SP Declare / Pictures #2
[10 Aug 1996]

More camera fun, and a touch of sadness.

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From: Joe Muldoon <vic20@cyberconnect.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: SP Declare / Pictures #2
Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 20:57:35 -0500
Organization: The Garage
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<Sigh>
After all the bragging I did about taking photographs of the Church of
Scientology and enturbulating its members, I developed my pictures. It
turns out I had somehow screwed them up and only managed to salvage
three pics. Oh well, I thought, there's always tomorrow.

So today I returned, alone, to the Lincoln Ave. Church of Scientology in
beautiful Chicago, Illinois. This time around I brought a better camera
and four rolls of film. I was prepared for the worst after all the
entheta I had caused the day before.

I started my photo shoot by taken some shots of one the most beautiful
Catholic churches in the ChicagoLand area. Ironically this church is
kiddy corner to the Co$ on Lincoln Ave. Suprizingly, I was not
approached angrily by the priests and members within...

I mustered up the courage and made my way across the street from the
cult. I took a couple pics of the building and the staff started to
flood out of the building. A new guy I had never seen before crossed the
street toward me. I remembered the way I felt on staff -- solid and
strong and atop my world -- and felt sorry for the guy. He wore the
standard Scieno garb, Docker khakis, loose cotton shirt, and a
horrifically colorful tie. I knew what he wanted to say to me and I
didn't want to hear it. "Keep walking," I warned him. He walked past and
stood on the corner watching me closely, as if at any moment he could
take me out if needed.

As soon as I most of the staff were out in front of the church, I
decided to take a break. Walking toward the guarded corner, Sarah (the
Clear who had brought me in the church), crossed my path. "I don't want
to talk to you," I told her. I took a picture of her and the newbie
guard. "You don't have to," she responded, "just talk to the HAS when he
comes out." Oh no, I started to sweat. This was the man who had managed
to get me back into the church after numerous attempts to escape. He had
a knack for pressing my buttons hard.

"This is the SP you were talking about?" The new kid said to Sarah.

"Yeah, Joe," she stared at me with conviction, "you were declared for
not routing off staff correctly."

I was amazed at this. I was sure that I had been declared before, but
hearing it from a women I once admired dearly hurt me. And the reason
for my SP declaration was odd. Not routing off staff correctly? Is this
an adequate reason for declaring someone an evil being? Strange that I
thought I had to show numerous traits of a Black Hat to be declared.
Anyway....

"Yeah, I'M AN SP," I told the kid. "But I'm a really good person and
every non-scientologist I know likes me!" Imagine that. He just turned
away, obviously disgusted that he was now a PTS. Snap. Snap.

The HAS walked across the street towards me. I knew I had to face him
for the last time and let him know that I would never walk into the
church again. We greeted like men, with a handshake and smile. He asked
how I was doing. I said fine and returned the question. We chatted idly
for about 10 minutes. During our conversation the D/SA joined the kid on
corner guard. There was a group of five or more Scientologists in front
of the church looking in our direction.

"What are you going to do with the pictures, Joe?" The HAS asked me
curiously.

"For my personal use," I replied "The chronology of my life." I laughed
inside.

"What ever happened with that Cycle, Joe?" "You just sort of walked out
and never returned"

"I was disgusted with your Church and decided it was my time to wake
up," It told him.

"Don't you want to go Clear and OT?"

"NO"

Our eyes met and I sensed my point was taken. He walked away slowly. I
had handled him and it felt great!

Slowly the clams retreated and that allowed me to photograph the
building in peace. Through the windows I saw 10-15 people looking out at
me. Snap. I realized as I looked into the beautiful sky, on this perfect
day in Chicago, that I had the whole world around me. A world of
opportunities and adventure. They were trapped in their little building
and I was free! I walked down Lincoln with a smile on my face. I had
accomplished a lot this afternoon and left behind a mass of emotions.

As I passed by the church for the last time a car was struggling to back
into a tiny spot in front. After numerous attempts, the driver --
obviously flustered -- backed into a light post hard. They finally
squeezed it in and two young women emerged, giggly and vibrant. I made
eye contact with the driver as they walked into the Church of
Scientology.

I got on my bus and headed down Lincoln....

Peace.

-- 
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[ Joe Muldoon <Vic20> ]
[ vic20@cyberconnect.com ]
[ Keeper of the Garage (http://www.cyberconnect.com/jmuldoon) ]
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Joe Muldoon <jmuldoon@cyberconnect.com>
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