A Brush with Blum, Part 3: The Storm Drain

I do not condone all of Richard Blum's actions, but I do beleive that his story must be told. The following is the third installment of my 137-part series called A Brush with Blum.

"The San Antonio dam was a great place to party and take girls. It is federal land and the local police have no jurisdiction there so we use to park on Mt. Baldy Road in a turn-out and walk to it. Next to the spillway was a building that controlled the dam’s water flow. You could sit on the front side of the building and get a great view of the valley.

One day my friend Todd, who Matt can tell you lots of stories about, found an access to the underground storm drain system for the City of Glendora near the dam. It was protected by a huge iron gate that someone had propped open with a boulder. God only knows how Todd found it and how the door got open but it was. One night a group of us decided to go find out where the drain led to. Armed with flashlights and plenty of beer, we entered the underground world. Once inside, it was a huge cavern and one of the creepiest places I’ve ever been [This is saying a lot for Blum. – Matt]. The walls were coated in satanic drawings, pentagrams and acid trip cartoon figures.

Anyway, we took off down the tunnel and it eventually ended at the edge of a golf course where it met a flood basin at the foothills. Satisfied with our findings, we began our journey back to the cars. At some point, I suggested turning off the flashlights too see what it is like in total darkness. My friend Gary was with us, but as usual was lagging behind. As we got to a slope that was covered with slime and moss, we killed the flashlights again. Seconds later I heard a thud, a splash, and a, 'Damn it Blum.' We turned on the flashlights and Gary was coated in the foulest smelling muck ever. We all laughed it off and kept walking until we were back to our cars.

On the drive back home Gary got pulled over and failed the sobriety test miserably, but because he smelled so bad, the cops let him go and escorted him home. His luck ran out a week or so later when we were partying in a building that was under construction. The cops came running in and we all jumped out the windows, but Gary’s knee was injured from the storm drain incident so he got caught. They charged him with prowling but he pleaded guilty to a simple trespassing charge so they put him on probation."

This has been part 3 of my 137 part series, A Brush with Blum.

Blum, the legend, the punk rocker, the outdoorsman, the family man: On vaction in Montana (or was it Wyoming?) with wife April and daughter Bell. "The air was so thin up there that I could barely light a cigarette."