I was staying with some friends in Virginia
and they invited me to play fiddle at a dance that they were doing
at the Glen Echo ballroom. We had several people, instruments,
and equipment to transport to Maryland, so I offered to donate
the use of my camper truck. At the last moment we decided that
we could all fit into a sedan, and my truck wasn't needed. If
not for that decision, I would have lost my truck for good!
The dance started out as a lot of fun. I was playing my Tucker
Barrett 5 string electric fiddle, and the band was playing their
regular pieces, so I had an easy time of just adding to the overall
sound. As the dance hall filled, (this is a very large hall) I
was enjoying the opportunity to play for such an enthusiastic
crowd. Meanwhile, the falling rain outside increased in intensity,
and before long, water begin dripping through cracks in the ceiling
to such an extent that some trash barrels were located to place
on the dance floor under the leaks.
Somewhere during the middle of the evening, while the dancers
swirled on the floor, I noticed a solitary figure entering the
ballroom from the back of the hall. I was playing fiddle on stage,
and as the rest of the band concentrated on their music I watched
this fellow march toward the stage. As he got closer I could see
that he was sopping wet and dripping all of the way. When he got
to the stage he approached me as if wanting to talk. The rest
of the band kept on playing and I lowered my fiddle.
In an insistent voice he exclaimed, "cars are floating away
in the parking lot!" "Excuse me," I replied, "what's
happening?" He repeated that cars were being washed away
in the parking lot and we'd better stop the dance and tell everyone.
I thought about this for a moment. We were in the middle of a
dance, and I hesitated to take responsibility to bring everything
to a halt, just because a stranger approached me with an unusual
story. He did convince me, however, that I should find out a little
more, so I put down my fiddle and followed him outside of the
building. The rain was pouring, it was very dark, and I jogged
down the road towards the parking lot.
When I got to a walkway that crossed a low area to the parking
lot, I discovered a raging torrent of water, several feet deep,
and clearly unpassable. On the other side, where the parking lot
was, I could hear people shouting, and could see lights from emergency
vehicles flashing. I immediately thought of our parked car on
the other side of the water. Other people were also starting to
gather at the edge of the torrent, and I made a decision to act.
I ran back to the ballroom and entered the door. I was already
soaked. The scene inside seemed unreal, now that I had been out
in the storm. The dancers continued to balance and swing to wonderful
music, unaware of the drama outside.
I went immediately to the stage and whispered in the caller's
ear that there was some sort of 'flood" outside, and I was
worried about the condition of our car, and that we should make
an announcement to the crowd. I asked for the keys to the car
and was told that the piano player had them. I went to the piano,
asked for the keys, and the piano player told me which pants pocket
to get them out of! I removed the keys and hurried to the exit
as the band played on!
When I got outside I broke into a run and headed out the main
gate to a road that led to another entrance to the parking lot.
It was dark and wet and I ran quickly, yet carefully so that I
didn't trip and fall over windblown debris. The sight that greeted
me when I got to the parking lot was unbelievable. There were
a number of police cars with flashing lights, people running about
wildly, and where the lower end of the parking lot used to be,
was a river! Police were putting up barricades to keep hysterical
motorists from approching their vehicles, as the water was rapidly
rising.
There was a women trapped in her car as the quickly rising water
choked her engine. She rolled down her window and was climbing
out on the roof of her car as a police man was shouting instructions
with a bull horn. I watched a white pickup truck being pushed
downstream until it hit a Mercedes and rode right up over the
top of the Mercedes. In all of the confusion I searched for our
car, and finally spotted it, with the water already lapping at
the wheels at the hubcap level. I had to cross the barricades
to reach it, and I gambled that I could get to it before the water
swept it away! I was worried that the police would see me and
prevent me from approaching closer, but there was so much going
on, that I decided to go for it.
I ran to the car, fumbling with unfamiliar keys and sloshing through
the rising water. I managed to get the door open, jumped in, and
put the key in the ignition. I heard men shouting warnings in
my direction as I also heard the welcome sound of the engine starting,
as the water rose up to the floorboards. I put the car into reverse
and the wheels spun a bit, before the vehicle began backing uphill,
out of the rushing water, to higher and safer ground! I had made
it! Meanwhile, other vehicles of less fortunate people were literally
disappearing one by one as they were washed down stream into the
darkness. With the car safe, my next thought was to the music.
I ran back the quarter mile to the ballroom and when entering,
was surprised to see that the dance was still continuing, as if
nothing had happened! Other people were filtering back in however,
and as the the word spread, folks would leave to check on their
cars. Despite the disaster the dance did continue. I removed outside
layers of clothing, shoes and socks, plugged in my fiddle, and
began playing again while my wet clothing hung over chairs to
dry out. We later learned that a large storm drain had clogged,
diverting water to an old creek bed which had formerly been in
the lower area of the parking lot. A number of cars were washed
away, down the creek bed, and finally into the Potomac River,
where they were never recovered! No one was injured however, and
everyone who lost a vehicle managed to get a ride home that night.
It turns out that the lower part of the parking lot was also the
closest place to the ballroom and exactly where I would have parked
my truck after unloading equipment! My truck would have been gone
forever, and I'd be stranded in Maryland. I was thankful that
everything worked out OK, and the music and dance went on.