How bad is IT?

My wife was at Eye Associates for an appointment. I was in the middle of collecting signatures for my Mayoral nominating petition so I said, what the fuck, I'll canvas this sorta industrial/commercial area of Santa Fe.

Right across the street there was a campus of buildings surrounding a dry winter fountain. The back of the first building I came to was signed "Lab 3."

I saw a few people through the glass door in what seemed to be a lunchroom; knocked on the door and took a couple of respectful steps back. I held up my clipboarded petition and said through the glass, "Hi, my name is Cove. I'm looking for registered voters within the City limits. Would you....?"

The annoyed woman inside first cupped her ear with her hand then reluctantly opened the door.
"Would you be a registered voter in the City of Santa Fe, by any chance?"
"I'M AT WORK," she said, giving me the stinky eye and pulling the door closed.

Holy shit, I thought, looking at the security key pad by the door and a hand written sign on the door that read, "Don't take samples through this door." What samples? Samples of what?

I went back toward the dead like a movie set fountain. All the buildings were only identified by Lab number and out of one of those labs a jacketless Asian-American kid with an ID badge and cell phone appears. Something else on his waist. "Can I help you?"

I thought of being a wise ass and offering to "help" him by putting my jacket over his shoulders, but instead I said, "I'm running for Mayor and I'm looking for registered voters to sign..."
"This is all private property. You'll have to go to the front office," he said, waving off in a direction I knew I wasn't going.
The kid gives me that look. What look? The Abu the Bomber look. "I'm just getting out of here," I say, waving in a direction I knew I was going. What was that name on his badge? GENZYME.

I cut through the chamisa toward the Eye Associates building. Just a little to my left was the back of a building. It had a loading dock, a large open rolling metal warehouse door, and a small office door with the decal 'Gensyme NO SOLICITING.'

I walked up to the edge of the loading dock. Twenty feet away inside the bay was an employee in front of a computer. I had to have been there 5 minutes or more waiting for the guy to be aware of me. On the dock were piles of vials with freakin' "Bio Hazard"written on them. I couldn't stand it. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where the front office is?" Not waiting for an answer from the startled employee, I continued, "...although I think it will have the same sign on the door," pointing to the NO SOLICITING sign.

The HiTech loading guy mumbled something and I asked him directly, "Why the "Bio Hazard?"
"Blood Pathogens. I have get back to work," and down came the big metal warehouse door.


Post Script

When delivering my petition to City Hall, I had to wait an hour while the City Clerk and staff were out to lunch. I had time to do my favorite research, opening up the recycling bins in the hallway. Accounting, City Attorney's office, and City Councilors just toss unshredded papers into those bins. There, on top, was a privileged communication concerning the State charging the City with violations in being responsible for dumping unpermitted "hazardous materials" into the landfill. The State said the City action exposed the workers "to dangers."
Guess where the "hazardous materials" came from?