We left off as the American Bandstand party had just ended and I didn't win the lifesize Clay. Problem is, I didn't have time to be disappointed. I really wanted to be up at the concert site by about 5:00, but no later than 5:30. After all, the longer Kelly Urich had to wear the I LOVE CLAY AIKEN shirt, the happier I was going to be. So, we dash out to our car, turn on the engine, and HOLY MOLY!!! 5:15!!! I was no longer worried about whether Kelly U was going to wear the shirt long enough. Now the focus was on whether he'd have time to wear it at all!! This was the worst time possible to try to rush to Kemper - right at the beginning of rush hour.
The freeway was in sight of American Bandstand. Yep, looked like traffic was backed up already, so I began to take an alternate route. Then the radio station I was listening to did a traffic report. They said there was an accident and a backup right where I was going. Sure enough, there was. Looks like alternate route Number Three shall go into effect. Needless to say, I was feeling quite uneasy. Daggone it, if only I wasn't so interested in winning a lifesize Clay, I could have avoided rush hour and gotten to Kemper in plenty of time to win front row tickets. But NO, I just HAD to be greedy. I wanted the lifesize Clay AND the front row tickets. Well, this is one time when I took a risk, but unfortunately I didn't make the lifesize Clay my own, and now I was jeopardizing the front row tickets.
While I was driving like a maniac, my wife was nagging me to slow down, watch out for the trucks, don't hit anyone, etc. She always nags me when I drive, so why should this be any different. I simply said, "Honey, I know I'm driving fast. But, if I don't, I'm going to miss out on those front row tickets. So, please don't nag me now, or I won't be able to concentrate." Of course she asked, "But what if a cop stops you?" Well, sometimes you just HAVE to take a chance. And I wasn't about to miss out on my chance to see the REAL CLAY close up. So, I zipped back to where I started from, and then trekked northward on a side road. It was now about 5:30. I should have BEEN there by now. Daggone that lifesize Clay, anyways!!
Well, as luck would have it, there were no more traffic problems, and I was able to zip on through. By the time I hit the freeway again, most of the traffic was going the other way. So, it was on to Kemper, and believe it or not, I got there about 5:45. I even paid the higher price to park in the closer lot so I could save about five minutes of valuable Clay Shirt time. I forked over the ten, and went straight to my parking spot. I grabbed the stuff, told my wife I'd meet her at the big tent that said MIX 93 on it. You see, my wife is a very slow walker, and I had to forge ahead, with T-shirts and posters in hand.
STAY TUNED FOR PART SIX - THE KELLY URICH ENCOUNTER
The freeway was in sight of American Bandstand. Yep, looked like traffic was backed up already, so I began to take an alternate route. Then the radio station I was listening to did a traffic report. They said there was an accident and a backup right where I was going. Sure enough, there was. Looks like alternate route Number Three shall go into effect. Needless to say, I was feeling quite uneasy. Daggone it, if only I wasn't so interested in winning a lifesize Clay, I could have avoided rush hour and gotten to Kemper in plenty of time to win front row tickets. But NO, I just HAD to be greedy. I wanted the lifesize Clay AND the front row tickets. Well, this is one time when I took a risk, but unfortunately I didn't make the lifesize Clay my own, and now I was jeopardizing the front row tickets.
While I was driving like a maniac, my wife was nagging me to slow down, watch out for the trucks, don't hit anyone, etc. She always nags me when I drive, so why should this be any different. I simply said, "Honey, I know I'm driving fast. But, if I don't, I'm going to miss out on those front row tickets. So, please don't nag me now, or I won't be able to concentrate." Of course she asked, "But what if a cop stops you?" Well, sometimes you just HAVE to take a chance. And I wasn't about to miss out on my chance to see the REAL CLAY close up. So, I zipped back to where I started from, and then trekked northward on a side road. It was now about 5:30. I should have BEEN there by now. Daggone that lifesize Clay, anyways!!
Well, as luck would have it, there were no more traffic problems, and I was able to zip on through. By the time I hit the freeway again, most of the traffic was going the other way. So, it was on to Kemper, and believe it or not, I got there about 5:45. I even paid the higher price to park in the closer lot so I could save about five minutes of valuable Clay Shirt time. I forked over the ten, and went straight to my parking spot. I grabbed the stuff, told my wife I'd meet her at the big tent that said MIX 93 on it. You see, my wife is a very slow walker, and I had to forge ahead, with T-shirts and posters in hand.
STAY TUNED FOR PART SIX - THE KELLY URICH ENCOUNTER
