Minister Peers Into 4th Dimension and Launches Quest for Presidency

All great crusades must begin with a single rally.

So there was Richard Edward (Richie) Peck, 56, Texas-trained minister and self-employed “servant of humanity” based in La Mesa, beginning his quest for the presidency of the United States by appearing at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

Attendance was modest. This despite Peck’s little blue flyers announcing that he has “consistently cogitated on ways and means to have in existence Peace and Plenty for all.”

Peck is not discouraged. These things take time.

“I got several new supporters, particularly from homeless people. And I got an interview with you .”

He has special powers not found in your average candidate. He can, for example, read “energy fields,” a skill that might prove handy when dealing with those congressional egoists.

“In my energy scan, I’m actually able to see what some call the fourth Dimension, which is pure energy. By looking at people, I can tell what they’re thinking and what their hang-ups are, by their energy pattern. It’s something I only do with permission.”

He’s against Social Security, welfare, space research and farm subsidies. He’s against most government.

He once worked the assembly line in manufacturing plants, but has been without a paying job for 14 years. There’s some family money. His mother lives nearby.

Although a political novice, he wants to use the latest techniques. A video; a 900-number; a campaign organization shaped like an Amway pyramid.

“It’s like Amway but in reverse. With Amway, you start with the top person and then everyone underneath. With this, it’ll start at the bottom and work up.”

Campaigning costs money. He hopes to sell copies of his sayings (sample: “Only in the state of innocence provided in perfected love will we have fully accessed our potential.”) and his artwork.

His artwork looks like spin-art done at the county fair.

“Some people call it Impressionist. I call it intuitive. I put myself in a special mental frame and let my hands and body do the rest.”

He thinks he’ll win and is already pondering what to wear to his inauguration.

He’s considering a pink tuxedo.

Political Seat-Grabbing

Things to review.

* Who says the young hate politics?

When the Board of Supervisors last week dealt with the volatile issue of rent control for mobile home parks, space in the audience was limited.

Both sides (owners-managers vs. mostly elderly tenants) massed their troops before the door opened.

But the park owners-managers came equipped with a secret weapon: two dozen teen-agers hired to sprint to front-row seats, then hold them for late arrivals.

“Whoever thought of it, it was a good idea,” said Richard Ybarra, lobbyist for the Western Mobilehome Assn. He adds that the teen-agers were given doughnuts and “a small stipend.”

Must have been a good investment: The supervisors rejected a request to put a measure on the ballot.

* John Frieda, hairstylist to Princess Diana, has just been booked as the headliner (hair-liner?) for the Beautyways convention here.

* Chris Cameron at City Hall thinks she’s seen the ultimate warning about careful driving.

A large sign on a large truck: “Please Drive Safely.”

The truck was carrying caskets.

* Look for Susan Golding to get the mayoral endorsement of the San Diego Police Officers Assn.

* The July edition of Inside Detective magazine has a story by Chula Vista Police Detective Tom Basinski, “Detective Diary: Three Cons And a Cop,” about the breakup of a “Jamaican switch” ring.

Don’t look for it to become a movie:

“The Chula Vista cops are not like television cops. There were no squealing tires. There were no cops leaping over the fenders of cars with their guns in the two-handed ‘Lethal Weapon I & II’ grip.”

* Bumper sticker, seen in parking lot of Balboa Park: “Artistically driven.”

For the Non-Traditional Dad

It’s come to this.

Among the items for sale in the Father’s Day display at the Broadway in Fashion Valley, along with the wallets and ties: earrings.