Thursday, August 02, 2007

Have you ever seen the sun set at 1 p.m.?

Last night at ultimate the park security shut us down a little before 8 p.m. The park is technically open until sundown. There was plenty of sunlight left (at least 30 mins because it took us that long to get out of the parking lot and it was still light). The park security are a bunch of chavs. They don't have anything better to do but they want to leave a half hour early.

It did make me think of when I used to work night patrol at a park. I had fun times at that job. It was over summers my first two or three years of college. I would come in at 2 p.m. and all the day shift would be gone around 4 so I had the park mostly to myself. I really only had to lock up buildings and take care of gas for remote park sites in my region (three of them). If there was a building rental I would have to sometimes stay late to clean up but these were usually parties that I could pretty much ignore until they left. They would also often be of higher income and give me tips for staying late. My responsibilities being minimal and my supervision being nonexistent lead to me doing some interesting things. Some favorite activities of mine:

-If I was staying late for a party (past ten, park closes), I would kick people out of the park. No one ever gave me the authority to do so but I took it upon myself. This was fun because I would catch tons of teens (some I went to high school with) in the backseat in the midst of fumbly, awkward sex. It was also amusing pulling up on a bunch of underage kids drinking who would bolt when they saw me but leave their booze behind.

-Stealing chairs left behind by rental companies for massive company picnics.
-Hitting golf balls into the water tower. It made an awesome gong sound.
-A one time only occasion me and two friends went into the park late and shot of fireworks. We were having a bottle rocket war when I saw a cop pull into the far end of the park (we did it in a strategic location where I knew how to look out for people approaching). My friends ducked behind some trees and I ran and jumped into my truck. When the cops pulled up they asked me if I saw anyone lighting off fireworks. I told them that the kids ran off when they saw me. They told me to call if I see the kids again and then they left. We then went back to what we were doing.
Good times. Fun job. I could have gotten away with a lot more. I wish I had a girlfriend at the time but I could say that about a large portion of my life.
Back on the ultimate track, it looks like we will be playing fall league and men's club this fall season. This is good because I get to play with Cass and continue to watch her kick more and more ass, and I also get to play with the boys at some fun tourneys. I'm looking forward to it.
On a bit of a downer, I found out the Thermals played at Wicker Parkfest and I missed them again. I would be more pissed but they only played a half hour and I would have had to go to Wicker Parkfest to see them.

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