller while we are on public land minding our own business. I call 911 and meet up with the Sheriff at the Sheriff station. I fill out a report and the Sheriff asks me to describe the man, as Im describing him and the Sheriff is taking notes, just then the crazed gun toting local pulls up right next to the Sheriff’s patrol car “Why that him right there!” I exclaim. The sheriff yells at him to keep his hands out of his pockets. The Nevada nut job starts ranting and raving to the Sheriff and at me, he stars accusing me of every thing that has happened during Speedweek since the 1960’s!!!!!! The sheriff calls for back up, three other squad cars come screeching up with lights and sirens. Turns out this dumb bastard had been drinking and drove up right to the sheriff’s department, didn’t have a license to carry a concealed weapon or even have a weapons permit. So they throw the cuff’s on the clod and walk him 15 feet into the jail! A DUI, a class A misdemeanor weapons charge and what other charges are associated with concealed and unlicensed weapons. What a dumb bastard! That’s two run-ins with crazy Nevada desert dwellers in three days time. Well, I guess this is the state that elected Harry Reid, so what should I expect?

3 comments:

  1. I bet your wife loves these stories..haha..

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  2. Mike that sounds a lot like some of the junkyard experiances I've encountered!

    Michael

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  3. Hey Michael, maybe that sick vette gasser made him ill? How's it going? Did you find a place to publish the story about that ride?

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