If you are friends with me on Facebook, then you have partially heard this story. It’s kind of comical, really. Actually, some would call it, disappointing. You tell me what you think. In June, I won tickets to see an outdoor, family concert, featuring the Boston Pops, and Kenny Loggins. The theme was “Hollywood Hits.” The tickets arrived. I marked the date on my calendar, and we stuck them in a drawer. We didn’t think about them again until the date neared.
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On Tuesday, we got a sitter for Baby Diva, and took about a 35-minute ride to the American Tobacco Historic area in Durham for our concert.
We thought it was odd that we pulled right into the parking deck, and no one was collecting fees. But, we said to ourselves, “It’s still early.” We wanted to beat the concert crowds, and get a table at Mellow Mushroom, which is adjacent to the Durham Bulls Stadium.
We had a great time with our son at dinner. We rarely get this family time with him without his sister in tow. He’s at a fun age, too. We could chat with him, relax, and enjoy our pizza. It was kind of like, old times. You know, the time before another child was thrown into the mix. We love Baby Diva, too, but she’s a lot more work to take to a restaurant these days, and truthfully, was not missed for this dining experience.
Mellow Mushroom still wasn’t as crowded as one would expect on a night of a concert. At 7 p.m, my friend, and son’s godfather, came from his office, and met us at our table, so we could hand him his ticket. He, too, came from Raleigh, and commented on how easy it was to park.
We were ready to hear some Hollywood Hits.
We got hit all right, with a big whammy. So did about 25 to 30 other people who we saw standing at the box-office. The stadium was locked up, and everyone looked a little clueless. A disappointed woman turned to us, and said, “we think it is canceled.” By the looks of things, I think that was a safe guess. No one there knew it ahead of time. We asked, “Did you notice a refund on your credit card?” They had not.
The small, disappointed crowd finally wandered off. We stayed outside the gate to chat with our friend. We had a sitter. We had time on our hands to enjoy life. It was a beautiful, North Carolina evening, and it would have been perfect for an outdoor concert. Shortly, two stadium officials came out, and started chatting with us. It turns out that the Boston Pops canceled the entire tour due to low-ticket sales about two months ago.
We joked that they canceled the tour just as soon as they mailed us our free tickets. I think the Durham Bulls officials felt sorry for us, who were once winners of concert tickets, and were now losers, left empty-handed. They made my son a winner again with an exchange of a phone number. The Bulls only have nine home games left this baseball season, and he will be going to one of them. He’s wanted to do that all summer, so his night turned out just fine. It was a home run for him, without the “Hollywood Hits.”
As for us, we enjoyed some special one-on-one time with our son. So what that we drove to Durham to eat at a Mellow Mushroom when there is one 15 minutes from us in downtown Raleigh. Our time together was priceless.
When we left the parking deck, and rode by the stadium, we couldn’t help, but glance at another group of clueless people who were there to see the Boston Pops. Apparently, they didn’t see the refund on their credit card statement either.
When we left the parking deck, and rode by the stadium, we couldn’t help, but glance at another group of clueless people who were there to see the Boston Pops. Apparently, they didn’t see the refund on their credit card statement either.
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As we end this week, I also wanted to say that I have noticed that I have new followers in Google Friends, Facebook, and Twitter. Thank you for taking the time to follow my blog, and I look forward to talking with you, if you decide to comment. Thank you! I know time is precious, and with our busy lives, we don't get a lot of time to read blogs. I thank you for the time you give me.
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