Joe,

 JM>   Any particular reason?

  He must've had a burr up his butt.

  It was at a hotel along International Drive in Orlando, one of the main 
drags down there. It was a double wide drive, with a removable sign that 
noted "STOP!! SECURITY CHECK". I can deal with that, as you have to keep 
the riff-raff out of the hotels.

  But, they knew that the square dance convention was in town, and that 
shuttle buses were running (dancers purchased a bus pass in advance) 
between the various hotels and the convention center. That way, they
didn't have to worry about traffic, parking, or weather conditions. The
buses started running Wednesday afternoon, and ran through Saturday night.

  Our bus got "boxed in" by the sign and the security guard's car behind
it...and the traffic on International Drive behind us. The bus driver
hit the horn...nothing. The driver got off the bus, the guard came out
of his car, and after a few words, the guard punched the driver in the
face. The women on the bus started screaming (can you blame them?).

  Another guard pulled the assailant off, and as the bloodied driver
staggered back to the bus, I stepped off with my ham radio, keyed up
the local repeater, and announced "QST!! QST!! QST!! Mayday!! Mayday!!
This is N5VLZ, Portable 4. I have Emergency Traffic!! Can anyone copy??
Over". There was a massive static crash from a nearby lightning strike...
so I repeated the distress call.

  As a side note, QST is a "Q signal" for "attention all amateur radio
operators", and "Mayday" is the international distress signal, taken
from the French word meaning "Help Me". N5VLZ was my original ham radio
callsign, and I was portable 4...operating away from my home station,
and in call district 4 (Florida) instead of 5 (Arkansas).

  I repeated the distress call, and a ham in Kissimmee heard me. I told
him what had happened, and he said he was calling 911. The police, rescue
squad, and ambulance arrived. The driver was taken to a local hospital,
where they had to rebuild his face. 

  The case then went to trial over Easter Weekend, and I was subpeonaed 
to show up to testify. The State Of Florida paid the air fare and hotel 
bill, but it was not my idea of a Florida vacation. My last statement 
at the trial, when I said I was "siding with the bus driver" was "We 
had no trouble the first 3 days of the convention. I see no reason why 
I should change my stance now".

  The Angel Of The Lord had to be protecting me, because that guard
could've shot me dead...and there was a tropical thunderstorm in
progress, and I could've been hit by lightning for the third time
in my life.

  They did convict the guard of aggravated assault, a felony...and
also had a civil suit against the hotel and the security guard company
(I'm not aware of how those turned out). But, as they put the driver
in the ambulance, and I got back on the bus, the people said "You saved
his life", and I replied "This is what amateur radio operators prepare
for...emergency communications".

  The church where I was going to was not happy that I was not going
to be able to take part in their Easter Cantata, and I told them that
"I'm under subpeona...I have to go, or I go to jail"...adding that
"sometimes, you have to render to Caesar". They were still angry about
that, so I quit that church. Sadly, Christians are the only army that
buries their wounded.

Daryl

... To err is human. To forgive is against company policy.
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