I’ll never forget the time Mike Sveen and I went to see Elton John in St Paul. I had heard that Elton John was coming and this was when he still dressed up in the outlandish costumes and really put on a show besides playing the music. I’m not sure why Mike went with me. Maybe Karen didn’t want to go or else I was giving him a present or something, don’t know. But the two of drove up to St Paul to a big concert center they have there and saw the concert.
It was great. We didn’t have the best seats, but they were good enough. Elton did his thing and we could sing along to every song. I wouldn’t mention this trip at all except for what happened after the concert. We left the concert and drove toward the freeway to head for home. Just as I’m entering the on-ramp to enter the freeway, that car stopped. We coasted over to the side of the road and the car was dead. It would not start. Now, it was, like 11:30 at night and nothing was open. There was no such thing as cell phones, so we left the car and walked back to a nearby street until we found a payphone.
Mike knew some people who lived in St Paul. People who worked at the local radio stations. So he called one of them. I think he got them out of bed. But they agreed to come pick us up. We rode back to their house and they were nice neough to let us stay there for the night. Mike slept on the couch and I slept in a recliner chair. The next morning, the lady of the house said they were happy to help, but I could never come to their house again. It seems my snoring kept them all awake all night. I didn’t understand. I told them I didn’t snore, but they just laughed.
We called a mechanic to come get the car. It was still parked on the on-ramp. Luckily, no one had stripped it yet. They towed it to a local garage and after looking at the problem, told me I needed about $600 worth of repairs. Well, I had to leave the car while they did they work. We got a ride to the bus station. I had called Karen and told her everything that had happened. So, Mike and I returned to Rochester on the bus where Karen picked us up, We took Mike home and then a few days later, we returned to St Paul to pick up the car. All in all, one of the most expensive concerts I have have ever attended. Really good memories, though.
Dad