The Police broke up when I was 11 years old. They had always been a staple on Kasey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown, and radio in general. I remember the summer that Return of the Jedi came out, and an hour didn't pass on the radio without hearing Every Breath You Take. They also ruled Friday Night Videos on NBC. Hey ,we didn't get MTV yet. Wow...now, so many years later, I was going to get to see Sting! Sting! Man, are you listening to what I'm saying?! ...and better yet, Stewart Copeland! One of the greatest drummers of all time! Prior to six o'clock that evening, none of this reality existed. It was truly to be a beginning to July that I would not soon forget.
Later Sunday evening, I called my friend Corey who lives in St. Louis to tell him my good fortune. I knew Corey was also going to the show, so I knew he'd think it was pretty cool. Corey did think it was cool, but informed me that the show wasn't on Tuesday, but Monday the 2nd. I immediately called my brother and told him what Corey had said. Ryan assured me that the show was on Tuesday...the 2nd. I told Ryan that is was already July 1. Ryan wasn't so pleased. Of course, here I am, the guy who is about to miss out on a great show, because there would be probably no chance at getting those tickets delivered in time for the show. I then knew what I had to do. I told Ryan that I would get up early in the morning, drive to Chicago to get the tickets (almost a five hour drive), drive back to pick up Emily, and then head to St. Louis which is about two hours away. Of course, Ryan honorably said that wasn't necessary, but I assured him that I had done crazier things. Hey, what's a little road trip? Even if I would spend almost twelve hours on the road before the show started.
I called Corey to tell him that all was good, and even called my good friend Joe, who I knew would also be at the show. We agreed to text eachother to see what sections we were in. Emily and I discussed what we would do with the kids. We would ask my Dad to watch Elena and Rohan, and we knew that a lady from our church would be glad to watch Riddick. Allie was going to go to her Dad's for a week, so she would be taken care of also. I knew Rohan would be upset that Allie would be gone, but I knew that he was going to have an exciting week as well. His Uncle Ryan was going to come in to visit on Friday...he was going to get to see fireworks on Wednesday......his last ball game that I had almost forgotten about was on Tuesday night....and I was going to take him to see the new Transformers movie on...YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
I had totally forgotten.
I had gotten tickets over two weeks ago on Fandango to see a sneak preview of Transformers on MONDAY....JULY....2nd.
I sadly called Ryan and told him that I wasn't going to be coming up to get the tickets. I called Corey and Joe and told them that I wouldn't be joining them to bask in rock glory. Corey laughed at the situation and came up with the crazy scenario, saying he could just picture Rohan waiting on the front steps of our house in an Optimus Prime t-shirt, waiting for his Dad to pick him up to take him to the theatre as all the other kids in the neighborhood went racing by in cars in their t-shirts with their dads on their way to see the movie...and he would continue to wait in tears as his Dad was rocking out at the Police concert.
I'll never be THAT kind of Dad. I'll never break a promise to my boy.
Tonight I took Rohan to Target and bought him a new Optimus Prime t-shirt. Then, Rohan, Emily, and I went to see Transformers.
AND IT ROCKED HARDER THAN THE POLICE.
After all, I had been waiting for this movie just about as long as the Police have been broken up.
I did give instuctions to Emily though. When Rohan is a teenager, and tells me that I suck, for whatever reason, since he inevitably will, she is to tell him about the time that I sacrificed going to see one of the greatest rock bands of all time playing what would probably be their only reunion tour ever to go take him to see a Michael Bay car commercial called...
"TRANSFORMERS" 
