Don't worry, be happy, Big Mouth Billy Bass is watching out for you

Billy Bass on guard at the East Pole.

It actually works.   Huffington Post had a story today headlined "Big Mouth Billy Bass scares off would-be burglar."

You know what that is, right? That fake mount of a fish that sings an obnoxious version of "Don't Worry Be Happy" or "Take Me to the River" every time someone passes its motion sensor.

My son gave me one as  gift when he was much younger and at first I wondered what the heck I was going to do with that.

Then I saw an episode of the TV crime show "CSI." This was in the days when Gil Grissom was still heading that fictional crime lab. He took someone home to his apartment in this episode and when they entered his hallway there came one of those songs, shocking his guest and he explained he used it as a cheap motion detector.

That's where the idea light bulb went off for me. Immediately I saw a use for my son's gift only not the way the fictional Grissom did.

You see, at the East Pole in summer there is always the possibility of a bear encounter. I have had one close call with four of them and some other sightings. The biggest worry I have is, considering the bears are basically nocturnal and of course that's when I sleep, meeting one on the porch in the middle of the night.  That's where Billy Bass comes in.

The next time I went out there I mounted the fish outside on the front wall, where the easiest access from the ground to the porch is.  I put it about mid-thigh high so even a cub might set it off and give me a little warning when an intruder came around. And, besides alerting me, it's quite possible the noise would spook an animal as well.

I mean, I doubt even a bear could stand the sound of Billy Bass singing "don't worry, be happy" for very long.

Huffington Post: Billy Bass scares off would-be burglar