Har, and my picket report is late too!

400ish flyers handed out.

I see you shiver with antici ... (SAY IT!) ... pation.

Okay, we were a more than little late getting started this morning. Mea maxima culpa!

I met Mike, Kaeli, Zeratulcat at the usual place. Also met Raptavio who was visiting as a neutral observer with camera. Said hello to the officer (6017), and told him we'd be fashionably late, then was unfashionable.

First, my staples for the staplegun to assemble the new signs disappeared.

(Life has been busy so I didn't have time to run down to Gregg's to pick up the usual ones, I thought an extra set would be handy, and I wanted to try a couple new sign-slogans) I split and went to Canadian Tire (uber-hardware store with their own currency) bought a heavy-duty staplegun which was clearly marked to take 1/2" staples, bought 1/2" staples. Fool that I was, I never tried them in the store. It didn't take @#$&% 1/2" staples! (I'll take it back -- but I'll spend more of my cost/time returning it than the thing is worth!) Second, I left a $cientology Costs a Mint/The Human Cost of $cientology master with Kaeli and asked her to pop around the corner and have some copies made. Turns out that the local copy shops have changed to only open after 11am, even if you offer to pay with Marcabian Palladium!

Ever see the move Clockwise? That sort of day.

In the end, it was sorted out. Mike arrived with copies, Kaeli borrowed some nails and the signs were assembled -- for which I owe a Big Favour to sources unnamed.

Mike (ex-member) especially liked the sign "Free Test" (red) "Expensive Cult" (black). Since it mimics the Co$ signs, and preempts their "Free Stress Test" come on, I think it works. (And since the flyer du jour was Costs a mint/Human costs, it was apt.)

Right! At 11:30ish we began. On hand were the usual handlers. Dansai666 was there, mellow in an almost Hawaiian shirt. Andy Hill wasn't there that I saw.

The harridan was there. She was a hoot! She was standing behind me at one point and asked why I didn't look her in the eye and talk to her. "Because you're standing behind me." Duh! (I hope Raptavio got that part on film.)

I do confess that after several cycles of attempting to talk with her, I only talk at her.

When I did turn around, she didn't want to play. But then I guess questions like "Why are you here on the Saturday of a long weekend? Who told you to be here?" don't have easy answers. :^) She did promise to review any evidence that I brought that Hubbard made false claims. She does have a MOO about hearsay evidence, but I'll attempt to have a page by page list of things for her to check by the next picket.

She'll probably insist that I have a copy of Dianetics in my hand to point at -- Phhfftt! They've got many copies on the table in many languages right in front of the org. I read it 20 years ago, and I'm certainly not going to buy another copy.

At 1pm, we broke for lunch at the usual place. Heck, I might as well say the Artful Dodger because there was a person sitting behind me who only had plain water the whole time we were there. (If it had been fancy water, there'd probably have been a lime on the glass.) That's rather unfair to the staff, don't you think? I hope he left a good tip. I would have bought him a round, since it's traditional (established by Bob Mittens), but water?

Okay, Raptavio's note was a tip off, but the guy was kind of .. obvious?

We didn't get back until 2:15, because we had Slack.

Shift change. Harridan gone, Dansai666 gone, others gone. New shift.

Brian, who doesn't get a shift change, claims to lurk in ars (rather than just the briefing report from INCOMM), and is wearing the hat of junior DSA in spite of what he might say ;^), took the time to dis Mike to me.

Accusations of phone calls and dog poop. Sorry, sources close to Brian said that. Brian carefully managed to avoid directly libeling Mike while indirectly trashing him.

If you have any proof, get him busted Brian. Seriously. I don't tolerate harassing phone calls or stupid vandalism, no matter who does them -- no more than I tolerate fraudulent use of credit information. (Is that just Gwen Jones, or is all of Church of Scientology Toronto responsible for that?) And as for comments about tarring with the same brush, I think that brush strokes two ways. I didn't see Peter Ramsay lurking around the org today.

I didn't see Mr. Hipcheck either.

I did see a few Sea Org in Full Dress uniform. No jackets however.

And after slagging the Toronto Org for years, I must say that so far as I can tell, they've fixed all the windows! Hip-hip-hoorah! (Is second elevator fixed?) Other than that, I can't figure out what all the scafolding was about or the green net.

We stopped at 4:30, but remained while Mike was finishing a conversation with a passerby.

15 minutes after we left, the org cleared out.

I must apologize to the Toronto Org for our late start. It would be a cheap prank to announce a picket, and then not show. Since we don't get paid for this, and have no German / Psyck / 12 Banker / Markab masters, sometimes things mess up. Blame Canadian Tire -- I have some of their money! I apologize for the hour and a half that you stood around waiting for Godot, er, picketers. You must have felt like a right bunch of charlies, and I'm to blame. I'm sorry.

Okay, so I'm grinning a little here. But I would like to thank the Toronto Org for a well conducted counter-picket. It was all peaceful, and that's the way I like it. Thanks also to officer 6017. He's done this before, and kept a position that allowed him to scan the whole route. (Also out of the sun, no flies on him!) His manner was of "don't even start to think about starting trouble on my beat", and oddly enough, there was no trouble. (But if there are any young female officers near the top of the extra-duty roster next time, I won't complain. :^) Ron of that ilk.

Free Test. Expensive Cult.

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