It was October 1, not Halloween. Witches and Goblins in flight were not the cause of our plight.

But the fighter jets and other military might of the USA had been on display all-day and thousands of attendees were attempting to depart into the renowned El Toro ‘Y’, already despised because two heavily-trafficked freeways joined into one.

It was Friday night, so workers from LA and the OC co-mingled in their attempt to return home – simultaneous with those who wanted to dine out or see a movie and become workers-as-revelers with family and loved ones.

He’d returned from a business trip, I picked him up at John Wayne Airport, he changed his shirt and wolfed down a snack, and off we went!

The amphitheater was a mere ten miles from our home and we were excited about our Friday night date, a celebration because we’d not seen each other since he’d set off on Monday morn.

Halt! Full stop at the freeway onramp… what? We’d sailed five miles from our home to become ensnarled in traffic.

No problem! It’s always like this on Friday night, but our offramp for the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater is only a couple of miles south. We’ll get there, no problem.

Our vehicle crawled, like a solder on his belly at the battlefront.

Thank goodness we’d brought CDs of Sting and Annie Lennox, so we listened to their rock melodies in our car to pass the time. However, the dash had a clock. Yikes, it took an hour to travel four miles to the Amphitheater offramp.

Ah… Not! With the marquee in sight, we crawled in an odd switchback pattern into the parking lot, snaking up and down rows of gravel.

Horrific, yet “what are you going to do?”

Go home and drink! Play the CDs as loud as you like on your surround sound system.

Oh, and apply-and-receive a full refund!