Personal Stories

On November 19, 2016, I was making a lunch run to meet a friend of mine for some tacos. It was just like any other day except that I was pretty excited about these tacos!

As I pulled out of the parking lot from work, I started up an overpass in the left-hand lane and noticed a police cruiser with flashing lights in the right lane stopped. I pulled up beside the cruiser and saw the officer standing in front of his car talking to a man who was sitting on the rail at the top of the overpass above a very busy I-30.

I stopped in the left lane to prevent traffic coming through since it was obvious the officer was trying to talk to the man who was contemplating a jump. In a bit of disbelief, I glanced back and forth at the man and the officer as their conversation continued. And then it happened…

During a look back at the officer, I saw him immediately take off in a dead sprint towards the man who upon further review was no longer sitting on the overpass. All I could see where two hands holding on as he dangled above the busy interstate.

Without hesitation, I took off running from my vehicle towards the incident and grabbed the man’s right arm as the officer took hold of his left arm. It seemed like an eternity as we pulled and pulled while the man pleaded for help in terror. I won’t ever forget the fear in his eyes as the cars rushed by 20-30 feet below him.

On December 14, 2016, I was honored by the White Settlement Police Department with the Police Life Saving Award for “extraordinary effort in assisting and helping an Officer save a victim’s life.” I haven’t heard how the man is doing, and I will likely never cross paths with him again. I am just proud to know that I was able to react without hesitation in that situation, and that gentleman is able to hopefully get things turned around.

Well I am excited to say that I was able to attend my first Anti-GALA and was absolutely blown away by the event. Even more so I was able to fly in early to Los Angeles on the day of the event and help with the setup to learn more of what goes into hosting an event of this magnitude. It was amazing to get to meet the “Wizards of Two Bit” by going behind the curtains.

My day started at 2:30AM PST to ensure that I was able to get on the plane and out to Los Angeles in time to help with the setup. A three hour flight, a quick hotel checkin, and an hour drive later, I was pulling into a parking garage where my spot stared directly at the HOLLYWOOD sign off in the distance. Pretty cool already, and I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff.

For the next several hours, I was carrying, installing, testing and occasionally just playing with the amazing games built by Two Bit Circus. Some were games which I was familiar with and even had at our Carnival while others were brand new multi-player social games that get people talking and having fun. This same game type mentality moved into the evening when the guests began arriving and joining the fun throughout the entire studio sound stage. Over 400 guests dressed in their “creative cocktail” wear playing games, socializing and experiencing quite the carnival experience to raise money for educational efforts.

The dinner portion of the event featured lobster corn dogs and many other creative dishes. There was a table game to jump start the dinner where we worked together to find clues, puzzle pieces and solve the problem that we faced. It was a pleasure to share this experience with the family of Eric Gradman, the mad scientist with the red mohawk often seen on the Science Channel and co-founder of Two Bit Circus. There was an obvious pride in their eyes to see what had transpired through the night.

The night was so much fun, and the ideas that I will be able to bring back to the DFW area are flowing through my head. I finally got back to the room after the hour drive back to the hotel to fall asleep and wrap up a 22 hour day. Amazing!