06 Jul 2000

barb <bwarr@pacbell.net>

Shy David picket me up at the train station and we groped our way to Gold Base. OSA, we made those wrong turns to confuse you! We spotted Keith, flanked fore and aft by 'security'. They were keeping well away from him, as required by the PD. I hopped out of the car and approached Keith while David parked. Both of Keith's escorts promptly left to get orders. So much for 'thinking for yourself.' They were soon back, trudging along heavily behind us with camcorders. We picked up a couple of picket signs from Keith and started the day's work.

David decided to play with our handlers, and posed as a reporter interviewing Keith. When he asked if they wanted to be interviewed as well, one said, "Hi, Mr. Rice." Busted!!! I cracked up!

On our first pass, Keith pointed out several rather large pine trees in wooden pots that have been placed over the underground tunnel. There isn't enough soil there to plant them, due to the tunnel, so they've wrapped the bases with plastic sheeting. Those trees are heavy! I hope the tunnel is reinforced to support this weight after watering. Wouldn't want another incident, although it would not surprise me a bit if there was a cave-in. Safety does not seem high on Scientology's list of priorities.

We paused periodically to take GPS readings of the interesting spots along the road; Davey's house, the church, the front gate, and so forth. David had brought his handheld GPS device, what a gadget!

At one point, we separated from Keith by about 100 yards. Our handlers muttered to each other, and also separated; Keith got one, and we got the other. I think ours was broken. He was a man in his 60s, heavy set, silver hair, wearing no hat in the hot sun. He carried a water bottle and would seek out shade when we stopped. His face was very red, and he did not seem to be doing too well in the heat.

David kept expressing concern for his condition; truly, the man did not look well. His breathing was labored, and I felt sorry for him being assigned this duty in his state. Not. Actually, my idea was to stop well away from any shade when we took a water break and see how long it took for him to drop. I probably would have helped him if he'd succumbed to heat stroke. Cold water on the old head-bone and a lie down in the shade will aid in a startlingly swift recovery if caught in time. Fortunately that wasn't necessary, our old boy gamely trudged along with us the whole time, but did not appear to be having much fun. He didn't want our water, or David's spare hat, and was unobtrusive, as was Keith's more robust handler.

We picketed til 12:30, then went to Ida's for a delicious lunch! I really recommend her chicken wings! Since David only eats things that aren't meat, there were plenty of wings!

Keith made us go out again after lunch. We decided to do just one pass, as it was at least 90 degrees out and no cloud cover. Our handlers came out as we were parking, and again stumped along behind us. This time, our guy was wearing a red cap that said 'Talon.' I understand it's a scieno related security company. We made our pass and went back to the car. 'Our' handler approached us to tell us that he was not a scientologist, just a hired guy from Talon Security. David offered him a Xenu flier, which he refused. He thanked us for being there because, "I get $800 a day to do this. Come on out any time, I appreciate the business."

"You better ask for a raise!" I retorted. "We get paid way more than that for picketing!"

In summation, the handlers obeyed the police department's orders to not speak to us and stay 10 feet away. We had numerous honks and waves. One white car pulled over and wanted to speak to Keith, who directed them to the pull-out by his car. While we were talking to them, a car gave us a honk and thumbs up. I pointed out to our handler that it was for us, not scientology. The folks in the white car took a Xenu flier. All in all, a pretty uneventful picket, the kind I like!

If you go, take plenty of water, a hat, and sunscreen. It's brutal out there in the sun!

--
barb

"Every week, every month, every year, every decade and now every century, Scientology does wierd and stupid things to damage its own reputation." -Steve Zadarnowski

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