I took a break from my work tonight to stroll down to the newstand. On the way there I passed our good friend Antonio sitting as usual with his two police officers. This time they were sitting in the alleyway near the white lines, fully off of Watterson Street. As I passed them, the officers were playing with Antonio's shiny laser light, pointing it first toward me and then onto the parking structure.

After leaving the newstand, I noticed people working in the alleyway next to Scientology's Coachman building. I crossed the street and wondered over. I was trying not to break the injunction yet still see how work was progressing. Three people were working at the far end of the alley, laying bricks (engraved and otherwise) on the pavement. These people weren't in Sea Org outfits so I figured I was "safe" to be near them. Still, I made sure to stay more than ten feet away.

I asked them how work was coming and when all the bricks would be laid. The friendly worker said it was hard to say because they are far behind schedule. "I know what that's like," I replied. He explained that the bricks are being put in in two phases with the first batch to be in place when the "park" opens next month. A notice will be sent out to everyone who purchased brick at that time. The second batch is still being engraved.

I was pretty surprised to see how few engraved bricks were in place. The great majority of the bricks already laid are completely blank. I was told they would be replaced with engraved bricks as time went by. Well, that's how they handle the Hollywood Walk of Fame so why not this.

I walked about halfway down the bricks and counted only a couple dozen which were engraved. One was for the city of Clearwater, another for the mayor, still another for the mayor's son. There were a few bricks mentioning prayer and miracles. A couple for businesses. None praised L. Ron Hubbard nor mentioned Lisa McPherson. The layout of the bricks was ordained by an unidentified group. The workers merely followed the plot given to them.

As I walked back to the LMT, I saw Antonio and the police on high alert.

No longer were they sitting in the alley. Now they were all watching down the street for my arrival. As I approached them I asked the cops if they had been alerted that I was in the public alley next to the Coachman building. The male cop said no. He also said I could walk anywhere I wanted. I found that funny after all the injunctions we've been under this past year. The female cop said all she wanted was to go home.

Well, I let it pass and came back to work marveling at the the efficiency of the OSA team hard at work, keeping tabs on me. My hats off to the OSA agent sitting at that bank of 100 monitors in the Fort Harrison watching me as I stood in a public alley. To monitor that many cameras, remote control the appropriate camera, and alert Antonio on Watterson to snap to attention can not have been an easy chore. Congratulations for making it go right!

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