MaryAnne

*ponders Brian's question while sipping on her root beer* You'd be the Lord o' something that's for sure. Yeah tho'...I remember them days. When good was good and evil was evil....before things got sooo fuzzy...." *stops, looks at you* "Sorry, lil' Don Henley there. *takes a handful of peanuts from the bowl* Anyway, yeah, I remember when you put that sign up. Man alive that was quite a ride when we did that. But now tho'... *munches on a couple of peanuts* I dunno seems like nobody wants to play for fun anymore. What we need around here is a good battle of wits. No addendum for murder, no tryin' to kill off somebody. Just good ol' fashioned smarty pants dialouge, with some hijinx thrown in. *chews for a moment, then looks at you* Whatchya think?

"I don't hold nothing against Daney," MaryAnne replied in the CB, "and I understand what she did too but backwoods southern justice is gonna have to be dealt out in more than just a fight in a mud pit. I will not have people think they can come into Hazzard County, push us around, threaten us, kidnap us and try to kill us, and get away with it." She paused. "So Luke Duke, if you've got that look in yer eye....stand on it! Let's not let these jokers get away! I'm gone!" MaryAnne tossed the mike over to Rosco who hung it up on the CB set. She glanced at Cully in the rearview mirror. "This isn't the kinda introduction to Hazzard I was hoping for but....Welcome to Hazzard County, Cully." Cully grinned. "Wouldn't be the same any other way."

"Well, ya know what they say," MaryAnne said. "The family that plays together, stays together. Khee!" She glanced in her rear view mirror at Cully and Brian in the backseat with Bandit between them. "I guess I can pass on the introductions, y'all already seem to know each other." "Well, with a face like mine it's easy to be recognized," Cully said with a grin. "Nice to meet ya, Brian. I've heard a lot about you." "All bad, of course," Rosco added. "Khee!" Up ahead, the patrol car was in viewing distance, but there was quite a length between it and Maverick. MaryAnne had the pedal to the floor. A moment later Daisy's voice came over the CB. MaryAnne picked up the mike. "Go ahead, Bo Peep."

MaryAnne and Rosco were both glad Brian was okay and seeing him in a uniform should have illicited a few smart comments from the cousins. But there would be time later for teasing. Now, there was a call to action in the air. MaryAnne wanted a piece of the two hired guns so bad, and she knew Brian had seen it in her eyes. There was no reason to hold back on it either. Kidnapping and attempted murder were serious issues. A swift delivery of justice was on order. "Whattya mean, she's the law?" Rosco complained. "I'm the law too, I'm the Sheriff--!" "Who agrees that crimes have been committed," MaryAnen said, "and the perpetrators are getting away! They kidnapped Brian, they kidnapped Daney. They attempted to kill Brian, and we can throw in assault and battery just for good measure. We're goin' after 'em---" Before MaryAnne could finish her speech, she watched the lone Hazzard County patrol car come into view with Val, Enos and Cletus. "Well...maybe we won't be..." A little disappointed, the Coltrane cousins watched the scene. Mac and Gillian were let out of the patrol car by Daney Duke, who then undid their handcuffs. "What is she doing??" Rosco said. "Is she crazy?! Them dipsticks, they shouldn't be lettin' them outta the car!" They saw Daney turn, flash the ridge runner okay signal to her cousins and then the tables turned. With the Dukes backs to the scene, Mac and Gillian had subdued Enos, Cletus and Val, tied them, gagged them and jumped into the patrol car. "DAMMIT! They're they go!!" MaryAnne took off to runnin', with Rosco and Brian with her. There was no way they could do anything to stop the car themselves, but MaryAnne got close enough to pull her gun and took aim at the fleeing patrol car. Six shots came in rapid fire, blowing out the back window of the patrol car and shattering tail lights. The Plymouth kept going. "C'mon y'all!" MaryAnne yelled. "They're not gettin' outta Hazzard County!!" She turned and ran back to Maverick.

A few moments later the blue Firebird came into view of the cabin. The car kicked up dust on the narrow dirt drive and then came to a quick, sliding stop, surrounding it in a cloud of dust. The two doors popped open and Rosco and MaryAnne jumped out. Cully stayed in the car with Bandit. It wasn't too hard to spot the only other person in the crowd wearing a Hazzard County deputies uniform. "Brian! Are you awright??" MaryAnne came up to her cousin, taking him by the arm and looking at him. Althought both he and Daney beside him grinned at her, she couldn't help but look at him with concern, relief, and with apology for that fact that she and Rosco couldn't get here sooner.

"If I ever get my hands on that two bit gun maul...." MaryAnne muttered as Maverick tore up dirt and grass, heading in the direction of the cabin. "And the chick. Just for good measure." She and her two passengers had heard the gun shot as well and the Firebird was beating a path to the source of the sound. "I hope we're not too late," Rosco said. "If we are, everybody better run for the hills. Because I'm gonna go ballistic!" "I dunno if I wanna see that," Cully said. "You don't," Rosco replied. "Figured." MaryAnne was beyond fuming. First, the rest of the Coltranes were a day late and dollar short in regards to Brian being kidnapped. Things just moved too fast. Now, finally getting themselves in gear, they were probably too late. And Brian probably wondered where the hell they were and possibly passed on thinking they weren't gonna try to save him. "@!%$!!" MaryAnne spat. "I'll second that," Cully said. "What if that gun maul is still around?" Rosco wondered. "Good!!" MaryAnne said. "We can have target practice and a bar-b-que!" "Jit..." Cully refrained from comment.

*Sits down next to Riddick* "Riddick, lemme buy ya a beer. Good to see you back!" MaryAnne

MaryAnne had seen the red headed woman leave a message on the bulletin board. After the woman left, MaryAnne walked up to see what it said. "Oh Lord..." She sighed. "Dagnabbit!" She ran into the courthouse. "Rosco, we may be in trouble." Rosco looked down from the booking desk. "When are we NOT in trouble?" he deadpanned. "Somebody kidnapped Brian. They left a message on the board. If they see a cop or anybody suspicious trying to look for them all we're gonna find of him is bones." "Jit! We are definetly in trouble! Any idea who depu-nabbed him?" "I can hazard a guess." "So can I. Big Mac?" MaryAnne nodded. "With a side of fries. " "Jit!"

"You okay, Daney?" MaryAnne asked. The Duke woman nodded. "What the heck happened?" "Somebody put a bomb in Brian's car," Daney replied. "I took it out and threw it into the dumpster." "You coulda been blown up with it!" Rosco exclaimed. "So could you two, with Val! Y'all weren't even ten feet away from Diablo." "Well look, we're all here and we're all okay. Let's not debate who coulda been blown to smithereens." MaryAnne looked at Daney. "Did you see who put it in Brian's car?" Daney nodded. "Do you know who it is?" Daney nodded again. "I'm pretty sure." "Good. I'd like to have a talk with this person, tryin' to blow up Diablo and ruinin' my plan. Sheesh!" MaryAnne grinned. "What is your plan?" Daney asked. "Can't tell ya," Rosco said. "Khee! Top secret." "Uh oh," Daney smiled. "This oughta be a doozy..." "KHEE!" A little later, after Rosco released Boots and Scooter and they went running after Brian, MaryAnne went over to the dry cleaners to pick up the uniforms... "What do you mean somebody else picked 'em up?? I've got the ticket." MaryAnne held the ticket up. "I'm sorry, MaryAnne, but he said Rosco sent him over. He paid the bill." "Who paid it?" "I'm not sure...he was wearing black, he had dark hair, dark eyes--" "Nevermind, I know who it is." MaryAnne tossed the ticket on the counter and walked out of the dry cleaning shop. "Of all the things he's ever paid for in his life, he pays the Sheriff's dry cleaning bill. Sheesh!" She headed back towards the courthouse and the bulletin board where Rosco was already standing. But he was looking toward the square. "Whatchya lookin' at?" "A dipstick deputy." "Rosco, I told you not to call me that--" "Not you." He pointed. "Him." MaryAnne looked. Across the square, a deputy Sheriff of Hazzard County was sasshaying around. She snorted. "I was gonna tell ya that somebody picked up our dry cleaning for us...guess you already know." "He picked it up?" "Yep. Paid for it too. Of all the things..." MaryAnne watched Brian across the square. "He looks a little outta place. No gunbelt, no accessories..." "He'll have 'em soon enough." MaryAnne looked at Rosco and he pointed at the board. She read the messages Brian had left. "Ohhh...heh heh. I see he altered my message, tsk. He's lookin' for a Fury too. Shoot heck, he don't neccessarily need a Fury to be a cop." "Nope." "But it's gotta be white." "Yup. Khee!" MaryAnne grinned. "Before we do that, let's put Diablo in the impound garage. I don't want somebody tryin' to blow it up again." Rosco nodded. A few moments later the two officers were pushing the black Impala towards the backside of the courthouse and the impound garage. The car was put under lock and key. "There. He'll thank us in the end," MaryAnne said. "No, he won't," Rosco replied. "Well..." MaryAnne smiled. "In his own way, he will. Khee!"

Rosco and MaryAnne looked over the note, MaryAnne holding it gingerly to avoid touching the gum. "It's awright, Val," MaryAnne said. "Brian wouldn't be Brian if he didn't try to instigate somethin'." She smiled at the Game Warden, the three of them oblivious to what had been left in Brian's car, which was not ten feet away from them. "Besides, me and Rosco have something in mind for Brian anyway..."

Meanwhile, inside the Hazzard County courthouse.... Rosco hung up the phone and looked at his cousin. "Guess what?" he said. "We just won the lottery?" MaryAnne asked. "Depends on what kinda jackpot yer lookin' for." He stepped away from the booking desk. "Just got a phone call, somebody sayin' that Brian's lookin' to impersonate a police officer." "Really?" MaryAnne crossed her arms and looked toward the window. "Ya reckon that has anything do with all the activity out at the bulletin board?" "I'm reckonin'. Let's go take a look." The two law officers stepped out of the courthouse and looked at the postings on the Hazzard bulletin board. "Look at all the stab marks...jeez... Hey," MaryAnne said, pointing to one signed by "C". "That hand writin' look familar to ya?" "Yep..." Rosco grinned. "I knew he was comin', khee..." "Ya did?" MaryAnne smiled and Rosco met her gaze. After a moment, the two cousins giggled. "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" she said. "Way ahead of ya." "Khee! I knew it...." MaryAnne pulled out her ticket book and pen and scribbled the following message: To the town of Hazzard - Rosco and I see what y'all are up to and remind you that there is law in these parts and disobedience and criminal mischeif will not be tolerated. You have been warned. -MaryAnne She posted it up on the board. "Think they'll take that seriously?" Rosco asked. MaryAnne snorted. "Of course not. But if we don't post something they'll wonder what we're up to...heh heh...c'mon, we got work to do..."

*cue ominous music* SHE'S BAAAAAA-AAAACKK!!!!!!!! Run for the hills!! AAAAAHHHH!!!!! Khee! Welcome back, Scoot.

Happy belated Birthday Little Red!!

I agree with Min , that the forums is not the place to air personal grievences BUT this is an issue that all of us have dealt with at one point or another. (The post itself wasn't 'personal' in that it named names...like "so and so is being a bleepidee bleep bleep and copyin' this that and whatever.." ect... ) I think by having this discussion we all understand one another now and are on the same page in regards to this issue. As for names, and like me you don't have a baby name book...check out the links section at dukesofhazzardfanfic.com. There's a baby namer link there and you can put in search criteria including (but not limited to) how many syllables, gender and origin (Hebrew, English, French, German ect...I found it helpful when I was doing my Hogan's Heroes story. LOL) Lisa

I hate it when I get distracted when posting...all y'all beat me into this thing that's for sure. ROFL

Actually, both of you aren't wrong. Essy's right, we shouldn't fight over silly stuff like similar names or similar jobs of characters. Daney tho', is right too. There is a certain amount of respect that should be adhered to. All of us, I know, tend to get a bit possessive about our characters. This is natural. We want to make sure we remain unique within cyberHazzard. Some of us have been around long enough that various "knock offs" have come and gone. I myself get suspicious of any other female law officers who take a likin' to Rosco that come strollin' into Hazzard. But I don't make any big deal out of it and continue to focus on my lil' world of MaryAnne. CyberHazzard is a small world. Despite what Daney said, there IS gonna be some similarities here and there with characters. There's only so many ways somebody can be related to a Duke or Coltrane or whatever. Like Essy said, a lot of people you know in your daily life have the same names. A lot of the girls in Hazzard end up working at the Boar's Nest. There's gonna be some jobs that just don't fit into Hazzard County. Like plow truck driver. Ain't no snow. LOL And sure, there's hundreds of cars to drive but...who wants to roll into Hazzard in a Ford Pinto?? There's an element of hot rod/muscle car that reigns supreme in Hazzard. But there's no need to get upset because your character drives a Pontiac and some new character comes in driving a Pontiac too. Pontiac makes a lot of different cars besides Firebird/Trans Am. It could be a GTO, LeMans, Grand Prix, Catalina...ect. Same thing with Chevy. There's more to Chevy than Camaro's, Impalas and Chevelles. And who says it can't be a custom jobber?? How about a '41 Chevy Coupe, chopped, blown and bad?? 8) Anyway... if somebody comes along into Hazzard and blatantly (and clearly) copies/imitates another character it is frowned upon. But the true test of any writer is, is your character unique within your own mind? Are you over reacting to some new character because they have a similar name or drive a similar car. Are they truly acting just like your character or is jealously blurring your vision of this character? Respect is a two way street. Sometimes the writer of the new character doesn't realize that something they've done is that similar to an already existing fanfic character and their intentions were not malicious. A little benefit of the doubt goes a long way. About my only advice to new comers is to do your homework. Know what's out there already and do this not so much to make sure you're character is gonna be unique...and remembered, but do it because this is the community you're coming into. Take some time to get to know yer neighbors. And my advice to current cyberHazzard writers is to keep your character visible and active! If somebody comes along that you think is copying you (but probably truly *isn't* copying you) packing up and leaving isn't the answer. If I had done that when some MaryAnne knock off showed up in Hazzard, do you have any idea how many years ago I would have left??? Hazzard endures because we're all still here. Let's keep it enduring. Lisa

Yeah, it is pretty quiet when we're not here. But as long as Hazzardnet stays in yer heart, you'll find yer way back home. =) I miss you guys too, but I'm glad you were able to send a message as to where y'all were at. We appreciate that and we hope you're back soon. Lisa

Thanks Essy! Gosh I'm gittin' old here.. Heh heh! =)

Awww shucks. I dunno what to say other than you've all surely made my day a good one. I never expected what y'all have done and I'm pretty much at a loss of words here but I appreciate it very much. Thank you, Daney, Val and Min. =) (And all that food on the Duke table there looks delicious. Let's eat! Khee!) MaryAnne

Smart ass. Since Brian has no feelings, allow me to speak only for myself. This is my home. This is my playground. Hazzard, and all of you here, mean a lot to me. I care about each and every single one of you here, even tho' it's once in a blue moon that I get a chance to yak to most of ya. Hazzard, as a community, has been through a lot in the past couple of years. Personally, I've been through a lot in the past couple of years and if hadn't been for this little place to come to, I surely would be in a nut house by now. Thank you, to all of you out there who continue to be part of this community.

My b-day is Appomatox Day-April 9. Day after John Schneider's...two days after James Garner's. =)

Well I rated mostly A's...but I'd really hate to be anybody that would wanna kick my butt just for sport. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

M answers totaled up a combination. Daisy's Jeep and a HCSD patrol car. Surprised? LOL

Essy, that was beautiful.

I've discovered there are a lot of middle schools and elementary schools named after her. There was a picture in our local paper the other day of some students in a hall walking past a memorial of Christa McCauliffe at their school. I thought it was a school here in town or in the state. When I read the caption it said the school was in Green Bay, Wisconsin and it was named for her.