By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | 2025 Truth Endures©
ONE STEP TOO FAR – TAKING OVER OF A TACO STAND
Mayor DeeDee Gonzalez wasn’t one to take a half-measure. Her town’s only claim to fame was a bug outbreak with a penchant for humming and line-dancing. Mexican beagle crickets had commandeered a taco stand once more. They also interrupted a high-stakes karaoke contest at the community center. She had had enough.
The emergency meeting took place in the town hall. Chairs were hastily arranged in a circle. The table was littered with half-eaten enchiladas. The Mayor banged her gavel with a determined clatter.
“Enough is enough!”
She declared.
“These pests have overstepped their bounds. As of now, martial law is declared on all cricket activity in Ajo!”
In a matter of minutes, local retirees received “bug defense kits.” These kits featured oversized flyswatters and garden hoses. They also included homemade “cricket deterrent” spray (an odd blend of cactus juice and a hint of mint). The newly minted “deputies” marched down Main Street. The Beagle Cricket Brigade paused their evening serenade. It was as if to say, “They brought reinforcements!”
Buck, watching from the window of the Impala, smirked.
“Now that’s what you call bugging out,”
He muttered. He anticipated the chaos. It would ensue when a troop of seniors met a swarm of rhythmic insects.
How dare they! A Taco Stand? Those evil Beagle Crickets! It is only a matter of time before someone is called to main street for a shootout at high noon. But, will Buck’s aim hit something as small as a cricket in a shootout? Would the crime fighter be outmatched by crickets? Or will they challenge him to Karaoke sing off?
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