The sound of a pump action shotgun

We have all heard it. Whether it is in person, or on the television or movie screen. It is a sort of muted crescendo. A dramatic scene ending with a chk-chk. Now imagine hearing that sound just a couple feet behind your head. A rather discomforting thought isn't it? Now imagine that it is four o'clock in the morning, you're sleeping in Dearborn park in Northridge CA and are awoken by that sound. I must admit my initial reaction was "oh s...". In a tenth of a second a scramble ensued and I found myself running across the park... in a fit of laughter. As it turned out the sound wasn't made by a shotgun, but rather a giant rain bird sprinkler that was just a few feet a way from me. Everywhere I looked I saw great steams of water erupting from the grass. Hurriedly I hopped out of my sleeping bag, picked up my back pack and ran for dry land. Running just seconds after waking is not that easy. Couple that with laughing and getting nailed by a few high pressured blast of cold water and you have the makings of another odd ball game show. Believe it or not that was not the only time I found myself running and laughing, but this other time I allude to occurred on sand with a sense of, well stay tuned for my next post, and another simple day gone wrong.