I am now a spook, thanks to Neighbor Bob.

The other day we were hanging out with nothing to do and Bob had a day off. We packed up the PRC-320 and decided to do a little hilltopping and the closest place we could think of was the mall. We had done this a few weeks ago at about the same time of day.

As I was trying to get a QSO on the 20 meter band I noticed a nosy looking old man about 100 feet away talking to someone and pointing at us. I nodded to Bob and asked him, "What's that all about?"

He looked, squinted. "Oh........him." he said. Bob looked a bit sheepish.

"What about him?" I asked.

"He's probably telling that other guy you're a CIA spook or something." he answered.

"Now why would he be doing a thing like that?" I asked. "Out with it!"

"Remember the last time we were here? I went into the mall to get us some coffee?" He asked.

"Ye ee es," I answered.

"Well, when I was coming back I saw him coming your way and headed him off." he said.

I glanced at the guy. He looked like one of those nosy, gossippy little wimpy guys that generally are more trouble than they are worth. They mean well, I suppose but they are an awful pain in the ass. I have one I regularly play with, Nebby Larry. I feed him all sorts of disinformation like how I am planning on using Bangalore torpedoes to weed with or that I am hunting for land mines just to have him call the police on me which he does frequently.

"And you told him what?" I asked. I wasn't angry, I was actually amused.

"Well, I saw him headed this way and he had a nosy way about him and I knew he was coming over to meddle into what we were doing," said Bob.

"Out with it," I said smirking.

Apparently the last time we were hilltopping this mall the guy, I think he's a regular, one of those guys that walks through the mall for exercise was headed out and spotted me with the PRC-320 and gabbing away and the man got curious and was headed over to investigate. Bob headed him off and put on his best 'Gosh, golly, Gee, whiz' act and told the guy that I lived a couple of doors down from him and had for several years. He told him that he had been over my house as a neighbor and saw a back bedroom room door heavily locked and that there was a steel plate covering the rear window and that there was some kind of radio tower in your backyard. Also that government cars pull into my driveway every so often.

Bob ended it by telling the nosy jerk that he thought I was some kind of spook and if he was smart he would stay away from me.

I looked at Bob, who was a little red-faced. Then I glanced at the idiot that was still there furtively looking at me. I knew that if the guy had come over to visit me the last time he would have been like Nebby Larry and called the police on me.

While I have hilltopped there a number of times and met the police officers driving by there a couple of times, I have never had them called on me. While I am doing nothing wrong, I am not at my house where Nebby Larry calls the police all the time and they are used to it. This is a different town and I don't want the police called on me.

I looked at the guy still there giving me furtive looks and I knew Bob had done the right thing when he had told the man I was a spook of some sort. This guy would have been a pain to get rid of. Generally most people that see me hilltopping with my rig ask me what I am doing and when I tell them they leave it at that, but this guy looked like he would be a real pain in the neck.

I turned to Bob.

"This is good," I said. "Now I am a spook!

Then I turned to the guy giving us the furtive looks and gave him a hard glare. He got nervous, got into his car and drove off.

Then I turned to Bob.

"Next time I come here hilltopping I am going to replace you with a tall, tall dark-haired woman in a long, low cut gown and a Russian accent," I said."Then I'll try and check in on the Moose and Squirrel net!"


my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/