The Radio Station And The Parking Lot

Many years ago (has it been 38 years already?) I was in charge of a restaurant’s small parking lot one summer. It had 19 spaces and I managed to put 21 cars in it, the final two parked by myself.

All the years I’ve been in radio, I’ve been a demon for timing and for running a nice tight show. As one broadcaster put it, “You must run your board (control board) tighter than a rat’s ass.” Indeed, I always have. Half-second cuts in and out of the network were common; timing a show’s precise finish from thirty minutes out was the standard.

So there were 21 cars in a lot that could not possibly hold more than 19 cars. You drive your cars as tightly as you run your control board: learn just how close you can get and how to use the outside mirrors so you can use, literally, every inch of space between cars, how to steer for maximum turning in narrow spaces, and the value of backing cars in.

It’s an art. In this case, you don’t want the owners watching the artist because they don’t always understand you know that an inch between cars is plenty of room.

Many people have this story.
Local residents Holly Judge and Mark Warunek changed their wedding date to July 7, 2007. He said, “With three 7's, I’ll never forget our anniversary.” She said, “All the things we got engraved already just look so cool with 7-7-7 on them.” An estimated 31,000 other couples in the U.S. also chose to get married on July 7, deeming the three 7's as lucky.