diff --git a/dead-man-qry.bash b/dead-man-qry.bash
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8a51271
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dead-man-qry.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+NUMHRS=6
+
+# set now variable
+NOW=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
+
+RESULT=$(sqlite3 /var/www/tenniscourtsopen.com/courtsopen.db "select published_at from Alerts where datetime(published_at) > datetime('${NOW}', '-${NUMHRS} hours') order by datetime(published_at) limit 1")
+
+# this returns expected string!!!
+# echo $RESULT
+
+if [ -z "$RESULT" ]; then
+    echo "No data from device in last $NUMHRS hours."
+fi