It gets worse

michelle2677 · #1 07-04-2007, 11:18 AM

it always gets worse. that has been what carrie, marissa and I have been saying this whole trip. well, it got worse.

alright, I have several pictures and one video of how still my love to come in the stevie forum. but first. the trip up.

Well it started out with poor cammie getting out of her 45 minute meeting in3 hours

So instead of just meeting us at carrie's, we met her at the venue. Marissa already had her ticket in her hand, but the rest of us needed to pick ours up early and see if we could upgrade. so Marissa and I left early while carrie stayed back and fed the horses/dogs etc. The trip started out fine enough. Until we got into Youngstown. All the while, marissa reminded me Youngstown is the 7th dangerous city in the US and the number one murder city in Ohio. Fantastic. As we rolled into Youngstown, the random guys in a complete beater car started blowing us kisses and waving at us. This is going to be a fabulous trip.

We decided we needed to go ahead and find the venue before we headed out for lunch. As we pulled onto the main drag towards the chevrolet center and before we hit town, there was a random building with the words "Stew" spraypainted on the brick. I thought it would be a good chance to take a pic for both of our stew ledgies.

WELL. as I get out, a guy across the street in an automotive business (if you want to call it that) jumped out and yelled across the street "HEY!! did so and so (dont' remember the name he used) send you?!!!"
"ummm.....noooo" "Well why are you taking pictures of the wall?!!!" "ummmm.....I have a friend named stew"

big grin, trying to throw the southern charm on them. hahah.. of course the entire motto of that evening was "i'm from kentucky, i dont' know any better" LOL.
so after that, he joked along and said "oh! well tell him to stop painting on the walls"

alright, let's get the f*ck out of here hahah

so now we're off to the chevy center. completely dead considering it was 3:30. alright, we know how to get there, now lunch. we are driving along and there is not a restaurant in sight. But there IS a red light and a lady in front of us who can possibly give me directions. so I swerve over beside her. She's yacking on her cell phone and i ask her to roll her window down

She tells me there are some places in belmont, asks if I know how to get there, then feels inclined to let us follow her there. How nice!!

but marissa is dying laughing. Being from pittsburgh, she's telling me how "we don't DO that here. We don't pull over and ask perfect strangers for directions in the middle of the intersection"
whoops. i didn't know

so we are in belmont. as we are looking for a place to eat, marissa and I scope out Handel's Ice Cream. Score. we are so going back there when we finish eating. We finally decide on Youngstown's finest-bob evans. I have the fried chicken, which I was expecting to be a real chicken but ended up being a chicken pattie. Marissa had the bacon hambuger and fries and we were off. Back to Handel's. As we are driving down the road, I see a sign for a business in a complex that says "hookah cafe". I didn't realize what it was, so I thought it was "hooker" but "hookah". PICTURE TIIIIIMMEEE!!! So I turn around in a parking lot and then make my way back. We both jump out of the car, snap a pic at the sign only and then head out. As we were getting back in the car, two guys were getting out of theirs up by the door. One younger, one older. They didnt' look pleased so I assumed they were the owners. we pulled out, needed to make a left but there was too much traffic so we took a right. I crossed traffic onto a side road, pulled into the parking lot and was going to turn around and head back to Handel's. Wrong. As we turned around in the parking lot, the old guy had come in from the other way and blocked us in. Literally, he was not there, then all of a sudden, we turned around and there he was. Obviously marissa and I were freaking the **** out. I asked her what we should do and of course neither of us really knew. So he gets out of his car, comes to marissa's side of the car and taps on the window for her to roll it down. He asks why I'm taking pics of his business. I told him we didn't know it would be a problem, we were just taking a picture of the sign and we are tourists and have been taking pics of everything. He's not impressed. He motions for me to give him the camera and says "lemme see the pic you took" I tell him he can have the camera if he wants, i didn't mean anything by it and I was sorry. He tells us to hang on just a second and walks back to the car. I swear to god that was the longest 45 seconds of my life. And I'm sure marissa's too. He comes back with his phone and tells us we need to follow him back to his business and talk with his son. I tell him that would be perfectly fine. He takes my camera.

So he leaves, we follow, but only while i'm dialing 911 in the meantime. I tell the lady what the problem was. she sent a police officer so while the old man cut across traffic. I sat there acting like I was waiting for it to slow down so i could cross. The officer arrived and I told hiim what happened. he informed me that was a trouble area for him and we would go get my camera. I didn't want to go because I really just wanted to get the hell out of there without anyone coming to my house to kill me. He assured me it would be fine, so I followed him over there. The son seemed nice enough when I walked over there and apologized. The policeman handed my camera back to me and asked me to check it to make sure there was no damage or pornographic pictures taken. I half-way looked at it and said "it's fine, I just want to go". He kept telling me to check it really good "are you sure there's nothing wrong with it? are you sure the batteries are there? technically he stole your camera, and chased you down" I told him that he really hadn't stolen it, I had given it to him. It was apparent the police officer had been wanting to get them for a long time but really had nothing on them, so he wanted to put me in the middle of it. Um. hell no. so he told me if I changed my mind to please stop by the station later on. um. ok. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. The guy walked over and said he was sorry, and the police officer freaked out. "YOU DON'T TALK TO HER UNLESS i TELL YOU TO!! YOU GUYS THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, AND THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!! " etc etc. I got in my car and left. They continued talking and marissa and I did whatever the hell we could to get out of Belmont.

we both decided that we would never go to another town, street, building with the name belmont. The scars are too deep

But seriously, I've never thought I was going to die more than I did last night. And to think, Bob Evans would have been my last meal. and Whole Lotta Trouble would have been the last song we listened to. We found a safe haven at Wendy's and played insider live and agreed we could die to that song.

alright. So stevie pics will come in the stevie forum, but I wanted to share that with you guys. It was a rough trip.

sasja · #2 07-04-2007, 11:25 AM

sorry, you do a GREAT narration of a terrible day hahahaaa
So sorry but it makes for great anecdotes from where I am sitting!

SO glad you are alive! ~hug~

carrie721 · #3 07-04-2007, 11:44 AM

oh

my

god.

i've already heard the story like 5 times now but i am ****ing DYING. **** i TOLD you guys youngstown wasn't safe

but does anyone listen to me? a-no

jesus

danax6 · #4 07-04-2007, 11:47 AM

So, now where is the hookah pic?

carrie721 · #5 07-04-2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danax6

So, now where is the hookah pic?

eeeeeeeeeeeexactly.

SandyMac · #6 07-04-2007, 12:19 PM

OMG, I would have peed my pants if I got blocked in like that and some stranger goes up to your car like that. I am glad you guys are okay. I do think it is strange that Stevie played Youngstown and decided to end the tour there.

Nothing against Youngstown I guess, but just thought the tour would end in a larger city like Pittsburgh or DC or something.

carrie721 · #7 07-04-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandyMac

OMG, I would have peed my pants if I got blocked in like that and some stranger goes up to your car like that. I am glad you guys are okay. I do think it is strange that Stevie played Youngstown and decided to end the tour there.

Nothing against Youngstown I guess, but just thought the tour would end in a larger city like Pittsburgh or DC or something.

no, it's okay, everyone would be wise to hold a grudge against youngstown

the only thing i can figure is that she was trying to combine the cleveland and pittsburgh markets b/c ticket sales weren't great there last tour.

danax6 · #8 07-04-2007, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandyMac

OMG, I would have peed my pants if I got blocked in like that and some stranger goes up to your car like that.

Meh. I guess it takes a little adventure in your life to not be fazed by that.

(Ignore Carrie's comments regarding this.

)

michelle2677 · #9 07-04-2007, 12:49 PM

for all you jealous bitches

Beachwood Mac · #10 07-04-2007, 01:07 PM

When we lived in Lebanon my parents thought it would be cool to bring back a souvenir as a decoration for the house. You got it. Our own Hookah which I have inherited and proudly display.

jannieC · #11 07-04-2007, 01:26 PM

Jesus Michelle- that is crazy! I'm so glad you guys are okay- I would have been sh*tting myself.

goldie · #12 07-04-2007, 01:49 PM

oh my goodness. I am so glad you guys are ok. The things we do for Stevie!!! I am still confused, though, what exactly IS a hookah?

Nixxxed · #13 07-04-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelle2677

The policeman handed my camera back to me and asked me to check it to make sure there was no damage or pornographic pictures taken.

How bizarre. Given that you said the cop made you feel like he'd had problems with these guys before - is this something they do often? If exposing yourself to someone gets you off, it's still your word against the other person's if they complain. Why on earth would you give them proof of your crime?

Glad you and Marissa made it through safely.

Stew_Matthews · #14 07-04-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelle2677

there IS a red light and a lady in front

- That's a Hooker rather than a Hookah

I don't know how you get yourself into so much trouble Michelle and Carrie wasn't even there. I'm glad you're safe and enjoyed the concert. Maybe you should pick somewhere a little more civilised than Ohio next time

.

Stew

........the sign must be Johnny (even though he isn't really a Stewart) cos mine would have been Stuey

moonbeam · #15 07-04-2007, 02:19 PM

That grafitti says "Stow" with the "o" and "w" underlined.

The girl meant *on* Belmont (Avenue), which is a main road in Youngstown. You never left Youngstown. There is no town called Belmont.

Youngstown sucks. It went to hell when the steel mills closed. But they have the Chevy Centre, which is a nice venue, with no graffiti on it yet. There are murders there all the time and I have been there just a few times. I wouldn't go there on a regular basis for any amount of money - I can't believe Stevie played there. But so did ZZ Top, John Mellencamp and Bob Seger recently - so the Chevy Centre must have given them a good deal or whatever.