I promise not to dwell on this forever.............

I can only wish I would have had my camera for the events of the weekend.

Heat........Rain.............Heat..............Rain...............Wind.................Lightening................More heat............More rain...................

It wasn't pretty.

All that work, time, material, fuel, tents, tables, chairs, wristbands, tickets, planning, press releases, credentials, golf carts..........................under water.

Friday was wet- but the show went off without a hitch.  The crowds came, the planes flew, the world was perfect.

Monte Carlo Night came and went.

And then the rain rain rain came down down down and the already soaked ground just began to hold the water.....................the parking lots looked like ponds.  And Saturday morning as I drove in, I just knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  Just as I parked the van a torrential downpour opened up and for almost two hours the Lord showered that little airport with almost 2 inches of rain.  TWO INCHES. 

And the show was cancelled.  First time in 14 years.  Spectators were waiting at the gates and were told to go back home.  The weather was going to clear, it turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.  But the parking lots (corn fields) were pouring over with water.  No where to park.

Every pissed of spectator called the office.  Some came in.  It was glorious. 

I would have been mad too.  The tickets say rain or shine.........................but there was no plan for an alternate place to put 12000 cars that we could come up with in 15 minutes.  Just couldn't be done.

But who got to talk to these fine mad people?  Me and the other three gals willing to help with the phones. 

Saturday night- more storms.  Armed with binder clips and a stapler, I set out to secure a freakin' static helicopter that a photo vendor brought to the show so that the storm wouldn't blow it away.  Thank goodness there are more inventive people than me that finally helped to stake the silly thing to the ground.

Tents were shredded, things blew over, but I'll be danged if that helicopter didn't stay put.

And Sunday, when we did get the gates open and parked the cars ON THE RUNWAY by access of a brand new road that we built on Saturday (an entire gravel road in just one day with all volunteers and donated items- amazing)............people were mad that it took forever to get into the show.  Yeah- not as easy to funnel thousands of cars onto one gravel road as it sounds.  So I got to talk to them all too.

And I hauled them all over the airport on golf carts when the show was over since we'd had to park them all over the place.  But at least it wasn't raining then.

And the vendors- they had mud around their tents and no one was coming up to them.  They wanted to move.  I suggested that they move to Wyoming, because that was the closest real estate not under water.  Deal with it.

It is an outdoor event- and it rained buckets.  We did the best we could.  And Sunday it worked.  And the planes flew, and it was great.

And that night- another storm.  I couldn't help but to bust into hysterical laughter as I chatted on the radio with a concessions vendor who spotted a two story inflatable Marsh grocery sack be ripped out of the ground by the wind - and he then proceeded to chase it down with his truck to keep it from blowing away.  As he was out in the rain wrestling a still inflated huge grocery sack that was wrapped around his vehicle he was crying out for help from anyone willing to come out in the rain and slay the beast with him.  It was just all so funny.  The mud, the wind, the rain, the mad people, the understanding people, just so funny.

My feet are pickled, the office is filled with mud, my eyes have rings around them, and my ankles are swollen.

Mynde Air Show 2010 is now a wrap.

Joy.

Note:  To the a**hole who produced himself in the air show office Saturday and drove me to tears when I finally told him I couldn't do it anymore and walked out of the office leaving him there alone in his steaming fury...................I hear Dayton has a great show, maybe you should go there next year.  And tell your kids I'm sorry, but just to them, not you.  You deserve the same level of joy you spread.