894: I Couldn't Help but Notice
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeaped in today's episode of the show.
If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org. Back in June, Rick Cole was sitting in a meeting of the Pasadena Municipal Services Committee in City Hall there. That's about as dull a sentence as you could start a podcast with. But then things happen. Rick's a council member.
And I get a text that I glance at from the police chief to the city council that says, at 530, we're making a public announcement that there will be military exercises in northeast Pasadena. They will take place at St. Luke Hospital, but do not reveal the location. This is at 524, six minutes before the public is to be informed.
So you saw that and you thought, what?
What triggered Pasadena councilmember Rick Cole to alert residents about a surprise military exercise?
Well, I thought, that's really strange.
It's unprecedented that there would be military exercises in a residential area. That happens in America. But still, it's strange when it's your area, with no notice at all. The meeting ends. Rick runs to another event.
Meanwhile, I had told my assistant to post on our Instagram account that this military exercise was happening and to actually identify the location. And she told me, you know, they told us very sternly not to say the location. And I said, the people deserve to know where this is happening.
And did she post the name of the hospital? She did. Because you just figured, what are they going to do to me? I'm just going to do this?
Exactly. I mean, that's the way I've lived my life, Ira.
He's got stories. If you ever run into Rick, get him to tell you the one about how he tried to stop Christopher Columbus's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson from becoming Grand Marshal of Pasadena's Rose Parade. But I digress. Anyway, that night in June, he heads over to this hospital, a creepy old building with broken windows and peeling paint that's been abandoned for years. And sure enough, sometime around 8 p.m.,
These giant helicopters can be heard in the distance getting closer and closer. Then they disgorge paratroopers clambering down ropes onto the roof of the hospital. Flashbang grenades are going off. Simulated gunfire is rattling through the neighborhood. I mean, it was jaw-dropping.
This is all supposed to end by 8.30, but in fact, it wasn't over until about 2 a.m., To Rick, this was outrageous. Why do this in a residential neighborhood with no warning? So people had no chance to prepare. Maybe go elsewhere for the night. Maybe give their pets tranquilizers so they don't freak out. Now people were hearing all the commotion, probably going onto their phones to figure out what was happening. And he thought he needed to jump in and explain.
He's in the dark.
Explosions are flashing behind him, like he's some sort of suburban war correspondent.
Flash bangs and simulated gunfire are going on. They're going to be going on for the next half an hour, we're told. I was focused on the fact that I should tell people what's going on because their dogs are going to bark, their kids are going to ask questions, and they're going to wonder why are helicopters descending on Pasadena, why are they hearing gunfire in the neighborhood.
He'd done videos like this in the past, in the wake of the Eaton fire last year, letting people know when it was safe to drink the water, read vegetables from their gardens, that kind of thing.
And this is going to go on for a while. And good luck to the people that have got to get up and go to work tomorrow.
It's funny. The weird thing about this is that it seems like you all were supposed to act like this was not a weird thing to happen. That's exactly. Did it make you feel sort of crazy to be told like, oh, no, this is normal. Don't sweat it.
I wouldn't say crazy. It infuriated me. You know, we owe to the people we serve to treat them with respect and to keep them informed about things that affect them. And this was such an egregious breach of that trust.
Rick couldn't help but notice that nobody in the military seemed to care how everyday citizens were experiencing all this.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:51
2
What triggered Pasadena councilmember Rick Cole to alert residents about a surprise military exercise?
0:51–4:49
3
How did the nighttime military simulation in northeast Pasadena unfold and affect neighbors?
4:49–28:02
4
Why did Holton Regional Hospital close its labor and delivery unit with one month’s notice?
28:02–38:47
5
What emergency unfolded during Katie Gowell’s home labor after the local birthing unit closed?
38:47–49:22
6
How did Dr. Rose Fuchs and first responders improvise to manage a prolapsed cord without a nearby OB unit?
49:22–59:32