I Had An Alarm, I Had Nerve

Ranger Is An Unusual Name," She Managed. "is It A Nickname?" It's A Street Name," Ranger Said. "i Was A Ranger In The Army." I Heard About Them Rangers On Tv," Grandma Said. "i Heard They Get Dogs Pregnant." My Father's Mouth Dropped Open And A Piece Of Ham Fell Out. My Mother Froze, Her Fork Poised In Midair. That's Sort Of A Joke," I Told Grandma. "rangers Don't Get Dogs Pregnant In Real Life." I Looked At Ranger For Corroboration And Got Another Smile.

Mooner Was Walking Around Laying His Hands On The Cars, Divining Karma. "this Is It", He Said, Standing By A Small Khaki-colored Jeep."this Car Has Protective Qualities" You Mean Like A Guardian Angel?" I Mean, Like, It Has Seatbelts

I Took All Of My Rejection Letters - There Must Have Been Thousands Of Them In A Huge Box - And I Went Out On The Curb And Burned Them All, Crying.

That’s How You Tell What A Man’s Really Made Of. It’s One Thing For A Man To Be Big And Brave And Kill A Spider. Any Man Could Do That. Trailin’ After A Woman When She’s Shopping For Thongs And Push-up Bras Is A Whole Other Category Of Man. And Then If You Want To See How Far You Can Go With It, You Ask Him To Carry One Of Those Little Pink Bags They Give You.

I Was On My Back, Looking Up At Morelli Through Cobwebs, And My First Thought Was That The 7-eleven Victim Had Exacted Revenge On Me, And I’d Been Stun Gunned. The Cobwebs Cleared, And I Discounted Stun Gunning. “what Happened?” I Asked Morelli. “you Fainted.” “that’s Ridiculous.” “i Agree, But If Someone Sent Me A Dead Woman I Might Faint, Too.” He Was Down On One Knee, Bending Over Me. “are You Ready To Get Up?” “i Need A Moment.” “don’t Take Too Long. People Will Think I’m Proposing.