Right on, Bruce! Years ago a young guy who lived somewhat near me called me at 10:30PM, saying he had been referred to me by a close friend of mine as someone who knew about Parker Guns. He said he had a 12 gauge Parker that was "covered with engraving" and wanted to sell it so he could close out the mortgage on his house. When I questioned him about my friend's reference, he said he "worked with" him. He insisted on coming over to my house that night to show me the gun and offer it for sale.
I put him off until the next night then called my friend to verify the reference. Turns out the guy worked in the HVAC plant in the Library of Congress where my friend worked in one of the advanced folklife research units. He had done a couple of days work in my friends' office and during that time noticed the wildlife paintings, decoys, etc. on my friend's desk and walls, then got to talking shotguns. He took the cue on Parker Guns from my friend, who gave him my card, probably to get rid of him.
When he showed up at my house he arrived in a tiny Honda Escort with a homeless-looking buddy and the biggest Rottweiler I'd ever seen who was not especially friendly. How the three of them ever fit in that car I don't know. While we stood in my garage, I told him to keep the dog in the car and asked the buddy to stand off to one side while I examined the gun. It turned out to be a VH 12 gauge 30" complete with broken stock and J.C. Higgins recoil pad, in about what Steve Fjested's rating system would term "undesireable." I sent the trio off after about 15 minutes and made sure they made it all the way out to the end of my pipestem driveway before I closed the garage door.
I called my friend the next day around noon to report the episode, whereupon he told me the DC Police came to the HVAC plant and arrested the guy; seems he was trying to market the gun in the shop, a DEFINITE NO-NO in our firearms-paranoid Nations' Capital. I submitted his name as a candidate for the Darwin Award finalists that year and found out that he was eliminated in the final round just before selections were made. Turns out the guy had a record (shocker!) for possesion of cocaine, crack and meth at various times during his "chemical romance" years.
Message: Be Discreet; they are out there and eager to serve you!!
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04-30-2012, 05:21 PM
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