Lost!
One of the scariest moments in recent memory came just after one of the happiest. Bear with me- this is a very long story, but worth it.

Remember last spring when David Gilmour did twelve concerts in support of his new album? When the tickets went on sale I swore an unholy oath that I would get to see him or die trying- he's one of my favorite musicians of all time, and a hero of mine besides. (He does massive amounts of charity work, very quietly, and also supported Syd Barret through the remainder of his life. Gilmour is an incredible person.)

Well, I got one ticket, to Gibson Ampitheater in Universal City, CA. I then got hold of an ex girlfriend who is a travel agent and got a round trip ticket to Los Angeles, staying for one night.

It wasn't until I got there that I realized how mad this was.

I'm not insane enough to rent a car and drive around an unfamiliar city, especially one like LA. Nor do I have the money to spend on taking a cab from LAX to Universal City. So I consulted with the girl at the hotel desk and got info on the bus/train system they have there, and planned out my route. I got there in good time, talked to some guys on the train and found out they were going to the concert as well, and followed them.

The concert was phenomenal- he had Richard Wright with him and they performed "Echoes"- and I left with an incredible glow. I followed the crowd out, figuring I would get back the way I came- only to realize that I had no clue as to where the train station I arrived in was. And everything was closing, as it was after 11:00.

I was on the other side of Los Angeles from my hotel, with no idea how to get back. I was completely lost.

I finally found some hippie stoner guys who were about my age (that is, in their forties), and they said they knew where the terminal was. They agreed to drive me to it, so we all piled into their 70s sedan and drove (picture the beginning of "Wayne's World", only 20 years later). They got me there, and I thanked them profusely and ran down to the train.

I had to do two transfers to get back. The first one was fine- but at the second one, it turned out that the last train had already gone. I was stranded after midnight somewhere in downtown LA, and now I really had no idea how to get home- and my flight to Virginia was leaving in about six hours.

I struck up a conversation with the only other person there, a kid who happened also to be coming back from the concert, and he had no clue either of how to get home and was on the edge of panic. To him I was a Grown Up who could help him get home, so he was looking up to me to figure out what to do.

Apparently I do well under pressure. I found a call box that went to the central office for the train/bus system, and they told me where to go to get to the last bus of the night. I grabbed the kid and we sprinted a couple of blocks, only to see the bus leaving. I cursed- and then spotted a car nearby with the logo of the transportation company on it. It turned out to be a supervisor who happened to be there to check on something, and he radioed the bus to tell them to wait at the next stop. We got on the bus- and it turned out that he only goes to about three miles from where I am staying.

Fuck.

Well, I got the kid dropped off and rode to the end of the route, and got the driver (an Asian with extremely broken English) to tell me how to get to the road I needed. By this time it's after 1:00, and I'm still stranded in a city I've never been in before, but at least now I know where I'm going. I got off the bus and proceeded to hike to the hotel, which took me through a couple of pretty bad areas. (Fortunately I'm about six feet tall, so people generally don't mess with me much.) I walked quickly past the homeless types in their doorways, all too conscious of the cash and credit cards in my pocket as I went through an area with half-demolished buildings with lots of graffiti, and ultimately made it to the hotel by about 2:00.

In retrospect it really was insane of me to do this- I know little to nothing of LA, don't know anyone there, and had not planned it out at all. I had ad libbed the whole thing, and made it intact mostly through amazing luck- but being stranded in the middle of LA after midnight is not an experience I ever wish to repeat. Although it made for a night that I will remember for the rest of my life...

No apologies for length- just bend over and take it all. And love it.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 22 Feb 2007, 19:21, Reply)