Page 10 RAIN February/March 1982 “What's yours? " said Dimmy. But then, not wishing to cause trouble, he added, "You guys know we don't want you in here, so what's up?" The officer noticed that Dimmy had a .38 revolver in a holster on his hip, and a green jacket like a National Park ranger's with a green patch reading “Bolinas Militia." "Fireworks," the officer said. "No permit from the county." Dimmy said nothing. "In my duty as a peace officer I'm obliged to check out these fireworks. Interfering with my duty is a criminal offense." "It might be, on your side of that line there. But on our side of the line, letting you in would be dereliction of my duty." Then Dimmy added, "Look, why make trouble? Those fireworks'll be over any time now. A little party, you know? It isn't hurting anybody. Why don't you just radio in that everything's under control. No hassle." The officer noticed that Dimmy had a .38 revolver in a holster on his hip, and a green jacket like a National Park ranger's with a green patch reading "Bolinas Militia." The deputy considered. Then he got into his cruiser, backed off a few yards, and talked to headquarters. Dimmy couldn't hear what was being said, but from the way the deputy looked around as he talked, Dimmy suspected he was planning something. Then he got out again. "Listen, we're giving you one more chance. Raise that damned bar or you're gonna be sorry." Dimmy stood with his hand on his revolver handle. "No way," he said. "We've seceded, brother. Just leave us alone." "We'll see about this secession shit," said the officer. He drove off in a hurry. Dimmy picked up a walkie-talkie in the guard booth. "We've had a little visit from the sheriff," he said. "Just one guy. But he checked with headquarters and I have a feeling they're coming back." About 45 minutes later, a heavy four-wheel drive pickup and two county cruisers assembled at the highway and headed in on the Bolinas road. They stopped 50 feet back from the guard box, their headlights pointed at the little structure, and hailed Dimmy on their loudspeaker. "This is assistant sheriff Dawson speaking. We are here on county business to investigate a complaint. Please raise that bar across the road." Dimmy stepped out. "Sorry," he said. "We've had no complaint. And this is no longer part of the county." "Put your hands up!" said the loudspeaker. "You're under arrest!" Dimmy ducked behind the guard box and from there scooted into the underbrush nearby. After a moment the pickup, which had a heavy pushbar mounted on the front, revved up speed and crashed through the wooden bar, followed by the two cruisers. From the cover of the trees, Dimmy could see that there were three helmeted men in each vehicle, shotguns at the ready. They roared ahead about a hundred yards, but then the lead driver braked to a sudden stop: a heavy log lay across the road. Just as he stopped, there was a rifle shot, followed by another. Two tires on the pickup sagged to the ground. The officers got out, cautiously now, whispering; it was dead silent except for a faint sighing of wind in the trees, and there was no moon. Heavy brush lay to their right, trees and hedges and the lagoon to their left. Not a happy situation—in fact, a goddamned ambush! There was a click, as of something being done to a weapon's safety catch, off in the bushes somewhere. The officers whirled in that direction, guns at the ready, but could see nothing. Dawson considered. There might be two snipers hidden out there, or a dozen. Some of these Bolinas people were harmless hippies, but others were Vietnam vets, and some of them lived in the country and hunted and knew guns. It was best not to take chances. They'd see about it in the daylight. If it got to be a real show of strength thing, they could use the helicopter. He gave orders, in a whisper. The men abandoned the pickup, piled into the two cars, and slowly backed up beyond the guard box. Then they turned around and drove away. □□ KNOWING HOME; The Pacific Northwest The Northwest Experience,!, Edited by Lane Morgan, 1981,192 pp., $4.95 from: Madrona Publishers, Inc. 2116 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 Northwest Perspectives: Essays on the Culture of the Pacific Northwest, Compiled and Edited by Edwin R. Bingham and Glen A. Love, 1981,247 pp., $7.95 from: University of Washington Press Seattle, WA 98105 These books give proof that, while still in its formative stages, Ecotopia exists—now. The Northwest Experience is the second and latest in a series of anthologies designed to "provide a forum for Northwest voices." (See review of the first volume in RAIN VII: 3:19). Among the selections are excerpts from the 1879 diary of James G. Swan, the Henry Thoreau of the Northwest coast; an analysis of Seattle's "Energy 1990" decision in 1976 not to buy into two proposed nuclear plants (the beginning of the end, we can see now with hindsight, of the WPPSS debacle); a wonderful retelling of the Coyote myths of the Chinook Indians; a semi-biographical article about Oregon's favorite former governor, Tom McCall; and an outrageous excerpt from the infamous FBI "Gamscam" transcripts—the Northwest's own little version of "Abscam." (Washington officials, of course, not Oregonians.) Other essays in this volume examine the condition of the wild salmon of the Olympic Peninsula, analyze the development of Columbia River hydropower, and explore different approaches to sustaining a healthy
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