Sur les traces du fanatisme marche la révolte.
Johan Henrik KELLGREN


Day 41

am (Hot)

pm (Hot - 95F)

Rides = Bus
Arrival = San Francisco
KM travelled = 1292
$ spent = $2.00
Time passed on the road = nil
km walked = 8



It is shaking


As the sun rose and things got brighter, I noticed that Tom had vanished. I picked my stuff and walked back by myself toward downtown. I needed to go to a bank and change my funny money for the real thing. I needed some cash to eat. The streets had calmed down a bit but people were still sleeping amid chip bags and cardboard. Kleenexes were rolling in the middle of the streets like tumbleweed in a ghost town. At 10 am I entered a branch of Bank of America, an old building with big sandstone pillars and shiny granite floors. I was still tired from not sleeping and I felt light headed from not having eaten anything in a while. As I was waiting in line I was thinking about the exchange rates. At the moment the rates were lower than in previous years. It meant that I would get less 'Real' for my 'Funnies'. Even a few years ago, I remembered the Canadian dollar was worth more than its the American counterpart. Two years ago the rate was 0.93 and last year 0.88. Now I was lucky to get 85 cent for my dollar. I was lost in financial thoughts when the floor started to shake a bit. At first I thought because I did not eat, that it was me. The movement was subtle, but then it became more like a trampoline. Nobody was talking but we could hear the clinking of loose objects shaking. The granite floor was undulating as if made of soft material. The clerks looked nervous. It was bizarre, we all kept looking left and right for the source, or the cause of what was happening, as if knowing the origin would protect us from any danger. Then it stopped. There was a shot of silence and then the joyful clamour of everybody in the line up and behind the tills. It was an earthquake! It was quite exciting. Everybody in town started talking about it. The radio said that it was the biggest quake here in 68 years, 5.9 on the Richter scale.





As soon as I got my money, I went to McDonald's. I was devouring my friendly meal when a young couple came and sat with me. They did not have trays of food with them. They were Sam and Julie and they said they were with the C.A.R.P. (The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles). They were really nice and wanted me to join them at their house for a lunch. I gulped the last bite of my hamburger and said okay. They had a huge house, up on a hill, and there were a lot of people already there. I mean the whole place was filled with people my age, on the couches, on the floors, in all of the rooms. Everybody was smiling and talking to each other, it was a really nice feeling. A woman was walking through the crowd with a platter of tuna sandwiches. I was still hungry and I grabbed a couple. Then somebody stood up on a chair and said: "Now let's welcome our distinguished speaker." We all gave a round of applause. The speaker arrived pulling a black board on wheels behind him. He looked like a professor, a stocky man with a dark goatee. He got into the matter of things very quickly. He said that he was really pleased to be here with us and was going to explain God's Nature. He started to scribble things with his white chalk; circles, squares, connecting lines and whirlpools of energy. He was quite involved with his presentation. He spoke about the Divine Principle, Sin, and the Internal and External Form of Things. He talked about Mr. Moon. I thought that he was talking about going to the moon or something like that. I asked Sam for some clarification and he said with a big smile: "No, not the Moon, but Mr. Moon. He is the New Messiah." The presentation lasted way too long and the woman with the sandwiches was nowhere to be seen. We, the audience, had much more to learn. Anyway, at the end of it, the speaker said that the workshop we were going to attend was going to change our lives. That was the first time I heard about a workshop. I asked Sam and he said that I was very lucky to have come at this time because they were all leaving this evening for the workshop. He said that I should come with them. It smelled fishy. I said that I could not come right away. This was the signal for Sam and Julie and a group of others to try to persuade me into staying, into going, into joining, into being together, into following my destiny, into allowing love and freedom into my heart, and so forth. I finally made it through the door with the promise that I would come back for the evening trip. I walked back downtown.


What to think...

I went to hang out in a public square. There were people having lunches, people basking in the sun, buskers of all sorts; musicians, acrobats and beggars. I met an older man, named Adam and I told him about my Moonie adventure. His eyes opened wide and he grabbed my arm. He said: "Jesus Christ! You really went there? These guys are mad, they kidnapped youngsters like you and they fucken brainwashed them! Are you all right?" We talked for a while about the madness and the danger of cults. He told me that was their usual technique; 'feed you well at first, and then starve you to take over your mind.' Now that I knew what was going on over there, I felt like going back to play their game. I left a note with Adam giving the Government of Canada and my family the permission to remove me from the sect. I dated and signed the note and included my social insurance number. I told Adam, "If I am not here tomorrow at noon, I would like you to give this note to the Canadian Embassy." Adam did not think this was a good idea but agreed to it. When I left he said, "See you at NOON tomorrow!"

I walked back up the hill right into the eye of the hurricane. The house was bustling with activity. There were white panel vans at the doors being loaded. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the door I was assailed by 'members'. They were all very happy to see me again, saying that my return was meant to be. They kept coming one after the other, in pairs, and in groups and I kept saying no. They hands were warm, their voices were soft, their eyes were kind. It was a real struggle to not succumb. I felt that I was tied to the note I left with Adam, that I had a responsibility to Adam, and my family in not joining. The time of departure was approaching, somebody was going through the house, in each rooms, clapping his hands together and saying: "Let's go people, time to go!" There was a real sense of urgency and emergency. I ended up in one of the vans. A bunch of us were packed into the cargo area. Sam was there still trying to convince me, and I was still objecting. The driver of the van who was making fast turns, suddenly stopped and said to one of the other leaders, "Kick him out." The side door opened and I was promptly ejected onto the sidewalk. The van sped off under cover of darkness.

I went to a hamburger joint to have a coffee. I didn't want to go to the Youth Hostel, I was trying to save my money. I thought that I could stay up again and maybe sleep in a park tomorrow. Then I met a woman who invited me to her place. When we arrived she got a shock. All the mirrors on her ceiling had fallen into pieces on her bed. She said, "The earthquake!" She picked up the mess and offered me a beer. After few minutes I got a shock, when I realized that she was a transvestite. I told her that I would get going. She was nice and did not make a big fuss of my innocence. She invited me to finish my beer before leaving. I did and then went back out into the night.

- Daniel




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