The first week or so of my trip went well, despite a small injury. I went to the L.A. County Fair (twice), saw two concerts rather than one, and visited my Army pal Matt in Barstow (not much to say about Barstow that hasn’t already been said by the late, great Hunter S. Thompson).
About the injury, on my second day there, my sister’s husband was tinkering with the malfunctioning garage door… which then collapsed on both him and my sister, locking them in the garage when he removed its springs. …Yeah. Since I already had a back injury from 2000, I knew what was coming. I was the only one on the outside, and the wooden door had no handle on the inside, so it was up to me to let them out. I did, and as a result, I couldn’t do any rides at the L.A. County Fair, which disappointed Matt. It disappointed me, too, but oh well.
The rest of the trip was fine. I was fortunate enough to have a Pink Floyd DVD signed by drummer Nick Mason, author of Inside Out. I’d read (and loved) the book, but left it at home because I did not know he would be signing books at the Hollywood Virgin store until I was already in California. When it was my turn to meet him, all I could say was… “I loved the show the other night.” He did allow me to get a photo with him (at left), so that was good.
Anyway, my flight home was scheduled on October 14th, meaning our Horror Day trip to Universal would be the last thing I did in L.A. Sadly, back pain prevented me from enjoying much of that. Some of the stage shows were amusing, and I did get a few souvenirs, including some stuff for friends back home. The rides, on the other hand… were MURDER.
I’d thought, since my back injury occurred the second day I was there, which had been two weeks prior to Universal, I’d be okay. I did ONE ride: The Mummy, which had once been Indiana Jones. Anyone who has ever ridden either coaster knows that it’s basically a ride in a mine cart through a rollercoaster tunnel… with a big DROP at the end. That drop jarred my spine, rendering my legs to jelly when we stepped out of those carts. I could barely walk, so we had to sit through the stage shows… some of which were stupid. But like I said, some of them were amusing. The best/worst part was that it was raining that night through all of that, so my brother-in-law bought some plastic Universal ponchos… which he allowed me to keep. Now when it rains and I have to be outside at a festival or concert, I have a reminder of Universal’s Haunted Halloween Nights and National Horror Day… and the Mummy ride that ruined my evening. But you win some, you lose some.
It was a memorable Horror Day, and if the world doesn’t end this year, I’d like to live to see another Friday, October 13th so that I may make it more enjoyable. This year 10/13 falls on a Saturday. Close… very close. But, no cigar.