I met up with Stephanie and her roomie and her honey in Sacaremento, last night….over some curry chicken coconut soup…mark and i told them about how we almost got arrested….
Mark gets this Loteria Cabal newsletter about cool, creative, artsy, wacky, underground events taking place in San Francisco. Our first semi-date was on a Thirftstore Olympics Game, organized by this group…I belieb it has its roots from Harry and The San Francisco Cacophony Society.
“Bangkok in Berkeley” was the name of the event. part 1 of my loteria cabal adventure involved Thai food and a Buddhist Temple…
Part 2 took place at Tilden Park. Most of our crew was dressed up as cowboy. After driving up to a spot, high up in the Berkeley Hills, we parked our cars to the side and everybody whipped out their water guns. Chu wanted to hijack the steam train that traveled through that neck of the park.
We found an opening in the fence and we headed for the tracks….we noted that the site lacked any “DO NOT TRESSPASS” signs….the park is open for everyone, yes?
As we pondered how to stage the train bandit scene – a conductor found us wandering in the bushes…he’s a friendly guy and he radioed our location to his boss, Ellen. We explained what we wanted to do and he led us through the tunnel and to a clearing where we could do our thing. When the train came around, the crew errupted into chaotic noise and yippe-ya-yahs and faking gun noises….Chu had the man in black tied up. The kids on the train were thrilled. They totally got their $1.75 worth!
Then the friendly conductor led us to the owner, Ellen – and she was pissed. She tersely explained that it’s a federal offense to tresspass and fool around on train tracks, no matter how small…..and with a sigh, she said she wouldn’t call the police. I kept my mouth shut and I tried to still the panic creeping up into my psyche. Harry, the smooth operator, apologized for our foolishness and thanked her for her understanding. We were escorted from the premises….
Folks now wanted to ride the train. So Harry checked in with Ellen to see if that’s ok – she said sure, as long as we kept our hands and feet inside the train….
So the train bandits bought a ticket….and road the train.