when talking about late comers, i cannot help but think of the one time i was about 10 minutes late to see lea salonga in miss saigon just before the production closed.
i left to meet at friend at the train station at 10:30 in the morning for a 2 p.m. matinee. on the way, i got stuck behind an old couple driving about 5 mph, a farm vehicle also going slowly, and a funeral procession. after that i could not find parking near the train station since it had just snowed a day or two earlier and all lots in town were full.
next, as i was going thru a parking lot to find parking (and on my way to another parking gargage), i was pulled over by cops who thought i was trying to cut thru the parking lot to avoid traffic. at this point, i was still taking things in stride. well, about an hour later, the cops still had me pulled over since my license plates did not match my registration (long story short, i had just moved from another state and my credentials were screwy). instead of coming back to the car to see what was up, the cops just waited there.
well, now i was getting worried. i could even see my friend across the street from me come out of the train station to leave but i could not get his attention. finally the cops let me go, i found my friend after 15 minutes of searching around.
we ran up to the ticket window just as a train was pulling into the station. i grabbed my money back from the slow teller and jumped onto the train just before the doors closed.
well, very shortly everyone noticed a funny smell on the train. turns out we had brake problems and we limped our way to the next stop, had to be deboarded and wait for another train.
now, the later it got, the more anxious i became. finally the "rescue" train came and we ran from penn station to the broadway theatre - missing the first 10 minutes of the show!!
so, now i have more empathy for people who are late. i left my house over 3 1/2 hours early for what should have been an hour trip and was still late!!
XING
PED
