Tashi's Personal Thread: An Eventful Trip to the Theatre

One fine evening almost two years ago, my mother and I embarked upon a perilous journey through rush hour traffic in the trusty family mini-van. Our destination, the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. There we were to see a production of Martin Guerre, a rather good musical. Apparently I was the only one that thought so as it was closed after only a few months' run. We made it safely and managed to park in the underground lot. We found our seats without a problem (they were the front row of the mezzanine) and settled in to enjoy the show.

Enter our villain, stage left. A family consisting of a mother, father, and their teenage son, who looked to be about two years younger than myself, took the seats next to us. The boy sat next to me, looking very nervous. He made a point of not looking at me the entire time we were waiting for the show to begin. "How cute," I thought. "He's very shy." OH HOW WRONG I WAS.

About 20 minutes into the First Act his leg bumps against mine. Then again. And again. I dismiss it, assuming that the seats are too small for a gangly teenage boy. But then it happened about four more times. After the last time, he leg just stayed touching mine. I thought it was a bit odd for someone who seemed so shy, but I once again dismissed it and moved my leg to accomodate him. The rest of the First Act went by without further incident. At the intermission, he jumped out of his seat, flashed me a smile, and raced out of the theater into the bathrooms right beyond the door. "What an odd boy," I thought.

The Second Act began and just as the lights went down, I feel something brushing my leg. "Great," I think. "He's going to keep kicking me throughout this act too." Then I look down and see his hand resting on the side of my leg. Hmmm. No. I shift in my seat so that he takes his hand away. Instead, he puts it into my lap. Wonderful. Not wanting to cause a scene and still clinging to the faint hope that this was caused by the small seats, I take his hand and place it back on his side of the arm rest. Nothing further for about 15 minutes. Then before I knew what was happening, his hand was up my shirt groping around for a handle.

Now, I don't know what planet he comes from, but removing his hand from my lap does not, to me at least, in any way indicate an open invitation to feel me up. Warning alarms screamed through my brain. "INTRUDER!! INDTRUDER!! COMMENCING COMPLETE LOCKDOWN OF THE FACILITIES, SYSTEM WILL NOW SELF-DESTRUCT!!" It seemed only natural that since his hand accidentally came into contact with my breast, my elbow should accidentally come into contact with his neck. He withdrew his hand quickly and threw me a hateful glare. I sat there stewing for the rest of the show while he rubbed his neck. Both our parents must have been completely comatose because they didn't notice a thing.

The curtain fell and there were thunderous applause all around. The actors took their bows, trooped off the stage, and the audience began to file out. My lovely gentleman friend stood with his family to leave and threw me a smug look that clearly showed he was proud he had gotten away with it without anyone else finding out. Then he laughed. This was the last straw for me. I sat that and would not let him pass. "Excuse me miss, but may we get through?" I stood up slowly. "No, you can't leave yet." His father looked at me, a little surprised, and said, "Pardon?" It was like something in my brain snapped. I was so enraged, I had no control over what I said. "How dare you. How dare you feel me up throughout the show and laugh in my face afterward. [insert long string of expletives here and a detailed description of his offenses to his parents]" They looked absolutely horrified. He looked like he wanted to die. People had stopped to stare and a lady on the floor below us started cheering for me. After I had said everything I wanted to, I turned and left wtih my shocked mother. The last I saw of him, he was being dragged alon

 

That's an awesome story, Tashi! Yeah, you should've kicked that guy's arse to the curb... but hey, a free t-shirt, so it's all good!

 

That was awesome. You're my personal hero, Tashi! I can't believe there are people on this planet who think they can treat others with such a blatant lack of respect. It makes me sick... but you did just the right thing.

 

awesome story Tashi!

i think it's awesome the way you stood up to the punk, if more people could be like you we'd have a lot less idiots thinking they can get away with that sort of crap.

 

Hee, hee, Tash!

Great little story.

 

Awesome!

I'm trying to think what I would've done in that situation, and I honestly can't say, but I think it might be pretty similar to what you did. I'm usually pretty easygoing, but then if I snap I snap and it may not be so nice.

But yeah, great job! And that's really funny (and awesome) that the cast were all talking about you and gave you a free T-shirt.