#holedup

The hostage crisis turned into an armed standoff as we watched the story unfold on CNN. We were the lead or second story on headline news for 7 days.

The spring air in 1997 was rife with madness. Comet Hale Bopp blazed in the evening twilight as members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult committed mass suicide in California hoping to catch a ride on the comet's tail. In far right West Texas a seperatist movement called "The Republic of Texas" had taken up arms and established an "embassy" a mile from my home in the Davis Mountains.

On Sunday morning, April 27th my wife and I left home for our weekly grocery run and were turned back by EMS pers0nell who said there was a law enforcement emergency and to stay inside & watch the news. Seperatists had attacked the president of our homeowner's association and were holding him and his wife hostage. Their home sat on a high ridge at the choke point where all traffic to the 9,000 acre development had to pass. The hostage crisis turned into an armed standoff as we watched the story unfold on CNN. We were the lead or second story on headline news for 7 days. On day 2 police told all residents to evacuate their homes until the "trouble" was over. Harkening back to Waco which lasted 50 days, my wife and I said no thanks. We would stay and defend our home. Just days before, the victim of the initial attack had delivered our monthly 1,000 gallons of potable water. We had canned and frozen food. I estimated that we could hold out for up to 40 days. Most residents "obeyed orders" and fled. The dozen residents like us who remained soon found that the government was not our friend. As 300 state troopers with APC's and black helecopters held a 7 day hootenany on overtime, we were not permitted to come or go to our jobs or to get provisions. On day 4 I watched in horror through binoculats as telephone workers with police escorts snipped the phone lines serving the entire subdivision. We were on our own. By day 7 with our power being shut off and on, I cratered mentally. We had guns, water and food but in the end it was a lack of mental and spiritual preparedness that could have wrecked our survival plan. That was the day the millitia surrendered.