Gary Is Sent Into The Riot Area to Restore Power

Saturday May 2, 1992

According to the TV all the DWP (Department of Water & Power, where Gary works) men were sent to the burned-out areas to repair the power today. They were to have police protection but it's still dangerous. I can't wait to hear he is home safe. Problem is, he has to work there for a long time to get all the damage repaired.

I feel good today, so I call Maria and arrange to pick her up at 10:30. We take the boys and go window shopping in Simi Valley. Later we go to the park for the arts and crafts show. They have entertainment too. They have alot to see and buy. I'm home about 2:30 to wrap Gena's first communion gift. Frank comes home from painting Marvel and we go to the party 2 doors away. We see alot of our neighbors. We have great food there.

At 8 p.m. we go square dancing. I have a good amount of energy and the caller is fast. I sweat a little more than my overweight friends.

So now Mom has to worry about her stepson Philip in the National Guard as well as her son Gary who was called in to restore power in the riot area. This was a legitimate concern considering what happened to Reginald Denny the first night of the riots. At approximately 6:45 pm, Reginald Denny, a white truck driver who stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Florence and South Normandie Avenues, was dragged from his vehicle and severely beaten by a mob of local black residents as news helicopters hovered above, recording every blow, including a concrete fragment connecting with Denny's temple and a cinder block thrown at his head as he lay unconscious in the street. The police never appeared, having been ordered to withdraw for their own safety.