Picket, Gold Base, 16 Sept. 2000 I was planning to ride the beemer up to Hemet Saturday. She was gassed up and ready to go the night before. To my surprise, my father called and said he'd like to go up as well! He isn't keen on riding on the back, so we took the car instead. I've been out to Hemet a couple of times with Shydavid, which involved taking the train up the coast to San Juan Capistrano and driving east. That takes about four hours, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that going straight up 15 to 74 from here to Ida's is about an hour and 45 minutes. Our Mapquest directions were accurate, and Ida's was easily recognisable, due to Keith Henson making signs in the driveway. We had introductions all 'round, I got some fliers from Keith, and we headed to the Totalitarian Theme Park/Golf Course. We pulled up at the Ashlee memorial about a quarter to 10, the troops were just gathering across the street. Dad went over to introduce himself while I pulled my sign out of the car. At that moment, a white van pulled up next to me. It was a Hemetian who was curious as to why we were there. I gave him the quick rundown, he'd heard of the transformer vault incident and agreed that the cult made it look fishier than Sea World. I gave him a couple of fliers and joined the crew. It's nice to meet folks in person after communicating with them on the net! Brent, Mirele, and Arel were there already, Mir with no sunscreen, and Arel with headphones. She bops when she pickets! After getting his picture taken with a picket sign in front of the Magic Castle, Dad drove away to check out the Nazi Disneyland and try to find the Hemet paper with Keith on the front, and we started the half-mile march to Davey's house. Halfway there, Graham Berry drove by honking. He brought his friend Jane along for the adventure, she had the good sense to hang out in the shade. It was probably around ninety degrees out by that time. Mirele and Arel turned back to go meet Graham, Brent and I soldiered on. There was very little activity on the base at this time. We saw the odd person traversing the property, some security staked out by the tunnel, and a guy down in the bushes landscaping. Incidentally, they have removed all the plantings and tumbleweeds from the side of 79, which makes it much easier to navigate without walking in the road. I wonder if Cal-Trans told them the landscaping right to the curb was a hazard for pedestrians. I had mentioned that in an email to them a while back. I see they've planted miniature rose bushes in the median strip. They look pretty, but I wonder how long they'll last. Those little inbred bushes are pretty fragile, you can kill them with a thought! I know, I've done it! Brent and I spent a short time over the tunnel, watching the security guys peek at us. I did catch one "parishioner" coming down the stairs, so I flipped my sign around so he could read the 'Ron is Gone, but the Con lives On' side of my sign. The other side said, "Scientology Hates Free Speech." We got the usual amount of support from motorists, honks, waves, thumbs up, and "Yeah!!" with the upraised fist. It's always nice to be appreciated! We were on our second mile when my dad came back. It was getting really warm by this time, and Ida's air conditioning was calling me. We left in a pod so Graham wouldn't get lost. The tunnel was safe again! Fred Rice and family showed up at Ida's a bit later. They played a bit of PI tag, and at one point chased Richardson right into Keith's camera sights! I would think that ex-police officers would have higher ethics than to work for a criminal enterprise like Scientology! Most cops join the force to help people; there are a few that are just downright thugs. I guess we know where Petty and Richardson stand. Keith returned from picketing downtown Hemet in time for lunch. He had given away a lot of fliers, and talked to many folks on his busy street corner. The irony is almost painful; the cult stops *one* guy from picketing their base, and six show up to fill in. Keith pickets downtown instead, and reaches way more people than he would have at Gold Base! Oh, yeah, the tech works! After another superb feast courtesy of Ida, we hung out in the living room and shot the shit for a couple of hours. Dad and I left about two, before the afternoon picket got under way. As far as we know, we weren't important enough to follow, and the drive home was uneventful. This is true,
--
barb
"Car salesmen are after your money, Christians are after your soul, but the Church of Scientology wants both." -- Hartley Patterson "Every week, every month, every year, every decade and now
every century, Scientology does weird and stupid things
to damage its own reputation." - Steve Zadarnowski
http://www.xenu.net
http://www.xenutv.com (see live Scientologists in their natural state!)

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