Bill Hulet Editor


Here's the thing. A lot of important Guelph issues are really complex. And to understand them we need more than "sound bites" and knee-jerk ideology. The Guelph Back-Grounder is a place where people can read the background information that explains why things are the way they are, and, the complex issues that people have to negotiate if they want to make Guelph a better city. No anger, just the facts.

Friday, May 6, 2022

Cult Smashers: Part Twenty Three

When Nate and Sally got to the auditorium they were greeted at the door by some nice folks who sold them some tickets. They’d showed up a bit early, so there wasn’t much of a rush. That meant they had a little time to chat with the ticket people. They asked if they’d like to hear about other, similar shows? If so, they had a sign up list where they could leave their names and email addresses. Before Nate could say anything, Sally stepped right in. “That’d be swell, my name is Barbara Yatzy and my young nephew is named Fred Whitehand. My email is B.Yatz@operamail.com.” She looked over at Nate and asked “Why don’t you give them your email, Fred?” He tried to hide his initial surprise at the fake names and address, but he was quick on his feet, so he played along. “Yeah, it’s NotHereNow@gmail.com.”

There was a table with coffee and cookies near the ticket sellers, so Sally headed straight for it. Nate followed along. She whispered to him as she handed him a cup of coffee. “I gave you a shove and you didn’t lose your balance. Good. Now I want you to play along with your new identity all night. You are Fred Whitehand and nothing more. We are just local yokels here for a lark. Now I want to loiter here around the coffee and see if we can hear a little more about the other people who come in.”

Sally had the two of them indulge in fake chit chat until she saw a short, dark-haired woman show up. She wore a bright, embroidered vest, very ostentatious First Nation’s mukluks, a big silver celtic cross around her neck, and, a flashy gold ring with the zodaic sign for Aquarius on her left hand. Her face had a peculiar quality, almost like she had a smile permanently painted on it---like a child’s rag doll or an old-fashioned marionette puppet.

Nate noticed that she was very animated and spent a lot of time talking to the people selling tickets. It was obvious that she agreed to share her contact info, because the two ticket sellers wrote down her info on a clip board. After she’d left the two of them, she went straight to her seat up front. Sally noticed that the person with the clip board made a point of going back to the clip board, pulled out her cell phone, speed-dialed a number, and , left a text message.

She turned to Nate. “Let’s get seated. I want us to be directly behind that woman up front.”

&&&&

Furthermore I say unto you, the Climate Emergency must be dealt with!

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