I was in Vegas on the old strip, but I wasn't there for the concert. It just so happened that Joan Jett was playing a free concert down at one end that afternoon, and because it was free, there were more people than the area could handle. It looked very much like the crowd in the picture (courtesy of the Four Queens Hotel). Wall to wall people.
I was in the Four Queens Casino with my friend Dawn and I wanted to go back to our hotel, but she didn't. She said, "go around the long way because you don't want to get stuck in that crowd." Well stupid me, I didn't want to go the long way, I wanted to go as the crow flies, LOL, so I took the short route.
I had gone about 50 or 60 feet into the tunnel when I noticed the mob scene in front of me. I turned around to try to go back out but the back had gotten as bad as the front. I had nowhere to go but forward.
I don't like crowds. I don't like tight spaces. I can't handle being trapped. So I completely freaked. A policy officer came by and I yelled, "Please get me out of here, I'm claustrophobic, I can't do this! Please help me!" There was nothing he could do and he kept going.
We were moving forward, but in small baby-ish steps, and I couldn't see the end. I had no idea how long I was going to be trapped for. It could have been hours for all I knew.
At one point, I remember grabbing the back of the shirt of the guy in front of me and yelling that I was freaking out and claustrophobic and I needed help. He said it's OK, just hold on. I held on like I had fallen off a cliff and he was the only thing that was going to save me.
Behind me was a woman. She started making rude comments to me. I was so frozen I never even turned around to look at her. I couldn't. All I could do was face forward. I guess it was his girlfriend or wife or something and I had come in between them and separated them and didn't realize it. At one point she yelled, "You shouldn't have come here if you couldn't handle it!" And I said, "I didn't mean to be here! I'm not here for the concert. I was just trying to get back to my hotel!" I think she shut up after that. I don't remember.
I kept trying to breathe but it was hard. I was terrified. Then after about 20 minutes we had gotten through the crowd and all of a sudden I was free. I let go of the guy's shirt and I said thank you so much I really appreciate it. He said no problem or you're welcome or something. He was really nice.
To this day I can't tell you what he looked like or what she looked like. I can't tell you what color his shirt was or what kind of shirt it was. All I remember is being trapped on all sides by a mob of people. It was my worst crowd experience ever. I hope and pray that I never have to deal with anything like that again! Whew!
No comments:
Post a Comment