So far this has really been an awesome vacation. I am really pleasantly surprised! Big thanks goes to W. Miles Turner, Theresa Beaton, and Chip Beaton for taking us out on the town and showing us around. Thanks to Miles I am now in love with and have an Uber account; though Ill never get to use it at home. So some tid bits of excitement from the trip thus far. Trust me there is something in this for everyone just pick your paragraph and laugh! Six Flags Atlanta goes to the bottom of the list as far as theme parks. 2-3h waits for roller coasters. While waiting in line for three roller coasters for an extended amount of time they broke down. There was also trash everywhere I looked. Hmm what can I say good about the park... When I can think of something Ill repost but dont hold your breath! I know someone is thinking this-I know that Ben and I are blessed to be able to go, and we made the best of it. Just trying to warn friends/family that may think about spending money on this park. NEXT While in the park it was funny to watch people stare, and a few make weird faces as Ben and I walked through the park holding hands. But we got thumbs up from some people, and an awesome couple came over and asked to take a picture with us. We were also fortunate to get to listen to a park employee explain his coming out story to us while we waited in line. So I guess that was something nice about the park, some of the employees attempted to connect with the guest. NEXT While waiting in line throughout the day people kept cutting the line. The park has a strict no line cutting policy, and though some people were obviously pissed when it happened they didnt say anything to the violator. At the end of the night after being in the park for 9h, Ben and I were attempting to get on our 7th roller coaster when it broke down. So we exited the line and attempted to ride another roller coaster that we hadnt gotten to because it had broke down as well. Long story short we ended up back at the Superman roller coaster with our fingers crossed that it would be our final ride in the park. While standing in the line a kid middle school age attempted to pass a couple who was standing behind us. The male, who happened to be white, grabbed the kids shoulder, who happened to be black, and told him he wasnt going to allow him to cut the line. At this point the kid told the man that he shouldnt put his hands on him. He then began taunting the man, and told the guy that he was going to tell his dad. To make matters worst more kids that were in his group were attempting to cut the line, and the guy held his ground. At this point the situation became awkward for everyone around. The kids began trying to intimidate the guy and started yelling as they stood behind him. In an attempt to ignore the kids, the guy carried on a conversation with his girlfriend. The guy and his girlfriend also started a conversation with Ben and I. I learned that he was an Army pilot amongst other things. As the guy ignored the kids they got more and more disrespectful. Finally I had enough and I went into cop/parent mode, and I told them to cut it out. I told them that I hoped their parents were waiting at the end of the ride so I could tell them how they were acting. They calmed down for a bit but then started back up. One of the kids then started pulling on Bens shirt, and Ben went into teacher mode and got their attention. I overheard one of the kids tell their parents over the phone that they guy was white and gave a description of what the guy was wearing. I also noticed the kids took a picture of the guy. Fearing what was going to happen to this guy at the end of the ride, I called over an employee and asked for security so I could explain the situation. Security arrives and told the kids that they were breaking the rules, and asked both parties to apologize to each other. Security then tells us that the kids parents were upset, but that she had spoken to them and told them that she would handle it. Security asked Ben and I to stand off to the side and wait for the guy in case I was needed when dealing with the parents. At the end of the ride we all breathed a sigh of relief when no one was there. We all talked and laughed and continued to walk out of the park. As we approached an area that wasnt well lit the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I noticed one of the kids standing on a bridge. As we continued to walk I then saw all of his family. Some were in front of us and some were in back of us. My stomach started turning, my arms felt like they were on fire, I had a numbing sensation in my mouth. At this point the guy turned to me realizing the situation and told me his name, and introduced me to his girlfriend. I in turn introduced him to Ben. I also noticed that there were two other people with their kids who were in the line at the roller coaster. These people helped to form a security circle between this guy and the people who were following like a pack of hyenas. At this point I was hoping I wouldnt have to put our safety plan in action. I told Ben when we started this vacation if I ever told him to run he was to do so and not look back. As crazy as it sounds I also was thinking about my career, and how this incident was going to affect my standing at the Sheriffs Office. I was desperately scanning for security or a cop that I could make aware of the situation, but there were none in site. I decided that no matter what I wasnt going to let this guy get beat. As we are getting close to the end of the park, I can tell the group of family was getting anxious. So I told the guy to walk in front of me and that I would cover his flank. At this time the mom started paralleling us as if she was going in for the kill. So I moved up beside her, and as I did so the end of the park was in site. At this point I made a general statement about kids misbehaving. This struck a nerve with the mom giving me the in to address the situation before it was to late. I felt like if I walked away to get security it would have been all over with. I explained to the mom the actions of her kids. It was apparent that the mother had an issue/and was focused on a white man touching her son. The guy and the mother discussed the issue, with security close by and agreed to disagree. To ensure he was safe the guy asked if he could give Ben and I a ride to our hotel. Because the family was still heading to the parking lot he didnt fell comfortable going alone. We agreed and while we walked his girlfriend cried because she had never been in such an intense situation before . For everyone that feels the guy was out of line for touching/grabbing the kids shoulder. I will say this -Some kids are out of control, and if you know your kids are bad then dont let them go off by themselves. This guy wasnt malicious with what he did and he even told the kids if they pushed past him he was going to have them removed from the line. The mom should have punished them at the very least for their behavior. It was apparent that she couldnt control them. Trust me Im not promoting strangers beating peoples children. Also the kid made it seem like the guy grabbed him and shook him. NEXT While attempting to exit the Marta train station today this kid tried to pick pocket me . I thought for a second about letting him do it, and then breaking his hand. Instead I turned around an acknowledged that he was what we term in the military nuts to butt with me, and he backed off and walked down the escalator to await his next victim. NEXT
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 05:07:42 +0000
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