A Night To Remember.

 

What a horrific Saturday evening. It started off annoyingly. I was headed to the world premiere “Time To Act,” an opera scheduled at the Bitz Opera Center, the home of Pittsburgh Opera.

      The venue, located at the far east end of the Strip District, is in a less trafficked area. Still on street parking was no where to be found. Every space was taken. Wanting not to miss the opera, I pulled into a garage with a sign that announced a $7 fee for 2 hours. $10 for more than 2 hours.

Hurriedly, I locked the car with my portable phone and meds and glaucoma eye drops inside. Looking up around the corner of the street, all the signs I could read was one for Smallman with the cross street unidentified. No sign there for the cross street. I knew the direction of the opera and got there with time to spare. The premiere was very interesting and after the performance I got to speak to three of the singers. (I love basking in the light of celebrity). Seems like ticket sales are so strong, the company has added a fifth show on Sunday. If you tired to get tickets and were turned away, here’s another chance to see and hear the show.

The trouble began when I left the opera and headed in the right direction. It was rather chilly and I, underdressed in a thin coat, soon began to feel the chill. I thought I would remember the red neon sign I saw just outside the garage.  But couldn’t find one later in my search for the garage. So I continued along the street. Now really chilled, I turned around and walked down a block to a parallel street. Still, after walking three or four blocks backtracking I couldn’t find the  garage. Finally, I did see a garage a couple blocks away that looked a lot like the one I parked in. As I walked along two gents who just came from the Pittsburgh Winery and I started talking. They showed me their parking stub and it looked exactly like mine. Hooray, I thought. This must be the garage.

When I got inside, I saw the same parking sign as the one when I first entered the building to park However, I thought the entrance to the garage looked a little unfamiliar but proceeded anyway. I got to park on the first floor because the garage was rather empty. But, as I looked around, I couldn’t find my car.

Panicked, I searched the second floor which was virtually empty.

In desperation, I push the button on the Emergency sign along one wall. A voice on the other end asked what the problem was and I said I thought someone had stolen my car. He said he was working remotely and would use the camera at the garage to search for my car. I gave him my make, model and color, and he went off line. After a few minutes he never responded so I hit the button once more. He said he searched and couldn’t find a car similar to mine in the garage. I asked him if there was another in the area. He said he didn’t know and wished me good luck. He then hung up.

I began thinking of the problem I might have if I didn’t take my meds or eye drops, then remembered I didn’t have a phone with which I could call an Uber to take me home an hour south of town. There I at least could take my pills and eyedrops.

Tired from all the walking around, I looked for place I could get to a phone. In the middle of despair, I saw a cop car turn the corner. I flagged it down and it turned out to be a female cop. When she rolled down the window, I approached only to have her German Shepherd in the back jump and growl at me. Just what I needed at that time.

I told the woman what a predicament I was in and she asked for the parking stub. There was no address or phone number on it, only a small name, which turned out to be the name of the garage. When she googled it, she discovered it was another garage about a block away. I thanked her with a sigh of relief, then headed out on foot. I didn’t ask for a ride because of the dog in back. When I got to the second garage, it had the same sign I remembered. This must be the one, I thought.

When I entered I saw my car parked exactly where I left it. What a relief that was! When I got home, I was never so happy to be there. It was certainly a night to remember. Great opera, bad everything else.