The older I get, the more I realize that I need to
ask more questions. A couple of weeks
ago I found myself in a situation that I wasn’t 100 percent comfortable
with. Here’s what happened…
I live in Indianapolis and we have this little race
called the Indianapolis 500 (which is actually held in Speedway, Indiana). One of the pre-race day festivities is Carb
Day (or Carburetion Day). Qualified cars
have the opportunity to practice on the track.
This used to involve adjusting the carburetors. Even though cars no longer have carburetors,
the name stuck. Nowadays the day also
involves the Firestone Freedom 100 Race and the pit stop challenge. And a concert, which has grown over the
years.
This year’s band was Poison. I’m a child of the 80s. I like Poison. I’ve seen Bret Michaels and he’s great. However, I had no desire to pay $20 to go to
Carb Day this year. Then a week before
the event a friend asked me to go with her and some others. I don’t spend much time with her these days
so I relented.
My usual Carb Day ritual is to watch practice, the
race and the pit stop challenge. I then
mosey over to the concert and stand in the back. This year I met my friend and as I followed
her to the concert stage my stomach began to churn. A friend of hers got there at 7:45 a.m.
They were at the very front of the stage. (Cue voice in my head, “Oh hellllllll
no.”) You see, Carb Day concerts draw
upwards of 30,000 people in a giant field.
The concert begins in the afternoon so they have had plenty of time to
get trashed. Which is really what they
are there to do. (Is there a concert?)
I arrived around 1 p.m. I wanted to actually see a car, so after I
followed Alyce to the front I walked to the track, watched the cars and ate
my lunch. I ventured back to the stage
area a little after 2 p.m. I had
contemplated leaving, but didn’t want to waste $20 for an hour of watching cars. And I did want to hang with Alyce and the
group.
I think because we were at the front of the crowd I
felt a tiny bit better about the situation.
If we were in the middle of the mess I would have walked to the
back. There are too many things that can
go wrong with that many people combined with alcohol and sun. My entertainment during the hour wait to see
Poison included the following:
The show finally started at 3:40 p.m. and ended at 5
p.m. They are good, I’ll give them that.
They even brought out three members of the military and sang “Something
To Believe In” while they were on stage.
Very cool.
I got a little annoyed during the encore when people
started pushing toward the barrier to touch Bret and C.C. I did not appreciate the fat, sweaty girl who
wedged herself in front of me and danced with her camera above her head, almost
hitting me in the face. At one point I
broke contact and she almost fell backward.
When the show ended, I wondered if I would ever get
out of there. Move it, people! I had to meet friends for dinner at 7 p.m. across
town. I waved goodbye to Alyce and was
on my way. I ended up parking about two
miles away down 16th Street. During
my walk I wished I had brought my bike.
I don’t mind walking, but it was hot and I was in a hurry.
As I circle back to the moral of my story – ask
questions! Do you plan to watch the
cars? Where do you want to be at the
concert? How long are you going to
stay? Where are you parking? How far is that from the track? Think about what you would do at an event and
make sure the other people are on the same page.
I had a fun time and enjoyed the music. But it was not the best situation. That many people in one giant space is not a
good idea. Ok, maybe people won’t get that excited about Poison to potentially
crush other spectators, but you never know.
I felt like I was aware of my surroundings and was ready to jump over
the barrier if things got hairy. I’d
like to think I would be fast enough to be able to get out of harm’s way. The fact that I'm really tall also gave me a better perspective to see everything around me. If I was shorter, I don't think I would have stayed.
I like nothing better than having a good time, but I
need to do a better job of being smarter and safer about it. It does get better than this.
