Who Ya Gonna Call?

Time for an audit .. - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
FREAK SHOW WEATHER

It is May 24th – and I’m freezing. I’m wearing cargo shorts and a flimsy tee shirt. Normally in late May, these would be season appropriate. Whenever someone opens the coffee shop door, a frigid wind blows in. On top of this, North Texas has been experiencing rain, 60 mph winds and tornado alerts every other day. (Actually, rain every day). Did we do something to offend the weather Gods? My back yard looks like Bachman Lake. Even worse, the long term weather forecast says it will be like this all summer. I long for hot and dry days – guess I’ll just have to wait.

SQUIRREL BUSTERS ARE US

Yesterday I watched a documentary, Scientology at War. It chronicled the troubles of one man, 50-something Marty Rathbun, in quitting Scientology and starting his own church. Rathbun wasn’t just any old church member. He was a high ranking executive, running the Religion Technology Center. Among his many duties, was encouraging a code of silence among ex-members and patrolling the media for slanderous treatment of Scientology. He had several other duties but these were two where he became acquainted with a standard bag of dirty tricks.

I won’t go into details – whole books have been written. Rathbun alleges that the church used isolation, separation, detention, stalking, harassment, physical violence and various mind games against perceived saboteurs and loose cannons. Rathbun sheepishly admits that he engaged in some of these mind games himself and may have even added to the bag of dirty tricks. But during an intense audit session of a well-known celebrity, Rathbun had his fill – he concluded that the church was crossing a line into abuse and he no longer chose to participate.

THE WRATH OF XENU

Other senior church elders closed rank on Rathbun.. he was immediately demoted and placed into a recertification program. He was held in a closed compound where one needed executive approval to leave. He stayed in the program for a couple of weeks but saw its function as punishment and nothing else. He finally escaped by trailing closely behind a delivery truck on a motor scooter – the electronic gate stayed open long enough to allow him passage. Church officials were livid that such a previous high-ranking person had broken loose.

WEIRDER AND WEIRDER YET

One might think that Rathbun would disavow this nefarious religion and all it stood for. But he did not! He tried to set up an “Independent” Scientology sect. He had brought along some E-meters and was ready to do his own audits, primarily for other “escapees” who still held to some of the beliefs. XENU saw red – leaving the church was bad enough. Copying the business model was unthinkable. The church elders called such people “squirrels” and they had to be eradicated. So who did they call for this purpose? Squirrel Busters of course. The squirrel busters was a group of 5-10 people who would gather near his house and shout insults from megaphones. They would harass him as he walked to his car. The blog author is wondering if a court injunction couldn’t have stopped it but who knows what. The spin-off business didn’t happen as planned, and the squirrel busters probably also wore down Rathbun’s resolve. He quit the auditing business and now claims to be agnostic. He works on blogs and other personal projects in his semi-retired state.

IN SUM

Rathbun probably got a couple of scoops of what he dished out in prior years. It’s still a redemption of sorts to quit doing those things and admit the realities of the matter. Go forth and sin no more -- as the saying goes.

© 2015 Snillor Productions

Digging Dragnet

You have the right to remain silent.. - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
I can’t believe it’s been 2+ weeks since my kitchen remodel was done. Am thoroughly enjoying it, as I knew I would. Am now contemplating what would be involved to do a similar thing with my Spartan, spare master bath.

We are having incredibly weird, rainy weather – we’ve had tornado alerts and downpours several days running. My backyard looks like a swamp – it doesn’t drain well. Fingers crossed that it clears up in time for my afternoon walk.

OD’ING ON NETFLIX

On Cheers, I got all the way through season 10, and then lost interest. Sam and Rebecca were without any real chemistry. Sam’s character became bland and muted while Frasier, Cliff, Norm and Woody started to dominate the plot lines. Carla became more of a one-dimensional loudmouth where prior seasons had given better nuance to her character. The comic actor Ray Romano is right – it’s better to end a series while it still has a little fuel the tank.

I’m now watching Grace and Frankie, a Netflix original series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. I love these two ladies but their show is lacking some snap. It’s like a Coke that lost the fizz. The characters all seem sort of wooden and the plot lines are a little bit soap-like. I’ll still complete the series – see if they can jazz it up some. As an amateur screen writer, I would advise them to weave in a “B” or a “C” plot and involve the young adults more.

DRAGNET

My current “fave rave” is the 1967-1970 incarnation of Dragnet, starring Jack Webb and Harry Morgan. I have to specify which series because there was an earlier Dragnet radio show and other limited TV runs. For some reason, the late 60’s version captures my imagination. It’s Technicolor, I like the actor Harry Morgan and the 60’s backdrop makes for fun visuals.

The star, Jack Webb, was deadly serious in his delivery of the law and order message. He would smile or crack wise about once an episode – maybe talking about snack food or a leisure activity. Joe Friday was single, and Bill Gannon (Morgan) was married. Their personal lives were never really part of the plot line. Both Morgan and Webb were stiff and monotone in their demeanor. Webb had an interesting sway of the arms when he walked.

The show was fundamentally conservative and sometimes overly serious.. Replayed in 2015, there is much unintentional humor. Women are sometimes referred to as “dames” and a fellow police woman is cited for her nice gams. The show came out in a transitional era, so many depictions (women, minorities, college students) are amped-up clichés. The cars and clothing styles give insight to the changing world of the late 60’s.

The show’s content is compelling since the episodes were based on true events. Jack Webb is fascinating with his bulldog tenacity and dead pan line delivery. I’m just sorry they only gave this run four seasons – Webb shut the series down to work on other projects (e.g., Adam-12 – a Dragnet spinoff).

In Dragnet, Jack Webb was all work and no play – a bachelor square. In real life he was married 4 times and had a more colorful style. He died suddenly of heart attack at age 62, probably in part due to enjoyment of cigarettes and whiskey. He died too young but he left quite a legacy -- his show created a style and standard which many other police detective shows have aspired to. The much-parodied stiffness of the show was countered by fast-paced plot lines and good detective work. If the reader wants edification and chuckles all at the same time, catch a few episodes of Dragnet 1967.

© 2015 Snillor Productions