Summary

A couple creatively navigates a traffic jam after an Elton John concert, demonstrating that leadership and creativity can emerge from challenging situations.

Abstract

On May 9th, 1972, the author and his wife, Linda, attended an Elton John concert in Chicago, experiencing the artist's musical genius. Post-concert, they encountered a severe traffic jam in the underground parking lot. The author took the initiative to direct traffic, donning an orange raincoat and using a flashlight to establish authority, successfully merging their lane with the main traffic flow. This act of leadership and ingenuity not only cleared the traffic but also highlighted the importance of taking charge in the face of adversity. The story concludes with the reflection that creativity often arises from conflict and that one should not wait for others to lead the way.

Opinions

The author believes in personal leadership and initiative, as evidenced by his decision to take matters into his own hands during the traffic jam.
There is an underlying theme that authority can be assumed through confidence and action, as the drivers eventually accepted the author as a legitimate traffic director.
The author values resourcefulness and creativity, using an orange raincoat and flashlight to assert control in a chaotic situation.
The experience at the concert and the subsequent traffic jam left a lasting impression on the author, reinforcing the idea that one can be the 'rocket man' in their own life, taking charge and making an impact.
The author suggests that life's challenges are opportunities for innovation and that individuals should seize these moments rather than waiting for someone else to act.

Rocket Man

The leadership you desire can come from you.

It was May 9th of 1972. My wife and I were in our senior year of college. Linda was working as a nurses’ aide, and I worked as a motel desk clerk. We had just enough money to buy Elton John tickets at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago. Elton was an extraordinary musical talent. His keyboarding mastery and wide-ranging vocal excellence and flamboyant extravagance still resonates with us fifty years later.

After the concert, our experience exiting the underground parking lot stood in stark contrast to John’s free-flowing musical artistry. Thousands of weary concertgoers were jammed into their clogged parking facilities, all fleeing to their suburban living spaces.

Our lane fed into what looked like a major artery out of the garage. Nobody was letting us out. Each driver seemed afraid that if they allowed another car into their lane, they would be overwhelmed by the torrent of traffic escaping this parking ramp.

I asked Linda to get behind the wheel. I went back to the trunk of our car. The people who were lined up behind us knew that we were all hopelessly stuck. They must have wondered why I was retrieving an orange hooded raincoat and a flashlight. As I walked up beside Linda, I said through her car window, “Watch me and when I motion you forward, pull up about fifty yards and let me back into the car.”

With my raincoat on and hood up, I walked out about twenty-five yards ahead of our clogged lane. I started waving cars in that line forward, toward the drive path ahead of them. They didn’t need direction from me as they were already headed there to exit the garage. I did this to establish my legitimacy.

The first dozen drivers thought I was just some weird person unnecessarily waving them in the direction in which they were already headed. They didn’t care about the oddball with the flashlight. They were close to escaping this underground labyrinth of a traffic snarl. But I kept waving onward another fifty or so cars. By then, those drivers thought I must be an employee of the garage.

That’s when I somberly held up my left hand and stopped the main traffic flow. I waved to my wife, and the cars stuck behind her, to come out into the primary exit lane. I gestured quickly, as if they should move with dispatch so as not to hold up the good people in the primary exit pathway.

As soon as Linda and the ten cars behind her pulled out past me, I waved for the major group of cars to resume.

As I got back into our car, Linda was laughing so hard that she could hardly drive. The drivers in the cars behind us were also laughing. They had seen me retrieve my orange raincoat and flashlight from our car’s trunk.

We came up out of the subterranean parking lot. As we got on the ramp to the Eisenhower Expressway home, an Elton John song played from our car radio.

And I think it’s gonna’ be a long long time ’Til touchdown brings me ‘round again to find I’m not the man they think I am at home Oh, no, no, no. I’m a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.¹

¹ From “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)” by Elton John.

Conclusion

Creativity often springs out of conflict. Life is far too short to wait for someone else to lead the way.