I have been to America several times. The first
was as a refugee in early wartime, returning by convoy across the Atlantic to join the RAF in 1942 when old enough to do
so.
Returning
to the US almost right away
in wartime, I was sent to Oklahoma
to learn to become a pilot.
I was back
there again, post-war, to be married in front of the fireplace at my great
friend’s house in New Haven .
A Jewish gentleman who we found through the Yellow Pages conducted the
ceremony. Then four of us went to New
Hampshire on honeymoon.
Back once
more in America ,
this time with a baby, I was with my now ex-wife who was a Post-Graduate Fellow
at Yale. I shudder to recall a cruel, hoax telephone call there, supposedly
from the Police Station, to inform me that my wife had been shot and that she
was in a critical condition. When I telephoned the Police Station to learn
more, they knew nothing of it. Matters like that, and thus the sound of an
American telephone bell with which the incident was connected, stay in one’s
head for ever.
Then came a
visit once more, this time with my new wife.
So, one way
or another, quite a part of my life has been spent in the USA . And I have
had close connections with it through almost weekly correspondence over some 60
years with my great friend, the recently deceased and much honoured historian,
Edmund S. Morgan.
Perhaps it
was those first few years of Rob’s life in Connecticut that was
the magnet that drew my firstborn back to America . Or was
it the lure that seems to catch the young of this world – a New
World , glamour, riches, fame and all the rest (mostly as seen in
the “movies”)?
I have
found most Americans to be extremely friendly, but the country, despite a
common language, very “foreign”. I have never felt really at ease there.
Perhaps it is the sheer size of the place, and the feeling of just being merely
a consumer.
Be that as
it may, this slightly wayward “American” son of mine, after London work as a
bicycle dispatch rider (averaging 80 miles a day) to find the Company with whom
he would like to work with his computer (and did), then decided to settle in Los Angeles , California
Being very
imaginative, artistic, creative and resilient, he found sporadic work with his
computer, designing record sleeves, book covers (including four of mine), work
behind bars (as a barman who spun bottles and glasses around the place),
running restaurants, making films, designing and making scenery for TV
commercials and much else.
Then he
found his true métier – as a prop
master, specialising in fake explosions (blowing up a Boeing 747 airliner being
his largest) and general ordinance – canons, hand guns, and all the things that
go flash and bang. He was in his element, and happy as a sand boy.
He wrote
that he had just landed a job as prop master for a major film, and that there
was other film work in the offing. There was even interest in him writing his
autobiography.
We then
heard from a great friend of his in London that
he was in a Los Angeles
jail.
He managed
to send me a letter as he was awaiting trial. It was folded into a small
square, and pencil-written in capital letters on lined paper torn from an
exercise book.
His
following words, with his permission to print them, speak for themselves:
Dated 14 of September 2012
IT WOULD SEEM THAT I AM IN THE HANDS OF THE AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT, I WOULD SAY “JUSTICE SYSTEM” BUT I AM NOT WITNESSING MUCH OF THAT
AT THE MINUTE. JUST WHEN I HAD IT ALL WORKED OUT AND FOUND MY WAY FORWARD IN
LIFE. IT SEEMS THAT I MAY BE BACK TO SQUARE ONE. WELL, I SUPPOSE MY LIFE HAS
BEEN ANYTHING BUT NORMAL SO FAR AND I SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED BY THESE SUDDEN
TURN AROUNDS.
IT ALL BEGAN THREE WEEKS AGO WHEN I WAS ENTERTAINING MY
NEIGHBOUR AND A FRIEND. WE WERE HAVING A FEW GLASSES OF WINE AND I WAS TELLING
THEM ALL ABOUT MY NEXT MOVIE PROJECT. AS THE AFTERNOON CONTINUED, I STARTED TO
SHOW THEM THE PROPS I WAS GOING TO USE (MOSTLY PLASTIC GUNS, AMMO AND FAKE
DYNAMITE STICKS). IN AMONGST ALL THIS WAS ONE WORKING SHOTGUN WHICH I ALSO USE
AS A PROP ON TV SHOWS.
THE GUN APPEARED TO BE JAMMED SO I TOOK IT OUT TO THE
BALCONY FOR A BETTER LOOK. WHEN I FINALLY MANAGED TO RELEASE THE PUMP ACTION IT
WENT OFF AND SHOT INTO THE AIR. LUCKILLY NO ONE WAS HURT AND IT SHOT STRAIGHT
UP. IT SHOCKED US A BIT AND I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS A SHELL STUCK IN THERE.
ANYWAY, WE THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT AND TOOK OUR DRINKS DOWN TO THE POOL AS IF
NOTHING HAD HAPPENED (JUST ANOTHR GUN SHOT IN HOLLYWOOD ).
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MOVIES. FROM THE
POOL WE COULD SEE HELICOPTERS BUZZING ABOUT AND THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT. JUST
ANOTHER NORMAL DAY. ANYWAY, A FEW MINUTES
AFTER WE GOT BACKTO MY FLAT THE DOOR OPENED, FOLLOWED BY A FULL SWAT TEAM WITH
ASSAULT RIFLES AND RIOT GEAR. WE WERE ALL CUFFED AND LED OUT INTO THE STREET
WHERE THERE WAS QUITE A SCENE, ROADS CLOSED OFF, TENANTS EVACUATED, PRESS
CAMERAS FLASHING AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE BOMB SQUAD. IT WAS CLEAR AT THIS POINT
THAT THE CITY HAD SLIGHTLY OVER-REACTED TO THE WHOLE THING.
APPARENTLY, YOU ARE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT OVER HERE.
SO I WAS HAULED OFF TO JAIL WITH ACCUSATIONS OF SHOOTING AT CONSTRUCTION
WORKERS, HELICOPTERS, AND BEING INVOLVED IN TERRIORISM… GREAT!
IT SEEMS THAT ONE PRESS HELICOPTER HAD TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY
LANDING BECAUSE OF ENGINE FAILURE. BUT THAT’S REALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH ME.
THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SO NOSEY.
SO HERE I WAIT FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER MONTH WHILST THE LAWYERS
STRIP AWAY ALL THE OVERDONE SENSATIONALISM AND SEE IT FOR WHAT IT ACTUALLY WAS,
A NEGLIGENT ACCIDENT.
IN THE MEANTIME THEY MOVE ME AROUND THRU THE SYSTEM AND
BECAUSE OF MY PRESENT SECURITY LEVEL I AM IN WITH GANG MEMBERS, MURDERERS AND
ALL KINDS OF FUN PEOPLE. I CAN’T HELP THINKING THAT THIS ENGLISHMAN IS SLIGHTLY
OUT OF PLACE HERE. MOST PEOPLE IN L.A.
HAVE BEEN IN JAIL AT LEAST ONCE AND FOR CELEBRETIES IT’S REALLY QUITE
FASHIONABLE. AND I HAVN’T BEEN IN ANY MAJOR RIOTS YET, WHICH IS GOOD…
I GUESS I HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS WHOLE THING AS A NEW
BEGINNING WHICH IS JUST THE START OF ANOTHER CHAPTER IN MY SOMEWHAT COLOURFUL
LIFE.
DUE TO THIS “ONE SECOND” INCIDENT I HAVE MISSED OUT ON A
MAJOR FEATURE FILM IN CONNECTICUT
AND AM GIVING UP MY LOVELY FLAT AND DISPERSING MY POSSESSIONS AMONGST MY
FRIENDS.
THE CRAZY THING IS THAT I HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG THIS WHOLE
THING WILL TAKE, MAYBE A MONTH, MAYBE YEARS… I WILL KNOW MORE AFTER THE HEARING
IN A FEW WEEKS. UNTIL THEN I WILL WRITE OF MY EXPERIENCES AND TRY TO STAY
POSITIVE IN THIS HELL HOLE.
LUCKILLY, I HAVE SOME VERY GOOD FRIENDS WHO ARE TAKING CARE
OF MY AFFAIRS AND DOING DAMAGE CONTROL ON MY REPUTATION (WHICH WAS RATHER GOOD
BEFORE THIS). ANYWAY, I’M SORRY IF THIS HAS BROUGHT ANY EMBARASSMENT OR SHAME ON
LOVE TO EVERYONE AND I MISS YOU
ALL VERY MUCH.
(DON’T WORRY, I’VE BEEN THRU WORSE THAN THIS…)
Almost two months from being
arrested he was moved to a jail, away from murderers and gangsters to where he
was able to “get some sunshine and walk around a bit”
Then, after
three court postponements, two and a half months behind bars, and a
considerable reduction in bail money from the initial $250,000 (yes, two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars), he was out on bail pending a (hopefully)
final court appearance. (Surely there’s grist to the mill in all this for a
book, a play, or an autobiography.)
It
seems that he was having to pay for the gross misjudgement and expense incurred
on the part of the LA Police Force, having mistaken him (a prop master) for a
terrorist (his rooms were filled with props, including fake guns and
make-believe explosives).
Shortly
after being released on bail, he telephoned to say that he was in the
mountains, trying to re-adjust to life outside prison. There would be two more
court hearings. But he sounded very up-beat about the future.
We
then heard that that he would be back in court at a date a month away – being
four and a half months after his arrest. Then he would file a notice for
dismissal, when they would make an offer (whatever that means). The court (or
police, perhaps) retained his passport. With the court case looming it was
difficult for him to get any work.
In
early December 2012 Rob telephoned to say that, despite being on bail, he had
found a job and created an explosion (his speciality). He hoped that his case
would be settled out of court before the trial date. And due to frightful
murders of school children in Connecticut ,
he was no longer public enemy number one, and even somewhat of a hero when
welcomed back by his friends after his feat of endurance in jail.
At
last the date of his trial arrived (8 January 2013 after 5 months and 4
postponements) – and went. We heard nothing. Was that good or bad news?
Then
an email arrived. It said:
Went to court in front of the
beak yesterday, all is looking good. They are going to reduce the charges or
possibly dismiss the whole thing, but the legal system takes forever here. I
have to go back on the 31st Jan to finish the whole thing.
Then I get my passport back just
in time to fly to Costa Rica and host a new National Geographic show on a
volcano.
Wow, talk about cutting it
close…
(signed) The Hollywood
Terrorist
The trial day came – and went.
We
waited for news, and waited, and waited, and waited.
Four
days later rumour reached us that all was well, but that he was now a person of no importance.
Again we
waited – this time for confirmation that all really was well.
Then,
seven days after the trial, Rob telephoned, through a very low volume and bad
line, to say that his passport had been returned but that he was still on bail.
But
the trials are not yet over. They will be two-pronged – a hearing with
Immigration and one with the department that deals with the misuse of firearms,
of which one will involve a fine and the other a short stay in a more
comfortable jail. He added that the system from which he is trying to free
himself is the second largest money-spinner in America after religion.
Then, on the
21st of February 2013, a card arrives to say that he was off to Costa Rica to
co-host a pilot adventure show for National Geographic, hiking through the
jungle, through crocodile-infested streams, then up a volcano and back down to
hunt a prehistoric fish in a volcanic lake.
Another card
arrived in mid-March to say: “Filming went well. Greetings from Costa Rica .
Still on Bail”.
We heard
through a mutual friend that it was best not to communicate.
It was not
until the end of June 2013 that we had a telephone call from him to say that he
was staying with a friend in West Hollywood
and that there were still court matters to deal with. But he was optimistic –
as he always has been.
Almost
immediately we received an email of his description of the horror and humour of
Californian prison existence, saying that after his two months in jail he had
been to court four times with no result except postponement.
The document
continued to describe a truly frightening tale of injustice and extreme
hardship, told with great humour. He had managed to record the happenings when
he was moved from one jail to another.
His brilliant
bit of writing should, hopefully, find a much wider audience. For my part, I am
unable to blog a transatlantic parent’s version of events until he is clear of
the courts, just in case, with such international eavesdropping at present, it
could prejudice the outcome of the courts.
Then, toward
the end of July, we get a telephone call from Rob to say that a penultimate
court case would be held on the 12th of July – a day before his
birthday. But the news of it was bad. He would now have to face a jury in
court, with all the expense that that would entail – to the benefit of lawyers
and court. He would have to appear a week after this communication. And for
such a resilient character, he sounded very depressed. He was being treated
very badly by the law in a country that he loved, where he wanted to work, was
happy, and where he was about to become a proud citizen before he inadvertently
and harmlessly fired a gun. And this was in a country where people are lawfully
armed, murders are rife, and crazy gunmen kill, seemingly for the pleasure of
it.
On the 22nd
of July 2013, after almost 11 months after he was handcuffed and clapped in
jail, a bargain was struck and he was a free man.
This bargain
seems to be that he would admit to the negligent discharge of a BB device in
the air, which would mean that he would no longer have to face a court and
jury. He would be on probation for three years and have to pay for the services
of his arrest.
After his
dreadful ordeal he is at last free of the courts and the American legal system.
The
conclusion is simple. You set foot in America at your peril, and if you
are Rob, it seems – even more so.
