Girl on the Brink: Surviving Desperate Times with Desperate Measures

Ann sits on a piece of foundation remaining from the 1993 siege in Waco. A memorial church rises.

Holy smoke!

The Branch Davidians are back.

Just what this down-trodden economy needs. Frightening, isn’t it?

But mind what the experts say: Evangelicalism rises when the economy falls. The religious sect—burned out by federal authorities in a 1993 siege that claimed more than 80 lives, including 33-year-old cult leader David Koresh—has formed a rebuilding fund for the reborn sect, which now calls itself The Branch, The Lord of Our Righteousness. The pastor, Charlie Pace, is a naturopathic doctor who practices vibrational healing. Now, I’d like some of that.

A snippet of background: I visited Waco, Tex., last weekend for my college roommate’s wedding, and Saturday I had a day to kick off before the big day on Sunday. I drove around with another old college friend to check out how the unemployed occupy their time.

From my observations, if you’re not makin’ hay in Waco, you’re prayin’, and if you’re not prayin’, you’re standing in line at the Old Czech Bakery buying a kolache. Such is the cycle of life in Waco.

If there’s one thing Texans do in Waco besides eat, pray and make love, it’s building big brick warehouse-style buildings to people who kneel, presumably to pray. Seems like if you’re a mason in Waco, you’ve got it made, too.

As for the Waco tragedy, Koresh refused to surrender over a warrant to search the Mount Carmel Center grounds for illegal weapons, and I’m sure the government didn’t groove on him having sex with little girls.

The 51-day siege ended on April 19, 1993, and a week later the government bulldozed the grounds to remove any trace that the tragedy occurred. The swimming pool, filled with about a foot of stagnant water, remains, as does the underground tornado shelter. Its concrete roof was removed in big chunks and dumped into a corner of the swimming pool.

A piece of the old foundation remains near a small memorial church built after the tragedy. But the bigger memorial is near the entrance of the compound (first right off Double EE Ranch Road) and includes marble-engraved bricks with the names of the dead and the date they died.

I can’t wait to see who builds what for the victims of the recession.