The Sunday Scramble: Decision Day; A Brit In Moraga; Rock In The Bunker And Night Moves

Odd times provoking odd reactions here in the 24/680 News Bunker. Our normal go-to when things get strange is to crank the music up and dial in some Mexican food, that combo helping to spackle over the rough spots lately.

Like most of the nation we’re counting down the days to The National Decision and keeping our fingers crossed, monitoring the heightened political chatter on our pages and comment threads and noting that while it comes off as bombastic and, well, untrue we’ve also noted an underlying tone of weakness. So, positions may be shifting, despite Talking Heads opining to the contrary. We shall see.

With The Bunker pounding out Courtney Love’s Greatest Hits (we miss her bass player) and Matilda dancing to Rob Zombie we’re feeling stoked and ready to meet whatever comes, even if we are pre-positioning food and survival gear on the coast in case we have to Bug Out. We mean, you just never know.

Editorially, we’re in a Sub Rosa mode at present, undermanned and keeping our heads down while we filter into the neighborhoods in response to what has become the traditional 24/680 question: “My street is closed down and there’s a cop with a rifle in my garden, what’s going on?”

You have to keep in mind that the police, no matter how friendly they may be to us, just aren’t predisposed to cluing us in on everything they are doing all the time – leaving it up to us to somehow winnow out what’s happening on our own. People subscribing to our alert system apparently think we’re pretty good at that because those numbers continue to climb steadily, with more people flashing us back with observations, questions in real time. Most have found that approach preferable to the: “Does anyone know what was happening on 123 Everglow Lane the other night?” line posted to social media days after the fact.

This has become especially pertinent after a series of nocturnal incidents – some burglaries, some protracted chases, some stakeouts up to and including orbiting helicopters – that have disrupted several local neighborhoods in recent weeks. While it is not our way to divulge tactical information during these evolving scenarios we do think the public has a right to know why a whirly is lifting the shingles off their roofs and we’ll let you know, if we know, if it’s safe or time to duck.

And while we’re talking about the power of the Internet we must address how it has contributed to the “small world” vibe we often feel these days, bringing long-distance and disparate people together in odd ways. We’ve reconnected with old colleagues and even some competitors in recent days, traipsing giddily down memory lane while saying: “Dang, imagine that.”

There’s also something in those real-world, small-town connections we stumble into from time to time. In one recent case we found ourselves in a Walnut Creek “don’t I know you?” stare-down with a South African woman we skied with in Jackson Hole oh-so-many years ago. And, yesterday, chance recognition of a British accent in Moraga led to a exchange of shared experiences and off-the-beaten-track places that somehow culminated with a simultaneous, shared “Tanzania” and “Mount Kilimanjaro.” The memories remain fresh, and shared experiences bring people together – even years later.

And now, armed with tools and powers we didn’t think possible back in the 80s and 90s, we’re out and off into this New World of ours, still looking for stories and more of those shared memories we mentioned – eyes open and ready to see what the future has in store.