Funny, I tagged it fiction, but yes it actually is almost entirely true (names changed etc)…but, my impression was that the cop just didn’t know what the hell to say.

Memory is a very unreliable thing, so I try to be cautious when talking about the past, but in my mind, he looked unnerved about it and just basically didn’t know what else to say. It was a bizarre event, especially in that corner of the country where life was generally very slow and peaceful.

But, really who the hell knows. Ever since that day I’ve been fascinated by cults and the conspiracy theories about how cult activity is used…ties into “establishment,” and really at this point I don’t know what the hell the truth is and would not be shocked if you were right. That wasn’t how I remember my impression at the time, though…but hell that was a long, long time ago.