Homeland Security in the Mission

"Their whole doctrine is to screw with your head. That's what they do," explained this kind agent, whose name I unfortunately did not note. He was ably directing traffic around the site of a bomb scare in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Last evening about 7:15 I came on this scene of a suspected explosive device which prompted Homeland Security to shut down the block of Mariposa Street between Hampshire and Potrero Ave.

Was the package found in the gutter behind a line of parked cars sidewalk trash or something more sinister?

Here is the scene outside the police line. I could not see the object in question, and when I rode by the Verdi Club a couple of hours later, all trace of this earlier drama were gone; the smokers airing themselves between dances in the club were blissfully unaware of the measures taken to ensure their security.

I felt like a killjoy when I asked if anyone had heard or seen the disposition of this nettlesome object, and when I explained to their widening eyes what was behind the question, instead of answering, they all nervously backed away from me.

I was tempted to echo the ICE agent who earlier had explained these precautions, "It's a new thing, you know."