Free Concert

Hey Baby Boomers. Remember ole Rod Stewart and Billy Joel?

Well, they are doing some shows together. 

If I went to concerts this is one I'd attend. But no more concerts for me.

I used to love Rod Stewart, oh, not that cheesy Do you think I'm sexy, but the others. I loved him in Faces and his solo career.

Now Billy is my man. I love everything this man has done. Oops, I take that back, Uptown Girl was corny to me. But I do love me some Billy Joel.

I saw him in concert in Pittsburgh in 1983. I did not pay for it so it made it even better. He would stop at times during the show to hear the score to a ballgame of his beloved Mets. (yuk) and make jokes. The Pittsburgh audience boo'd him in humor since it is a rival NL team. All in good fun.

He was young and jumped around and stood on the piano and it was wild and good music and I was a happy camper.

At this time I was living in Erie Pennsylvania but working in Latrobe PA.  

I flew to work daily. (I worked for the airline) One day I heard on the radio at work that Billy Joel was going to be playing in Pittsburgh.  Tickets went on sale at Ticketmaster on such and such a date. 

Oh my goodness I had to get tickets.

But I was poor.

I was newly divorced. I just got out of school and had that big payment so I could not afford such a luxury.  I also didn't make much money.

During this time Ticketmaster was in Sears in their credit department on the 2nd floor.

Now I did not have a Sears card to show them to buy tickets. 

I used to of course when I was married. But now divorced he got the cards yet I kept getting the damn bill for Sears. I'd send it to my ex and his new gal he lived with. One day I called her and said PLEASE take my name off this account. I have called Sears but they need to hear from you since you are the main card holder. 

Each month I would get another bill. Oh, how it pissed me off.

This went on for months. 

I'd send it to them and say I am not paying for this card and forward the bill to them. 

So as I was in the car with my boss at lunchtime in good ole Latrobe PA I heard again on the radio that the tickets for Billy Joel would be going on sale the next day. I said to my boss I so wanted to go to that concert.

She did as well and suggested we go to Ticketmaster the next day on our lunch break. Sounds like a deal to me but how would I pay for a ticket?

I had no credit cards at the time. 

We did indeed leave work the next day and we left early which was easier to do with her being my boss. 

We got there before the box office opened and were only 2nd in line.

I had the great idea to see if I could use my Sears charge card. 

To me, it was worth a try. 

I told them my name and that I didn't have my Sears card with me. 

Could I still charge my tickets I asked? The older woman at the counter made me show her my license, which still had the same name and address as the credit card. It worked. Hot damn! 

I got two tickets to see Billy Joel on my ex's dime. 

I got a girlfriend to go with me. Believe me, that was not difficult since she didn't have to pay. I drove from Erie to Pittsburgh for the show. (2 hrs)

It was one of the top 3 concerts of my lifetime. 

When the Sears credit card bill arrived at my home I had it forwarded to them once again. 'She' who I refer to as The Pig, called me. She was having a shit fit that I charged two concert tickets on what she called 'their' card.  She was screaming at me how I had no right to do this. 

I let her go off. I was silent.

Finally, I said, "I have asked you for months to take my name off the card and change the address, but you haven't. So I charged some tickets"

She hung up on me.

My ex called a few days later to tell me they removed my name and changed the address. I thanked him. 

He said nothing about the repayment of the tickets. 

Guilt works like that. 😊