I did not include this story in my “Stories Through My Ages” Memoir for multiple reasons. It is difficult to explain and it makes ME look kinda, ummmmm, well, you’ll see.
I gave a copy of my book to three former bosses and one of them called to specifically suggest I add two stories, of which this is one.
In my first year teaching at the local high school, it was my assignment to turn out the stadium lights and lock the complex following evening marching band rehearsals there. These lights were the older mercury style that would flicker on and take 2-3 minutes to reach full brightness. Turning them on/off required the use of my master key to open a room under the stadium, taking a special forked key to insert into a switch box where the switch itself was internal and invisible. All done by feel. Easy peasy.
After one of my earlier times at this task, I switched the lights off, stepped outside to confirm, locked up the room and the gates, and returned across the highway and down the long drive to reach Door 34.
As I got out of my car, I could see the stadium lights ablaze. Confused, and not wanting to admit I couldn’t turn out the lights, I got back in my car, unlocked the stadium gate, drove to the under-stadium room, unlocked it, took the magic key, and turned out the lights (again). I stepped out of the room and, yes, the lights were out. I repeated the exit routine and went back to the band room.
Several minutes later, as we left the high school, Mr. Campbell and I were walking toward our cars when he asked,
“Didn’t you turn out the lights?”
I did. But, again, they were brightly on. He suggested I go back and try again, and then meet him at Wendy’s to get a Frosty, from where we could observe that the lights stayed out. Done. And done.
On another such night, when we didn’t notice, the police called the Athletic Director to tell him the stadium lights were on. He understood what was happening and explained it in such a way it would not happen again.
As it “turns out”, when I thought I was turning out the lights, I was not getting the internal switch to the ‘off’ position. So, in breaking the circuit, the lights did what they were supposed to do — cool down and then re-ignite. So, from the time I switched off, it might be several minutes later that they were back on.
Once I understood I needed a harder “click”, it never happened again. That stadium and those lights are gone. The new stadium has LED lighting that can be flickered in patterns when the team scores a touchdown.