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some of my story in scientology

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
Meeting Henning Heldt DGFUS and Marty Greenburg

I'm sorry this is not in date order, it is coming out in snapshots, after writing one here, the next one comes out...

There was another project I did... I got a message from Mike Smith that Henning Heldt wanted me to go to his home up in the hills for a meeting. Seems that during the postulate check era, when Alex Sybrski (spelling) was CO Contl, and the PAC Area bank accounts were all at Crocker Bank, that the accounts were a mess, and no one could reconcile them.

During the postulate check era, during a reg cycle, people would say they did not have any checks with them... and the reg would whip out a blank counter check, where you fill in the numbers and names and ABA number of the bank. Often people would fill these out just to be rid of the registrar. Anyway, most of these things bounced, and errors were made keeping track of them. The number of bounced checks was so huge that Crocker bank asked Scientology to LEAVE.. and closed the accounts.

After a check would bounce twice, you could not deposit it again, HOWEVER, it can be put in for collection on what is called a Collection Item Form, and you under 'instructions" you can say "Hold for ten days awaiting funds" - 30 years later I had just one guy bunce a check on my Lerma Audio Video business, and I went to my branch and told the teller what I wanted to do, she said it "it can';t be done" so I asked for the Branch Manager, the branch manager told me it can't be done, so I told HIM to call his superior at the main office and ask. He did, and then when he got off the phone he sheepishly produced a "Collection Item Form" and filled it out as I described.. and I put that check in for a third time... with "Hold ten days awaiting sufficient funds" (it came back unpaid anyway..)

Marty Greenburg said that of all the spreadsheets that were turned in from the various Orgs, mine from Pubs US were the only ones whom he did not have to 'fix' before filing with the IRS. I said thanks but why am I here. I was told they wanted me to reconcile the rest of the crocker accounts. So I was working in a trailer behind ASHO for a few months reconciling bank accounts. I used to be good at this sort of details I suppose hyperfocus is good for some things, but not any more.

I believe this project was after I had been canned as FBO Pubs US... At Pubs booksales were good and I used to send checks payable to Hubbard to Society Anonyme in Luxembourg I think it was though Lichtenstien also comes to mind. I think over a year and half at Pubs I sent over $100K to "Ron" for his royalties. Book Account policy says that the purpose of the Book Account, other than getting Hubbard his royalties and printing more books in ever larger print runs.. which makes more profit, is to have money for book advertising. Pubs was sitting on over 100 K at the time... which using inflation adjustment is like over half a million now... and the Pubs us warehouse didnt have any more room to store larger print runs.

There was so much money in that account at Sumitomo Bank that the bank would open their doors after they had closed to let me in to do business. I was 21 years old?

I recall the books then were printed at Anderson Ritchie and Simon printers, on cream colored paper in Bodoni typeface. I wanted to run a book advert in TV Guide... in a city edition.. The advert was $500 or $1000 or so, I don't recall, the Guardian's office would not approve it ( I did not know, at the time about the mess going on with Paulette Cooper's new book (at the time)) The guy that was the AGF ASHO is here on ESMB now... anyway, there was a big fight, as I said to hell with the GO and placed the advert anyway.

Also, that expensive book advert sold exactly one book. A single copy of Dianetics was sold to the head of The Montessori Institute..

The gal that was CS2 Vickie Polemini was arguing on my behalf, at the time I was married to A/CS2 Ensign Sue Swift. (this is a whole chapter) Well we both got sent to the deck project force on the Bolivar.


The DPF was what was used for 'rehabilitation and punishment" before the RPF policies were published. I thought, "They sent me to the ship, YIPPEE! On the Bolivar, yes, I had to chip paint and yes I had to clean cold metal shavings out of the bottom of the bilge under the main engines, but I loved the boat... the independence, the security, the engines.. and because of my technical background, I didn't do much paint chipping etc, but ended up acting as Chief Electrician and keeping the generators running.. I did not find out until years later that the reason we had an ex-navy subchaser for a (shore story) training vessel, was because it was supposed to be the PAC Area GETAWAY vehicle for PAC Area $cientology. ( per Scott Mayer who told me this 30 years later.)

On the DAY the now dreaded RPF policies (which have kept some for many years) arrived in the inbox of the supervisor in the DPF course room on the boat, I finished my DPF tenure...I saw the RPF Policies sitting in her inbox as I was at the examiner to be finished with the Deck Project Force...
 
here's a picture of the Bolivar - mims

http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/011230.htm

1201123004.jpg
 

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
The Bolivar was a speedboat, 174 feet long and narrow, had a hellish ride at sea when underway.. It had two 2000 Hp turbocharged 16 cylinder desiel engines. Used compressed air for starting. To go into reverse, you stopped the engines, then shifted the camshafts 2 inches outward, to bring a set of cam lobes that were cut for running in reverse over the injectors and valves.

Anyone who has watched Das Boot, will recall the scene where the engineer turns a knob on the side of a cylinder and flame shots out. Each cylinder had a valve, you opened the valve to see if the cylinder was actually firing, as flames come out. If, while underway an injector clogs up, you could open the valve, relieving the engine of compressing air for ignition that would not occur... thus preserving the horse power you have left, then you could pull out the injector and fix it and put back without stopping the engine.

On the trip down from San Francisco, I was exposed without knowing it at that time, to my first exposure to binural beat meditation technology as used by the Monroe Institute. The engines made a a load roar, which would be centered at the speed they were running, - Flank speed was 800 RPM. The engines were manually synchronized with each other but would vary, and sometimes be the alpha frequency of 8 hz different.. and it would generate the most pleasant trance state. Mesmerizing. I recall loving being down in the generator room, ahead of the main engine room when the door was closed, and spacing out on the hemisynce binual beat generated by two 2000 hp engines running 8 to 14 RPM different from each other.

When cresting waves at sea, the bow would come up out of the water, the screws would dig in and the boat would accelerate, a LOT, things on the table would slid backward towards the stern, then when we would crest the wave the bow would dig into the next wave and we would slow down, a LOT, plus the screws would come up out of the water, and the engine governors would throttle down.

So not only were we weaving port and starboard but we would go fast and slow... it was not pleasant going to the bathroom as the water in the toilet would occasionally levitate... On weekends, we might go to Catalina island and then come back, - Old navy men in the big Chris Craft would want to drag race us.

While out at Catalina, offshore, the officers and those who had weapons, would spend some time shooting at some piece of rubbish we tossed overboard.

The Bolivar was eventually sold to Sir Richard Grey, the younger brother of The Earl of Grey as in Earl Grey Tea. Sir Richard, who described himself as a "Jolly old fart" asked if someone might help him with his new acquisition and somehow, I do not recall the circumstances but that someone ended up being me.

Sir Richard Grey told some great stories and we became friends. He said when his older brother kicked the bucket he would become The Earl of Grey. I asked him what he did for a living, and he said, that he was a British sovereign and had a relationship with a gal, his, ah, companion, in whom he had placed all his American assets. Seems Sir Richard had opened a retail porno shop in LA somewhere, and the Mob came around - as the mob controls all pornography on the LA Basin, they looked at his shop and said, look, we know who you are and that is why we are not going to shut you down, just, don't expand, don't open any other store and we will leave you alone.

Sir Richard came to Hollywood after writing the screenplay for the first hit movie version of Oceans Eleven, the one that starred Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Frank Sinatra robbing a casino in Las Vegas.

Sir Richard also said that he started making his fortune in what he described as The Nicotine Navy in the Mediterranean during WWII, and later was employed by British MI5. In what he called "the Nicotine Navy" he would run cigarettes and contraband, across the Mediterranean from Marseille to allied troops fighting Rommel in Africa. As a smuggler, he said he made a fortune. He was the closest thing to a James Bond type that I ever met, oh yeah, he did say that in those Ian Fleming books that the exploits described were pretty close to things that actually happened in The Service.
 
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after posting here a somebody emailed me and I wrote a long answer telling some of my history in the sea org...I'll paste it here and tidy it up a bit, so I can link to it instead of writing it again...there are already so many keystrokes without repetition...

those that KNOW the pattern have an ethical obligation to inform the public what they are dealing with..

I lived a relatively pampered life in the sea org because I had technical skills no one else had..that's why my story inside is not there..

I joined up in San Francisco, on the Bolivar in the harbor, there was a song ""Ride Capt'n Ride". the author denies its about that voyage, but Capt Scott Mayer claims that he and Capt Bob Young and the crew partied in a San Francisco bar with that band after hours till sunrise.


Heres picture of Captain Scott Mayer, the year was 1970, after he got out, he lived here for a year, with me. He passed away sitting at his desk of a heart attack a few years ago.

The First two years - I was chosen out of a lineup of new recruits on the Bolivar and boom.. I was an FBO.. Whats that? Oh, counts money. I can do that. Pat Broeker worked in my office. We were pals. Went out on the weekends. This was before the FBO office turned into the "Finance Police"

Pat was FBO PubsUS (Now new era) and I took over from him. There was a child as CO Pubs US who was too young for the job so I ran it. I wrote checks payable to L Ron Hubbard for royalties which would clear thru Societe' Anonoyme in Luxembourg or Lichtenstein. I fought the guardians office, and got canned, and sent to DPF (before there was an RPF) The RPF completion policies did not come down lines until the day I left the Deck Project Force on the Bolivar.. Yeah I had to scoop up some of that cold, and filled with sharp metal turnings from the main engine bearings,
bilge slime..Very exciting stuff - not.

My most pleasant moment was being the Chief Electrician on the Bolivar, a 174 ft Twin Screw Motor Yacht - an ex navy subchaser, which, incidentally had been procured, as Hubbard's PAC Area Get-away-vehicle... - Get this, it was not a training vessel, it was the get away car for the scam of scientology! "Training vessel" was the 'Shore story"... anyway, one time we went out to Catalina, and were racing some of the old navy guys in the chris craft...there were these two huge engines, 2000 Hp at 800 RPM.. what would happen is because of direction of the boat and the current, the load on the engines would be different, and one would turn at a different speed than the other, this made this amazing
8-20 hz deep baritone vibration that went straight through my whole body. It induced a deep trance and was extremely pleasant and pain free
to hang out down there when that was happening... 25 years later I experienced the same pleasant state courtesy of Robert Monroe's
meditation tapes..

There was a wonderful friend who rode motorcycle, Ed Brewer.. a tough guy, and a gentleman who too no rubbish from anyone, after I left, and years later, I found out he had an accident on his motorcycle and was bleeding badly.. the panty-waist Sea Org buffoons argued about the publicity problems and whether to call an ambulance, they called the ship first, for 20 minutes meanwhile my old pal lay on the pavement and bled to death.

I was a reg to the stars in hollywood and I was NOT a very good reg. FSC WUS, I never understood why I stayed there so long for years...
I was bait.. on public lines...as FSC WUS it never dawned on me why they put me, with some skin color, with a jewish kid with a terrific sense of humor, named Hy Levy in the front window hallspace of the Hollywood Inn, on the boulevard.. and no curtains. We were intended to make scientology look like something other than a neo-fascist group of all white boys at the time.

I got sent to the RPF in 74 and told them to (curse words deleted) I called up the Chief reg at ASHO and told her I'd gotten RPF'd and she
said she had been also, we told the execs to (curse words deleted), and we got into Pat Broekers old van and drove to FOLOEUS, walked in and
said PAC has gone mad, got work? Did liability formulas ! HAH! we really had no idea what a bleedin rat-hole FOLO EUS was.. and made the best of it.

Staff looked starved, everyone was lank and thin. except the CO Lt Cmdr Al Bornstein... who after leaving scientology had a sex change.

The food was so poor, I lost the ability to digest meat, I already wrote this somewhere.and when I bought a nice steak one day, I ended up in the hospital, the doctors eventually decided that I did not make enough stomach acid. And if you don't digest it, you don't absorb it, and if you don't absorb it it rots and poisons you.

To keep from starving I started making metal sculpture and selling on the streets of New York, I used to workcaddy corner from the Village Vanguard, under the awning of the San Marco Cafe.

I spent 2 years as OTC's new york buyer "Flag Logistics NYC I/C" Imagine, I'm in the sea org, get up when I want..I went out when I want, I don't tell anyone where I'm going "shopping for OTC" and I make them give me money and I went shopping for Ron's fancies...bumming around
new york city for years..spent a lot of time in a certain beatnick coffee shop in the village..and I have no idea what my 'stats' were...
but they were ordering all this electronic stuff, and many gallons of 100% ethyl alcohol non-denatured (drinkable) 200 proof, supposedly for cleaning tape deck heads? But I had to locate cases of this stuff and ship it to the Apollo...I wondered what all that booze was for...
and I went out to buy it. Lots of weird electronics parts nobody else even knew what this stuff was..let alone have the nerve to ask me
to count them..on thursday..

Those were the last two years..

One day one of the external comm guys told me that Suzette wanted me to call her. I said, huh? what? He said, yeah, she's over at RONY.. which was RELAY OFFICE NEW YORK, across the inlet from Manhattan.. Hubbard was there for a bit hiding out in disguise and Suzette was there for some reason at a different time.. Anyway, I called her up on the number I was given...

She answered the telephone and explained that when she was at Flag she was the SO1 I/C and that they had recived a letter from me, and they had no idea what I was talking about. I hestitate to describe it...but it was a drawing of a device I saw in my dreams that would have peculiar effects upon space-time. Anyway, she was curious and wanted to meet with me and explain it to her. So we agreed to meet.

She took the train into manhattan and met me at a coffee shop like "Three Brothers" on the corner, you know the kind...Good, simple food. And sitting there I explained the letter to her and why I sent it to her dad. Something else happenned during that meeting. She had the most incredible green eyes. And like a cat, I was mesmerized...and aparantly, so was she... and we began dating. I suppose when the powers that be found out, they shipped her back to Flag.

It was shortly after she was shipped out of town and we cupld no longer see each other, that I got sick and hospitalized. I took a "medical leave" and rented an apartment down the street from FOLOEUS over NY Org at that time.. and did my metal sculpture full time, when Suzette suggested that I come down to visit her at Flag.

So got a ticket to Tampa. Showed up at Tampa airport, found one of those white vans, and told the driver who I was and that I was on a medical leave and wanted to visit.. So, now I was a visiting Sea Org Officer from Folo EUS and got assigned to a petty officers dorm at Flag... (Geeze, I was not impressed with the Mecca of Technical Perfection's Petty Officer dorm..) And we carried on our relationship. Meetings in stairwells...to plan where to meet later that day...

After a few days there at Flag, Suzette and I had gotten our blood tests and marriage license... and now had to wait 48 hours under Florida law to get married. During this time, she spilled the beans during rudiments. God bless her, she provided the 'shock therapy' that allowed me to leave that madhouse...sometimes I think she did it (she gave up the w/h in her daily auditing that we had gotten blood tests and license to marry in) because she loved me. LINK

During the ten years being out, i never thought much about scientology, and tried to package up all that rubbish into a gunny sack and held in at the end of a long pole over my shoulder so I would not see it. But there was some pain.

and after being out for ten years or so, I thought I was strong enough to help expose the simple fact that there are no OTs in Scientology, just a dwarf.



Do any of you recall my voice back in 2000 saying that (in clearwater)

No matter what thy told you about us, we were taking extreme risks financially and personally to try and let you know that life is far better outside of Ron's dream world of lies.


CPO Arnie Lerma
FBO Pubs US
Flag Missionaire
FSC WUS
FSC EUS
Flag Logistics IC NYC

and now
Arnie Lerma
http://www.Lermanet.com Exposing the CON
WE COME BACK
for our friends and family
to get them out of scientology
before they end up here:
http://www.whyaretheydead.net


Please check back, this is UNDERCONSTRUCTION..

so are you bragging or complaining?
 

Moosejewels

Patron Meritorious
Ride Captain Ride by The Blues Image. Great tune.

"73 men sailed up from that San Francisco Bay ..."

Thanks for your story.

Wasn't that song referring to the USS Peublo, electronic survellience ship, that was

captured by the by the Chicoms or some such thing. Or, as is probable, my time

line is askew :):)
 

ClearedSP

Patron with Honors
Wasn't that song referring to the USS Peublo, electronic survellience ship, that was

captured by the by the Chicoms or some such thing. Or, as is probable, my time

line is askew :):)

After looking into it a little, I'm not sure what ship to think of.

The Pueblo had 10 more crew than that, and doesn't seem like it goes with the lyrics very well.

The Bolivar, as a military ship, had a crew which was several smaller than that, but more significantly, it wasn't bought by the CoS until April '71, a year after the song came out.

The authors say they made it all up, based on nothing real.

:shrug:
 

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
After looking into it a little, I'm not sure what ship to think of.

The Pueblo had 10 more crew than that, and doesn't seem like it goes with the lyrics very well.

The Bolivar, as a military ship, had a crew which was several smaller than that, but more significantly, it wasn't bought by the CoS until April '71, a year after the song came out.

The authors say they made it all up, based on nothing real.

:shrug:

No, that is helpful.. I wouldn't blame them on saying they made it up, would you?

I wouldn't want to be associated with $cientology in any way if I could avoid being associated with it. Scotty told me the story originally and Capt Bob Young confirmed it. It was the most successful recruitment tour, and they had placed extra bunks in what had been a oil tank or water tank, but the 70 some people, and the recruitment event was rained out . Woodstock was summer (late) 69.. you know, I may have had my join date for sea org wrong.. I was having trouble fitting some time working at FCDC...so It might have been winter 71/72... I recall staying in San Francisco waiting for the boat to come back from Seattle...The events depicted in the song occurred on the trip UP to Seattle when they stopped in SF.

Thanks you have helped decompress some time, so then I actually joined SO winter 71/72... that considerably helps my memory of other events... And.. all that wiki page would have to do is be off by one year on the publication date for ride capt ride... for all this to fit together, and no matter what wiki says, I would tend to believe two old friends of mine who both told the same story...plus the song lyrics fit that boat at the time...and it makes a damn good yarn.

The other possibility is Scotty an Capt Young heard them play their cover song in that bar that night and then thought the song was about them...then add a quarter of century of memories...still the lyrics still fit.

"We're callin' everyone to ride along
To another shore,
We can laugh our lives away
and be free once more."
But no one heard them callin',
No one came at all,
'Cause they were too busy watchin'
Those old raindrops fall.
 

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
So Arnie, you said you almost married Suzette - what ever happened to her? I know she left the SO, and I thought I'd google her image to see what she looked like - but the shots were like a postage stamp. Perhaps you have a better one? On the tapes Hubbard talks about Dianne, and I knew her husband Jon's sister and occasionally he talked about Tintin, but not about her. Perhaps you could fill the vacuum?

Mimsey

Suzette and I went to a doctor and got the required bloodtests and filled out and filed a marriage license, but never got married. Telling Suzette we would not be doing that was the deal I made under duress - I was offerred safe passage out of the state of Florida with all body parts still attached. It was, at that instant, an offer I could not refuse. It was also at that instant that I woke from the $cientology dream and made the decision to get the hell out, alive, at any cost.

Someone did send me some pix of Suzette a few years ago, they looked great, but, frankly, I did not contact her... Why? do you really want to know? - After all she has gone through in $cientology, I did not want her to be targeted, hassled, made miserable, etc, again, by the empire of greed and their psychopath asthmatic dwarf for being in contact with me.

Though it would make a hell of a last chapter of the book.

Arnie Lerma
 
Suzette and I went to a doctor and got the required bloodtests and filled out and filed a marriage license, but never got married. Telling Suzette we would not be doing that was the deal I made under duress - I was offerred safe passage out of the state of Florida with all body parts still attached. It was, at that instant, an offer I could not refuse. It was also at that instant that I woke from the $cientology dream and made the decision to get the hell out, alive, at any cost.

Someone did send me some pix of Suzette a few years ago, they looked great, but, frankly, I did not contact her... Why? do you really want to know? - After all she has gone through in $cientology, I did not want her to be targeted, hassled, made miserable, etc, again, by the empire of greed and their psychopath asthmatic dwarf for being in contact with me.

Though it would make a hell of a last chapter of the book.

Arnie Lerma

She was getting auditing at AOLA about 3 Christmases ago.

I've heard she has left (the Co$) since that time.
 
well, Thanks for the update - I knew she was living in the LA area and out of the SO, but beyond that, not much. It would be cool if she was out, and I can appreciate your not wanting her to be harassed. OSA and Co. can be such pricks with their petty fair game BS. It seems months will go by, then I hear about some new 3P they are spreading about me. I never understand why they don't give it a rest. It's not like I am out there protesting, contacting scios and raising a ruckus. But when you have a org based on the writing of a vindictive paranoid ol' SOB, should I expect less?

I hope she is doing well.

Mimsey
 

Don Crom 3rd mo can

Patron with Honors
:wow: Am I glad I finally clicked on some of your stuff, brought back memories of the good old days before the shit storm blew through.

Ed Brewer's manner of death seems typical of the cowardice that runs rampant in the SO, I knew him on the Excal and yes he was a larger that life character, and a man of character. My fond memory of Scott Mayer was his "ease of approach" (he didn't *talk down* to me at least) and his standard reply of "Whatty" whenever you addressed him as Scotty. I'm sure he was sick as hell of the ever present *y*, but he dealt with it with humor.

My time on the Excal was 1.74-2.75, Apollo 3.75-12.75 and FLuB 12.75-4.76 and I don't recall ever crossing paths, but we've certainly tread on the same decks. Alas, all my time was spent in the Engine Room's, hence my interest in the Bolivar, never heard her run or rode underweigh. But would have truly loved to. Main engines on the Apollo were *simular*, 98 rpm was cruise speed and it had a every relaxing beat.

I would have liked to have had an old 544 Volvo to tinker with, always did like that "'48 Ford" look to it. 160k?? Hell, thats low miles for a Volvo. Can't remember what state, Conn? Mass? somewhere in NE US, a guy who bought a P1800 new in '63 (or maybe '66) who has dealer documented 1 million miles in '82. (Volvo Corp.gave him a new one) and a documented 2 million miles sometime in the last 10 years, to the best of my knowledge the ol P1800 is still going strong.

I'm a relative newbie here at ESMB, lots and lots to read, I will make it a point to "catch up" with what you have written, and hope to chat more with you, in the mean time. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :biggrin::coolwink: C-Ya DC
 

Mike Goldstein

Patron with Honors
Re: Chased by Rampart Pd

After the E-meter Mission, I spent some time in training... at the FBO Continental Office, present at the time were Gary Lowe, whom I had met at FCDC, when I was called in because there was an ex-marine who nobody could break up on TR-0 bullbait. I don't recall specifically what the silly routine I did was, though I recall A rather effective silly routine that talked about, suggestively, the benefits of Spanish Paprika...
Gary I and a friend of his, the one who owned a Ford Econoline Van, which was "tricked out" 1969 style, with baby moon hubcaps and beauty rings..., a skylight, shag carpet, a bed, cooler, and Corvair bucket seats up front and it was shiny yellow... Gary and I drove cross country in late august, early September, to join the Sea Org in San Francisco, on the Bolivar...

Our trip took us from Martha's Vinyard, to St Louis, to SanFrancisco. Being 19 -22 year olds, we chose to live off the land, driving from college to college, bumming meal tickets from good looking ladies to eat in the cafeteria, everyone was "new" at the beginning of the year so we fit in just fine. Probably the best time we had on the trip was at Washington University in St Louis... but that will take a whole X rated chapter to describe.

Our favorite driving music on the 8 track cassette was a Canadian group named Spirit. Here is our favorite driving song - to join the Sea Org...

[video=youtube;kDQUg3h63TI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDQUg3h63TI[/video]

Also in the FBO Office was Mike Goldstien, (he posted here and we are still pals, see IDENICS Thread) Pat Broeker and Frannie Broeker, we all worked for FBO W/O Mike Smith and his wife - dang... I forgot her name, also Chris Rutkowski was FBO CCLA, David and Holly Judd, there was an FBO at LA Org... forgot his name, and a Canadian, Ross Anderson who was FBO AOLA.

Ross Anderson used to have a one lung motocycle, a BSA Victor 441, I was told, years later, that $50,000 cash was found missing from the safe at AOLA, and that Ross was last seen driving away on his BSA Victor never to be seen again.

Charlie Hodge - that was his name, the FBO at LA Org, he had a 1958 Volvo, it looked much like a 40's ford coupe, LINK to an image, a PV544 - he sold it to me for $100, as I had taken over Pat Broker's job at Pubs US, when Pat went to Continental to be Org Officer Continental (I think).. And as part of our duties we had to be able to take the money to the bank, which was Sumitomo Bank down on Grand Street in downtown LA so I had to have a car and I still had some money left.

One time driving from ASHO Pubs US office, on West Temple, across the street from the Rampart Police Station, I had a close encounter with the police. I was driving south on Rampart going back to Continental Offices that were at 811 Beacon street for dinner at the mess hall in the back of 811. Perhaps I did not quite make it through the yellow light at Wilshire Blvd, and a police car gave chase, turning on its lights and siren...

Well, being a good, upstat, Sea Org member, and determined to MAKE IT GO RIGHT (per Hubbard's Supreme test HCOB) I floored the old (160,000 miles) 1958 Volvo, I knew I could not out run a police car, but I also knew the Volvo was famous for having extraordinary suspension, and long trailing arms holding the rear axle, so I turned left into an alley, paved in bricks, lumpy and rolling, and went like hell... bounding and bouncing through the alley ways and on occasion not checking for cross traffic...stayed in the ally until I got to Beacon Street...I made it into the dirt driveway of the US Continental FBO Office, which was across the street from USLO at 811 Beacon. I skidded to a stop, jumped out of my car, and there was a crowd of Sea Org in uniform, standing at the back having a smoke before dinner, and I joined them and whipped out a cig... The policecar then pulled into the dirt driveway. They saw the Volvo, and a cloud of dust in the air, with no one in it and then saw the group of 8 Sea Org members there, including yours truly, all in blue Sea Org officer's uniforms, and didn't get out of their car.

I was very lucky.

I never said much about this while I was "in"....and never got in any trouble for it.

tbc

Dear Arnie,

I just happened to see this post, and the FBO LA Org was Charlie Hodge, non-SO, and Mike
Smith's wife was Gene Smith.
Hope that you are doing well.

Mike
 

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
When I left the Sea Org, I took long walks through the neighborhood I grew up in, which happened to be the nightclub district in DC, Georgetown... I walked into a rock'n'Roll joint on the waterfront in '78 and was offered a job... stayed there till 81..

Seems the venue was torn down years ago but is STILL making waves:

LINK: The BAYOU Documentary (See 2nd video clip on that page)
 

Lermanet_com

Gold Meritorious Patron
PUBLIC NOTICE: Anyone reading this that has posting something and are pissed that I didnt reply or didnt notice something it is ok to remind me cause I've talked to lots of people and am getting bad with names. I would prefer to be pestered than have someone think I didn't give a damn... and if you post something and want me to read it, its okay to let me know...

HOWEVER - Silly questions by folks too lazy to use google will be ignored.


So Arnie, you said you almost married Suzette - what ever happened to her? I know she left the SO, and I thought I'd google her image to see what she looked like - but the shots were like a postage stamp. Perhaps you have a better one? On the tapes Hubbard talks about Dianne, and I knew her husband Jon's sister and occasionally he talked about Tintin, but not about her. Perhaps you could fill the vacuum?

Mimsey


Yah know, it was a long time ago. There are snapshots of days and moments... that I recall vividly, like a wonderful dream, where all things became possible but it was in this physical dimension, but I would prefer not to share them.

Suzette struck me as intelligent, irreverent, quick and witty, - and way too attractive.
When we met, and sat down in Three brothers for coffee, I believe we were both hearing violins playing in our minds..and there was something about the way she smiled and walked, with eyes that went on forever.

Arnie

:wow: Am I glad I finally clicked on some of your stuff, brought back memories of the good old days before the shit storm blew through.

Ed Brewer's manner of death seems typical of the cowardice that runs rampant in the SO, I knew him on the Excal and yes he was a larger that life character, and a man of character. My fond memory of Scott Mayer was his "ease of approach" (he didn't *talk down* to me at least) and his standard reply of "Whatty" whenever you addressed him as Scotty. I'm sure he was sick as hell of the ever present *y*, but he dealt with it with humor.

My time on the Excal was 1.74-2.75, Apollo 3.75-12.75 and FLuB 12.75-4.76 and I don't recall ever crossing paths, but we've certainly tread on the same decks. Alas, all my time was spent in the Engine Room's, hence my interest in the Bolivar, never heard her run or rode underweigh. But would have truly loved to. Main engines on the Apollo were *simular*, 98 rpm was cruise speed and it had a every relaxing beat.

I would have liked to have had an old 544 Volvo to tinker with, always did like that "'48 Ford" look to it. 160k?? Hell, thats low miles for a Volvo. Can't remember what state, Conn? Mass? somewhere in NE US, a guy who bought a P1800 new in '63 (or maybe '66) who has dealer documented 1 million miles in '82. (Volvo Corp.gave him a new one) and a documented 2 million miles sometime in the last 10 years, to the best of my knowledge the ol P1800 is still going strong.

I'm a relative newbie here at ESMB, lots and lots to read, I will make it a point to "catch up" with what you have written, and hope to chat more with you, in the mean time. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :biggrin::coolwink: C-Ya DC

Don, sorry I didnt answer this posting, I dont keep track of replys well, sorry...


Were you on the trip down from San Francisco?

I know your name, but it might be from reading Flag orders in my in basket.. I was only on the Bolivar and Excal and briefly at FLB during Suzette love affair.

Ed Brewer taught me to be a pretty good shit welder, he had a great sense of humor.. but most of engineer types were sortah salty dogs.. irreverent, even about scientology....(1)


Warmest regards, arnie PM for contact details


Correction to a previous posting, link for Bayou documentary is here
“Bayou” airs on WETA (Wash DC) – Monday September 16 at 10pm
And I havent seen it, but in the Video they show a couple bands playing where I was working as a bartender... One of them was Root Boy Slim and the Sex change Band... And Dire Straits


(1) Note: On the north side of Cleveland Ave there is a newsstand
Run by an exengineer from the Apollo after they offloaded him and he said
"You guys arnt getting rid of me so easy"
 
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