A close call with an insane guy

(August 6th 2007)

I promise I will get back to my back journal entries but this is really screwed up, man. A breast cancer patient's ex-husband found out about what is going on here at the City of Hope thanks to me and to KTLA TV 5. One of the back journal entries was about the time the Morning News came here to broadcast. The SOB saw the broadcast back home in Barstow thanks to his satellite dish. He got the accurate picture of what the tents were like from me, though. OMG.

He brought a gun on campus and came looking for his ex. If it wasn't for the fact the thing was a souvenir from the Gulf War and kept poorly someone could have gotten killed. This time the Sheriff's Department did not come immediately. It seems like LASD has closed its substation here because of the need to guard the prisoners being held in various detention centers around LA County. The Sheriff's Department is commandeering recently built high schools because they are designed for security and keeping low value, low risk prisoners there. The violent ones are still going places like Pitchess and Twin Towers.

People are packing heat here. Loved ones and patients alike. People kept the fact to themselves but now that this incident happened and a few people drew their guns and helped out the security guards -- who aren't armed, btw...that's gotta change -- the cat's out of the bag. Wait. That's not a good metaphor post-Felix, is that? Sigh...

Now disarmament is going to be a concern of the staffers. I have mixed feelings about it. They'd rather have the professionals have the guns than the people but I'm not sure that a security guard is going to be better than someone who has some investment in protecting the community. Then again, I can understand why they'd be uneasy about amateurs with weapons walking around as an unofficial posse.

There's going to be fencing going up...something that hasn't happened in a history of City of Hope that goes back to 1913. They can't wait for pretty fencing...it's going to be ugly chain link fencing stretching the entire front perimeter of the compound, with gates for employees and a main gate for patients. They're going to check ID. Things are going to tighten up here. And the tents are going to be replaced with trailers that can be secured. However, I don't think FEMA is going to be able to keep up with our needs, the needs of the people hit by Hurricane Felix, and the needs of everyone else in the country.

There are rumors on the Net of detention centers hastily being built out in the Desert by the Department of Homeland Security. I can't get out there and check but that would make sense. The warnings are that if you are asked to relocate to a FEMA relocation center, tell them, "thank you, no." It's not mandatory, even according to the rumors. At least, not yet.

I'm going to have to go now. I have updates going all the way back from July 16th to the day Hurricane Felix hit Texas. I'll post them when I can.