Sunday, November 15, 2009

Last night my bed called me Gaylord

Date(s) #5...and possibly 6/7

The girl(s): Sara...and Leah...and Tara...
So Leah, Tara, and my friend Melissa* thought it would be funny to "set me up" on a date, and then when I showed up it would be the three of them. Hilarious. But, Melissa ended up not being able to go. I was going to ask another girl, but it turns out she has a boyfriend, and is only 19 (to which I am slightly morally opposed), so I asked Sara.
The setting: Downtown SLC
The plot
: Sara and I had a delightful dinner at Settebello, where her father randomly appeared while picking up dinner for himself and Sara's mom. We enjoyed caprese, pizza, and some gelato.
Then we headed to meet Tara and Leah at "Bravo Broadway" with the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall. Melissa works for the Symphony and Opera and kindly provided tickets. The show was fairly amazing. It's been a while since I've listened to a live symphony. I miss it.
Funny: Oh where do I begin? Let's start after the show. Upon arriving at my car to take Sara home, we discovered that it wouldn't start. We thought it might just be the battery petering out, so we called Tara and Leah to come help. They kindly did, and we discovered that it was not, in fact, the battery. My car was leaking gas all over the place (not constantly, just when I turned the power on). Well, Leah has AAA, so she called them up to get a tow truck. Turns out, if there's a puddle of gas, AAA won't come to tow the car unless the fire department has checked the area to make sure it's safe. Yep, we were just as confused as you.
Enter the SLCFD. We called them up to come check it out. The lady on the phone was just as confused as the rest of us, but was kind enough to send help - after a lengthy list of questions about the situation (Leah wanted me to request attractive firemen, but somehow I didn't think that would lend to our credibility). We stood out on the sidewalk in front of the parking lot waiting to flag down whoever might be coming when we heard sirens a short distance away. Don't worry, they were for us. The fire engine arrived to save the day - sirens blaring, and lights flashing. And Leah was not disappointed in the crew manning said engine. They poured some sand on the gas, disconnected the battery in my car, and confirmed to AAA that the situation was not dire, before driving off into the sunset (figuratively speaking of course, as it was now about 11:30).
The tow truck arrived a little after midnight and Mike kindly loaded up poor Charley and took him away. Thank you AAA!
At this point we were all freezing and figured we needed something to commemorate this occasion, so we headed to Denny's for some hot chocolate and other ridiculous sorts of merriment. I paid the check (thus dates 6 and 7), and Tara drove everyone home - including my date. *sigh*
Although the situation sucks, all we could do was laugh as we stood rather helplessly in the parking lot freezing our toes off.
Many thanks to Leah, AAA, Mike, The SLCFD, Denny's, Tara, my uncle Gary, Melissa, and Leah's friend Dave who all contributed to the success of the night's adventure.
Best Characters: The random lady who was exiting AH as we were entering and said to me, "Hey! I've seen you at Hales!" Sara and I laughed awkwardly, confirmed her statement and made a hasty entrance into the building to enjoy the giant sculpture in the lobby.
The fire chief who whistled for his crew to come over for the picture, then stood to the side and watched.
Future Dates: Postponed until my car is fixed.

*This post dedicated to Melissa, and the Stake Musical Review "Through Different Eyes."

5 comments:

richbarn said...

interesting name for your bed to choose

Kasi French said...

I love this story ... a lot! I love that initial picture {most especially the Greg/Leah part of it} ... a lot! I love that you did not ask for hot firemen and they still arrived ... a lot! I love that Leah is the furthest from the hot firemen in the picture ... a lot! Bottom line, this is funny.

Tara said...

I love everything about this post. The dedication, the pictures, the list of people involved...oh man. So good. I've got a rockin' cold out of the experience, but I'm still glad I got to be a part of it :)

Anonymous said...

Are all your dates this successful? Would you say you have 100% accuracy?

Unknown said...

Thanks for the dedication, and this night sounded AMAZING!! :)