Enjoyed the Fireworks

www.ridgecrestumc.com

My family had an interesting night last night. We went to the Oklahoma City RedHawks baseball game. It was a great game. It was warm, but not too hot. There were some dark clouds, but it never rained. The home team won!

After the game, the RedHawks/Bricktown put on a tremendous fireworks display. It went on for about 20 minutes, with a finale that was so bright, it actually hurt my eyes. Following the fireworks, we made our way through the crowd, out onto Mickey Mantle Drive and around to the 6 story parking garage that is next to the ball park. That was when the real fireworks began.

Ben (my oldest son) and I entered the parking garage at 10:30. Lu Ann stayed with the two younger ones at street level. I assumed that once I exited the garage, I would pick them up and we would head home. When Ben and I got to the car, we started it up and sat. About five minutes later, there had been no movement in the cars behind me, so I shut off the car and sent Ben down stairs. I walked over to the openings that look down onto Sheridan and got my front row seat for the real show.

The parking garage became one huge traffic jam. On the street, a parking attendant (I don't think he was an OKCPD officer, maybe a private security person) had blocked off Sheridan going East. All cars from the garage were being merged onto Sheridan going West. It was a huge mess. About every 5 minutes, two or three cars got to exit the garage. I watched one particular car that was on my level. It did not move a full car length in a one hour span. There was complete and total gridlock.

Sometime between 11:00 and 11:30, things in the garage took on a mean edge. People got out of their cars (not those in line, but the ones who couldn't even pull out to get in line), went to the openings and began to scream. They wanted the traffic guy to "free" those of us being held captive in the garage. People on the ground got into the issue and we were on the verge of a riot. At some time during that period, real police officers showed up and things improved a little bit. Cars were getting out quicker, but the line behind me didn't budge.

At about 11:30, the police and traffic attendant packed up and left. This meant that traffic could move both East and West on Sheridan, but those of us in the garage were at the mercy of regular traffic. Finally, at about 11:45, the line behind me started moving. I was finally able to get in my car, back out and get into the line. At 12:00, I pulled out of the building and picked up my family. Like a few thousand other OKC residents, I spend 1 1/2 hours in a traffic jam. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper. When I finally got to be first in line, I was glad to see that OKCPD had returned and were stopping East bound traffic to let us get out of the garage at a quicker pace.

Two things I learned from this. First, God has been helping me with patience. A few years ago, that type of situation would have driven me crazy and elevated my blood pressure to dangerous heights. God helped me to back off, relax and wait for the jam to clear. That was a great blessing. Second, I learned that pedestrians in Bricktown late at night have a death wish. They will step out in front of cars with no thought for their own safety. We need to be praying for their salvation because for some of them, it is highly probable that they will be meeting their maker in the very near future.

I hope that your 4th wasn't quite so eventful or stressful.

Jim