Slim Randles' Home Country

[April 17, 2010]  We can always count on Vince coming up with something new for spring. Vince owns the "gas station gun shop" out on the highway, of course. This innovative combination of businesses occurred when the gas station wasn't really paying all the bills, and Vince has a passion for guns, so the unusual combo worked. You can now buy a quart of 10-30 motor oil and a box of .38 special semi-wadcutters at the same time.

As soon as the sun began thawing out the collars on our shirts, we found out. Vince got out the ladder and changed the black plastic letters to read, "Reg. unleaded $2.50, shoot while you wait."

Inside, in the empty garage part (Vince really doesn't want to work on cars anymore), he has set up an indoor shooting range and has two pellet guns ready for customers. So while Vince is out checking their oil and tire pressure and radiator water, the car owner can go in and punch holes in a target. The use of the rifles and pellets is free, but he sells the targets for 50 cents apiece.

And the success?

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"Well, that would have to be considered ... mixed, I guess," Vince said. "I got a bunch of inexpensive pellets in bulk, so that was a good deal, and I sold a lot more oil, because the guys would ask me to put in a quart so they could shoot a while longer. I think some of them actually let some air out of one of their tires so it would take me longer to get them ready.

"But the results of this would have to be mixed, because of old Pop Walker."

We didn't even know he drove any more.

"He doesn't. He's too old. But they brought him by with a couple of old ladies in the Rest of Your Life retirement home van the other day on the way to doctors' appointments, you know. So Pop goes in and shoots while I'm taking care of the van, and he broke one of the windows in that side door I have."

"I'll have to sell a bunch of targets to pay for that window."

[Text from file received from Slim Randles]

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