A VERY happy wedding...

[GlytchMeister]

Well... I'm glad I've finished with Lily for a while. Sarge, you can play with our two favorite vampire women and Tsillah without conflicting with Purpose. I don't plan on going back to them for quite some time. ^_^

[jwhouk]

He can have Suzi. She made me a bit...uhm, nervous.

[Sgt. Howard]

He can have Suzi. She made me a bit...uhm, nervous.

she does have that effect...NEVER ask her to give you a hicky...

[jwhouk]

He can have Suzi. She made me a bit...uhm, nervous.

she does have that effect...NEVER ask her to give you a hicky...

Momma didn't raise no dummy. She freaked me out right after she downed that Bloody Mary in front of me.

Or it might have been Bloody Joanne, she didn't say.

[Sgt. Howard]

He can have Suzi. She made me a bit...uhm, nervous.

she does have that effect...NEVER ask her to give you a hicky...

Momma didn't raise no dummy. She freaked me out right after she downed that Bloody Mary in front of me.

Or it might have been Bloody Joanne, she didn't say.

His name was 'Tim' but I don't know all the details...

[jwhouk]

There. See, sucking the bartender for your drink is just...




...uhm.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!

[jwhouk]

---
When I got home from my little walk, I grabbed a drink from the fridge and my iPad. A few taps and I was on Twitter, to see what was going on in the world.

A friend of mine in Minneapolis tweeted something about seeing a large number of MPD cars converging on Mercy Medical, a few blocks down from her workplace.

This caused a raised eyebrow from me. Curious, I tapped out and opened Google, then tapped "Mercy Medical Hospital police Minneapolis."

The first hit in the search made my hair stand on end: ONE DEAD, TWO IN CUSTODY IN ATTEMPTED PHARMACY ROBBERY AT HOSPITAL.

I frowned. There was your typical photo of the outside of a hospital accompanying the article blurb.

I clicked on the link:

One dead, two in custody in attempted pharmacy robbery at hospital
KARE 11 staff

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – One person was killed and two others are in custody after an attempted robbery and theft of the Mercy Medical Center of Minneapolis was stopped by an off-duty Minneapolis police officer and another unidentified person, hospital officials stated this afternoon.

Three armed men, whose names have not yet been revealed, attempted to rob the pharmacy attached to the Emergency room of Mercy Medical.

Witnesses state that just after the one man raised his gun in the air and announced his intentions, the unidentified man grabbed his gun, wrestled it from him and dislocated his arm.

The unidentified man was shot by one of the other robbers, who then – in the words of another bystander – "was pummeled by him like he was under a bucking bronco."

Officer Justin Epimethus, who was visiting "a friend who had recently been admitted to the hospital," subdued the third robbery suspect.

Justin Epimethus, I thought. Wait a minute, isn't that…

[jwhouk]

(BTW: research suggests that the major hospital in Minneapolis is Abbott Northwestern, along with Hennepin County Medical Center. Abbott Hospital is, if you recall, the name of the "old abandoned building" that was turned into apartments, over on the corner of 18th Street and Stevens Avenue...)

[Sgt. Howard]

(BTW: research suggests that the major hospital in Minneapolis is Abbott Northwestern, along with Hennepin County Medical Center. Abbott Hospital is, if you recall, the name of the "old abandoned building" that was turned into apartments, over on the corner of 18th Street and Stevens Avenue...)

We'll correct it in the re-write

[Sgt. Howard]

Lilly was walking downtown... actually, is was something between 'strutting' and 'prancing' as she headed towards her Daughter's residence- then she got the call on her cell-
"Pratt here- yea I am downtown now... really? One down? Oh...? REALLY?!? ...have you contacted McBride yet? ... she is? ... Good... I'm quite sure that Suzi and I doing a 'Morgue snack' routine will get him to speak freely- you're sure he knows something, right?... the Malcroft case? Damn! We NEED some info there, I hope the little shit knows something... who bagged him?...Epimethus?... wait, JUSTIN Epimethus?... what civilian? Alexander? BUCK Alexander, the 'Harvester Heir'? ... well what the hell were THOSE TWO doing there?"
What precious little color was in Lilly's face drained out as she heard who was being visited...

"Honey, is that a Crosley Cathedral Radio?" Georgette asked Monica as the latter studied the article in question.
"No... it's an old RCA... seems to be in excellent shape... all the tubes appear to be there. No price tag... " she looked up thoughtfully... "...did Crosley MAKE a Cathedral Radio?"
"They made several models... here, let's take it to the table with the cash register and see if it works," Georgette offered.
They had been most of the morning looking over articles at this particular estate sale when they found the old radio- it was the first thing they'd seen that was half-way interesting. Taking it straight to the ladies running the sale, Monica asked if they could plug it in and see what it did (or didn't) do.
Power supplied, the switch was turned 'on'- click/crack, hum... no smoke...all good signs... Monica tried to pull in a station...
"... attempting to rob the Pharmacy at Abbott Northwestern were thwarted by an off duty police officer and a civilian who was wounded in the effort. Recovering and released is 'Buck' Alxeander, Heir of Alexander's Harvesters, who took a superficial bullet wound to the back. The arrest was made by Off-duty Officer Justin Epimethus. One of the three was knocked unconcious, another was killed and pronounced dead at the scene. The third was arrested without incident. Mr. Alexander's comment was, "Well, I guess I didn't have time to think about it, or I might have been scared," Officer Epimethus said, "The attempted robbery was particularly dangerous as these three barely knew what they were doing and as such are more likely to cause casualties. Mr. Alexander's actions show some remarkably quick thinking and selfless courage... but I advise the general populace, do NOT attempt to disarm somebody with a gun if you have no weapon- even those trained to do so will tell you it is VERY dangerous to do so... in other news, a rash of odd reports involving people appearing and dis-appearing from various corners of Minneapolis has authorities..." Monica shut it off.
"We'll buy it," she said.
"Isn't that Shelly's boyfriend?" Georgette asked.
"Oh yea, that's him... sounds like he wasn't hurt... a 'Mr. Alexander' took a ... 'supeficial''? in the back? Odd... I didn't know you COULD get a 'superficial' bullet wound to the back,"

Well west of town, on the Alexander estate, Daisy Alexander heard the exact same broadcast. She trotted out to the front porch and hammered the old triangle as hard as she could for a good fifteen seconds. Then she went back into the house, to the master bedroom/stall, changed into human and grabbed up some clothes. By the time she made it to the front door, Rowdy and Cinnamon were just galloping in from the field.
"What is it, Momma?" cried out Cinnamon.
"Your damn older brother! He went and got himself shot! Some kind of robbery was going on an' HE had to stop it... numbskull... loose yer hind legs an' put on sumthin' reasonable... Cindy, you don't need nothing flouncy, you ain't on the prowl- same fer you, Rowdy... you ain't going inter town to go 'high tailin'- AM AH CLEAR?"

[Dave]

Taking it straight to the ladies running the sale, Monica asked if they could plug it in and see what it did (or didn't) do.
Power supplied, the switch was turned 'on'- click/crack, hum... no smoke...all good signs... Monica tried to pull in a station...

Aggh. Variac, Monica. Please use a variac.

Suddenly powering up an old tube radio, which might have been sitting around unpowered for years and may have dried-out capacitors and gassy tubes, is a great way to create smoke, and perhaps permanently damage something old and worthy. Far better to wind up the voltage slowly (ideally, with a light bulb wired in series to absorb current surges) and let the components "wake up" and re-form gently.

[Sgt. Howard]

Taking it straight to the ladies running the sale, Monica asked if they could plug it in and see what it did (or didn't) do.
Power supplied, the switch was turned 'on'- click/crack, hum... no smoke...all good signs... Monica tried to pull in a station...

Aggh. Variac, Monica. Please use a variac.

Suddenly powering up an old tube radio, which might have been sitting around unpowered for years and may have dried-out capacitors and gassy tubes, is a great way to create smoke, and perhaps permanently damage something old and worthy. Far better to wind up the voltage slowly (ideally, with a light bulb wired in series to absorb current surges) and let the components "wake up" and re-form gently.

I am assuming Monica's understanding of OLD electronics is no greater than my own... yes, she is an audiophile with a love of tube amps, but her experience with OLD equipment might be dicey... anyway, she DID get away with it...

[AmriloJim]

... anyway, she DID get away with it...

This time.

[Sgt. Howard]

Taking it straight to the ladies running the sale, Monica asked if they could plug it in and see what it did (or didn't) do.
Power supplied, the switch was turned 'on'- click/crack, hum... no smoke...all good signs... Monica tried to pull in a station...

Aggh. Variac, Monica. Please use a variac.

Suddenly powering up an old tube radio, which might have been sitting around unpowered for years and may have dried-out capacitors and gassy tubes, is a great way to create smoke, and perhaps permanently damage something old and worthy. Far better to wind up the voltage slowly (ideally, with a light bulb wired in series to absorb current surges) and let the components "wake up" and re-form gently.

Good thing to know- thanks

[jwhouk]

"WCCO CBS News Time is 4:48; now here's traffic on the 8's with Will Marcini..."



And yes, I'm betting that was the first station Monica tuned to - 830 AM on your dial.

[Dave]

... anyway, she DID get away with it...

This time.

And, who knows. Maybe her power of "burst into flames, spew smoke, and come back just as good as new" would extend to her purchases as well.

[Sgt. Howard]

... anyway, she DID get away with it...

This time.

And, who knows. Maybe her power of "burst into flames, spew smoke, and come back just as good as new" would extend to her purchases as well.

Not if she bought an English Sports car- THAT would be pushing it...

[jwhouk]

What's lost in all this is... MOMMA AIN'T HAPPY!

[Sgt. Howard]

What's lost in all this is... MOMMA AIN'T HAPPY!

I was wondering when someone would pick up on that... what's more, it's TWO MOMMAS ain't happy... and they are both headed to the same place!

[GlytchMeister]

Oh, crap.

Two momma bear reactions that close to one another could be quite dangerous with mundane humans... And we're dealing with Wapsi and Sarge characters...

...imma go get some popcorn...