We (Gina, Christian, Robyn, Mom, and I) gave my dad Tickets to the Eric Clapton concert at The Palace for Fathers Day. Originally, we only had 4 tickets due to the cost and complication of getting 6 seats together. However, yesterday afternoon, I was offered 2 more (amazing) seats for free. (My company has some connections at the Palace.) I gladly accepted them, knowing that Gina and Robyn (sister-in-law) would like to see the show too.
The plan was simple. My parents would take the primo seats (5th row, just off to the side of the stage). Gina and I would sit with Christian (brother) and Robyn. However, when we arrived at the Palace, my mother was horribly car sick. We tried to walk her around, let her rest, and everything in between… to no avail. Just as E.C. was taking the stage, Gina offered to take my mother to the first aid area, knowing that my Dad was really looking forward to the performance. I would now accompany him to the 5th row seats.
Gina was able to catch a few songs while my Mom rested… and could hear the rest of the concert from the first aid area. However, while sitting in the infirmary, my mother and Gina overheard how a scuffle turned into a fight where a man had his
finger bitten off. I sh!t you not. Eric Clapton concert… man looses finger. (I’ve been to a lot more rowdy shows, and never heard of anything like this.)
When the concert ended (it was great, btw), Gina and I went to retrieve my mother. Upon our arrival I overheard a great deal about the bitten-off-finger-incident. Good stuff. Some pickled moron, started arguing with a woman… he then punched her, knocking her out. Her date then started to beat the tar out of the pickled woman puncher… eventually biting the pickled punks digit clean off. Mmmm.
We were escorted to our exit, Mom in wheelchair, and then outside to wait for Christian to weave the car through the Palace lot traffic to my mother. While waiting, we noticed a lot of lightning. I quickly dismissed this as “heat lightning” and that we had “10 or 20 minutes before it would even start to rain.” After a single warning drop, the sky opened and we were drenched. My family barely got into the car in time… but there was no room to fit Gina and I into the car. So we retreated back to the Palace to wait out the rain before searching for our car.
Drenched is an understatement.
However, we did make it back to the car… and discovered that Gina’s cellphone was missing. I soon found myself wandering around the north exit, calling Gina’s phone, hoping to hear it ring. No luck. We called my family to see if they heard a cellphone ringing in their car. Nope. I’m out of the car again, and looking inside the Palace doors where we had waited for the weather to subside. Nope. Back in the car, and Gina realizes that she had her phone on silent while in the infirmary. Another call to my family, they check my Mom’s purse and all is well again.
Excitement from the mundane. [
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- Duane
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