Hello, Hank! Here are my observations regarding certain IRRITATING customers of your coffeehouse: it is best to REFUSE SERVICE to these kind, or they'll wind up walking all over you, drive GOOD patrons out, and wreck the business you work so hard to maintain and achieve SOME profit. Here are THREE customers you need to turn away post-haste:

1) Woody a.k.a. "David". He acts VERY wild, frighteningly so at times, right in front of your establishment. I'm sure you've witnessed his loony antics more than once! Bad for business, I might point out. RARELY purchases anything, yet frequently occupies a sidewalk chair. His hook into your cafe is to offer you items he either steals from households, or finds discarded on the streets. Your being kind by tolerating his visits and letting him use the restroom only serves to strengthen this hook, and pave the way for more blatant cult members to use your place for their hangout. And as an ANCHOR in this particular neighborhood.

2) That nasty lady with her loud-barking mongrel she tethers right by the doorway...giving ALL customers a serious headache. Remember when I confronted her, and she snapped: "Sir, a lot worse things are going on in the world, than a barking dog!" Yet I doubt she'd ever address YOU, the manager, that way, should you bother to confront her yourself. ("Sir, a lot worse things are going on in the world, than my driving out customers and ruining your business!") You need to tell her you refuse her patronage unless she leaves the dog elsewhere.

3) Last week. That big, filthy, smelly guy eating noodles from a cup with his hand, while ordering a large coffee. He pushed wads of ramen into his mouth, noodles spilling down his coat and onto the floor. He also SPOKE rudely. If you don't stop serving such customers, you'll wind up losing all DECENT patrons, and ultimately, your business. You need to look him directly in those hideous eyes and state: "Sir, I refuse to serve you. Now go before I call the police."

I know this is hard to believe, but there is an intelligent PLAN behind these clowns. And that is the CULT which I have discussed with you several times, and which is the main thesis for my work in progress, "Friendly Ghost Detective Agency". One effective strategy is to infiltrate neighborhoods based on most folks' DISBELIEF in their existance. (Disbelief is the weakest link in resisting telepathic chicanery.) If you observe over time these fools' behavior, you'll eventually discern a PATTERN, and see the connection from one seemingly-random street thug to another.

Example: Woody and Joker work TOGETHER (though they seem as strangers to each other) to scare good folks off Church Street during nighttime...that the cult may drug-run this area with little opposition. BEHIND these two jerkwads is Chris...that bicycling, large blond dude who made a failed attempt to kill me on the eve of December 23rd. You saw the damage to my forehead.

And behind Chris is GYPSY, the drug dealer operating out of three gay bars (Eagle Tavern, Hole in the Wall, Metro), and one straight or mixed (Lucky 13, few doors up from the Metro). FYI, Chris's main COHORT in the Church Street Corridor is another large white dude, ROMAN. (They now share the same apartment, a recent development NOT good for me!) Neither frequents your coffeehouse BTW, though both DO stop in now and then for some coffee-to-go.

As I said, This Cult (which I coin "Disciples of the Zodiac Killer" for good reason) plays on people's DISBELIEF as one strategy to sneak around and infiltrate whatever locale they choose. They manipulate disturbed and sub-intelligent humans, many homeless (ALL unemployed, some on disability) to sabotage establishments (such as yours), and spy on AND harass those The Cult fears are in the way (such as yours truly). They REWARD their puppets with food, money, drugs, all three or whatever (maybe temporary shelter). They'll employ some obnoxious dude (or dudette) to enter your cafe and behave as his or her usual, ill-mannered self.

If you refuse them service and drive 'em outta there, you WIN. But if you remain silent and serve them what they request, The CULT wins. For they realize now that you're most likely a pushover, thus YOUR place becomes THEIRS through obfuscation and surreptitious occupation by more and more of These Enemy Forces. Putting up with blatantly OBNOXIOUS patrons is an obvious weakness These Zodiac Disciples take FULL advantage of, like rats to an open garbage bin.

These living zombies will occupy your coffeehouse in greater and greater numbers, until you have NO CHOICE but do THEIR bidding, or lose your business. Believe me, if you DON'T set your foot down SOON, they'll be running YOUR show in record time. And don't think for a moment the POLICE will save your skin. Cult Members have ALSO infiltrated the SFPD. What few GOOD cops exist are usually NOT assigned to this beat. Though having a RELATIVE in The Force may prove most beneficial for your business. I'm sure he's one of the good guys.

Former owner Hisham put up with these goons, thus earning Muddy Waters on Church a reputation as Nutjob Haven. This is what you've unwittingly inherited. You are paying for Hisham's years of irresponsible management, through no fault of your own. As you probably know, Hisham owns the small chain of three Muddy Waters coffeehouses, now numbering two. If you visit the one on Valencia near 16th, you'll be darkly impressed with the foul characters who frequent that den of thieves. For whatever reason, there seems to be a small CABAL of Muddy Waters devotees...hopping from one to the other. They are neither friends nor relatives to Hisham, nor do Muddy Waters cafes have any distinctive allure above and beyond the numerous coffee shops that dot this unfair burg. Except one (I surmise): they TOLERATE dipwads, thugs and hoodlums. It just occurred to me: maybe Hisham is selling off ALL his coffeehouses precisely BECAUSE he's been overrun by Cult Disciples and their minions...and he wants OUT!

By standing up to these vile curs, the WORST that will happen is a window may get smashed, or there MIGHT be a 1-minute hissy fit display by whomever you evict, before they exit. (I trust you are insured for vandalism.) Unless you refuse service to these ill-kempt types, I'm afraid Church Street Cafe will become progressively MORE dangerous, not just for me (as I'm their target at present) but for ALL good customers. And as a consequence I will cease hanging out there, since they will deny me peace of mind until I depart...AND scare others away from me, who I attempt to befriend. No doubt hit-man Chris is actively broadcasting his enmity against me to Joker, Woody, Dane, et al. So that ANYWHERE I hang out in my own neighborhood will soon be dangerous, if not already. I DID foresee this possible outcome, and am willing to accept it for the sake of a Greater Good. A Goodness which shall eventually overwhelm and drown Mine Enemies like a tsunami of Bodhisattva warriors.

I hope you regard me NOT as a nuisance, but as a concerned and longterm inhabitant of Eureka Valley, doing his UTMOST to turn things around, back into the wonderful neighborhood I remember (from the late 70's), before all these violent heteros and drug-dealing queers took over. Ah, the legacy of Reaganomics...how it lingers on, like A Leech From The Devil's Own Hot Tub!

Another way The Cult uses disbelief to their advantage: they perform devious schemes as WEIRDLY as possible, so the victims seem like screwballs and charlatans, should they report the incident to authorities, friends, or just about anyone else. The listener will either regard said victim as an egregious poop-stirrer, or one who craves attention at any price. The LAST thought that would ever occur to them (if it occurs at all) is that this strange incident actually DID happen exactly as described!

There is SOME degree of telepathy involved--in truth, a CONSIDERABLE degree--which Zodiac Disciples ALSO play to their wicked benefit. They can broadcast hateful thoughts about GROUPS of people (such as homosexuals), as well as to specific individuals (such as myself). Chanting "Hate Zeke! Hate Zeke!" via their psychic transmissions, while imaging my face in their mind's eye, has the deleterious effect of people (even strangers) scowling at me en passant...and they don't even stop to question WHY. Here's how the trick works:

The vast majority of people are NOT properly educated about Discipline Of The Mind. This is intentional, a form of social engineering by our government to dumb down the masses, make them easier to manipulate. The Zodiac Cult piggy-backs on this crippled state of mind, planting malicious seeds in the typically naive and unsuspecting hearts of your average citizen. Since their minds are NOT disciplined to discern between good thoughts and bad thoughts, and ideas that arise from within versus those drifting about the ether...they are easily duped to believe ANY thought that occurs is ipso facto legitimate and should be acted upon. So if they have a strong "feeling" of bias AGAINST me, they don't stop to dwell on why this emotion. Instead, they instantly conclude I must be a bad guy, thus their HATRED is completely, unquestionably ACCURATE.

The most VULNERABLE to such telepathic suggestions are those who don't BELIEVE in telepathy/psychic phenomenon (such as atheists). Again, this factor of disbelief! Be aware that ALL Cult Members themselves will deny the existence of paranormal powers. When they say "I don't believe in telepathy," they actually DO, but just want to hold the power SECRET for their own dark motives...keeping as many naive souls as possible CLUELESS in the process. It's like that haggard old time-worn ploy, "Evil doesn't exist, everything's relative." Begging one's pardon here, but since when does The Theory Of Relativity, a phenomenon of the PHYSICAL world, apply to ethical values, a SPIRITUAL concept? Cultural differences do indeed confuse the issue of morality somewhat, but that's just on the surface. The BASIS of all morality is common to EVERY culture w/o a single exception whatsoever (even cannabilistic societies). And it is this: The conscious intent to harm another is evil. The conscious intent to help another is good.

Please don't misconstrue my comment about atheists as condemnation of their non-spiritual world view. I am only pointing out the inherent VULNERABILITY in their conscious will to disbelieve. There are MANY truly ethical, compassionate atheists in this world. You don't ever need to believe in Goddess or any other spiritual concept to be a decent human being. I do claim however, that atheists have an incomplete conception of the universe...no doubt muddied by religious hypocrites, charlatan psychics and power-mongering cultists.

Final remark: Did you notice how BELLIGERENT Robert behaved towards you when he discovered the waste basket REMOVED from the entrance? That's the mark of a bully! The same sort of character Hitler employed for his Brown Shirts. Vagrants and the downtrodden, of the ill-natured sort. Hitler gave them JOBS and housing, in exchange to carry out the Nazi Party's dark orders. Intriguing to observe he recently moved right across the street, in that same complex housing Gypsies. I laugh to think of their neon sign all lit up to say PSYCHO instead of PSYCHIC.