So…I couldn’t wait to get to California for the Gathering and to visit with my uncle Kevin for a few days in L.A. I’ve been waiting for a year for this trip and it couldn’t come fast enough.
My friend Ben Taylor who used to serve in a student ministry in Macon and I both got to Orange County within a few minutes of each other, he Jobi (from Jacksonville, FL.) and I went to Wahoos right away for a traditional lunch of fish tacos. (Yum!) Everything seemed perfect…Ben and I went to the hotel room to drop a vehicle off, check in, and drop off our luggage, I guess it was at that moment that we broke a mirror, killed a crow or black cat, or something that turned things around. We had pretty much the whole afternoon to hit some of the hot spots around town, so we hit our favorite shopping district, the Irvine Spectrum. Well we couldn’t get there fast enough, in fact, without trying we were attempting to get there faster than we did, we got caught in a speed trap. Fortunately, Ben was driving, the cop busted him for 66 in a 50 zone. Here’s the deal…50 on this road is a death wish, we were traveling with the traffic, in fact we were slower than the traffic and I guess that is why he came after us. This dude was literally ‘Ponch’ Poncherello. I say it was fortunate that I did not get the ticket, because of two reasons, one I will explain later and the other is because I did not have my insurance card with me. This guy would have probably arrested me, so I am kind of happy that it happened to Ben and not myself, even though that sounds bad.
The Gathering was awesome! I will blog more about it later, but for now I can say that God has reminded me why he called me into full time ministry and that is where he wants me to be and that is where I have to be to honor him!
Finally, some of the guys wanted me to hang out with them on the last night and travel to L.A. later, but being the good nephew that I am, I declined and went on to L.A. so I could get there and avoid the traffic and spend more time with my uncle. Well in L.A. it is a late city, so people do not get home at 5 as in the south or other smaller towns. I knew I would be waiting until 6:30 or 7 p.m. for Kevin to get home. So I paid for a meter went to Subway to get a drink and start on one of the 17 new books I was given at the Gathering. I read for a little while, and then at 6:15 I started my walk back to Kevin’s house, I waited there for a while, and then started to go back to put more $$ in the meter, low and behold, up comes my uncle and he tells me that since it is after 6 I do not have to pay at the meter, so we go in and talk for about an hour. At 7:30 p.m. we go to dinner walking to a small Italian restaurant down the street, as I show my uncle where my car is, it is no longer a car, but a truck…Hmmm! Was I on the right street? Yep, but my car had been towed!!! My uncle told me, oh, I thought you were on the side street meters, yeah they will definitely tow you on the main street. $184 towing fee and a $140 ticket later I now have my rental back. I am still in L.A. but my trip has not started off the best.
Nick
