If you didn’t attend the Harrisburg Egg Drop on Saturday, March 15th; be glad you didn’t. The press coverage in Harrisburg Horizons did not accurately describe what took place on that day. The letter to the editor which ran in the current issue of Harrisburg Horizons did. I attended the event with my family, so here is my eye witness account.
First let me say that I am sure the organizers of the event had good intentions. I blame today’s society and the philosophy created by today’s secular environment. It was clear on the day of the egg drop that children and adults (yes, adults) are living today with one thought; “we better get ours before someone else, no matter what the cost”. It was so sad, as my wife and I stood there and witnessed the shameless, selfish, acts of adults with their children in tow.
We arrived at the event around 2:20 PM with the ‘egg drop’ scheduled for 3:00 PM. Immediately as we walked into the park, it was amazing to see the number of people in attendance. I would speculate that the crowd was equivalent if not greater than the numbers that attend the July 4th festival. We found the registration table and were informed that only kids age 12 and under could participate. No problem, our youngest is 11 and she was the reason we were there.
Mistake number 1, the football field that was intended to be used for the egg drop also included all of the festival entertainment, thus the large crowd was already covering the field. Organizers began announcing as the 3:00 PM hour approached that everyone needed to clear the field and entertainment areas should close. OK, let’s imagine 4,000 + kids with their parents in a confined area of entertainment, ‘clear the field’. Needless to say, many people chose to ignore the announcement and stand in the middle of the field (perhaps thinking they would be first to get the eggs). So the organizers then proceed to attempt to walk across the field with a rope to force people to get off the field. At the same time, organizers begin announcing that there in fact, could be a problem. 20,000 eggs + 4,000 kids… some controls need to be established. They announce that kids who are participating (remember 12 and under), should only pick up 5 eggs each. And, that parents are NOT allowed on the field. The field was divided into 2 sections (separated by the 50 yard line, but no physical barrier). 7 - 12 year olds on one end, all others at the opposite end.
Mistake number 2 (after the helicopter left), someone said… ‘go’. Now imagine, 4,000 kids, adults, teenagers, anyone that thought the rules didn’t apply to them, charge the field in every direction. Yes, I said ADULTS. And yes, I said, EVERY DIRECTION. No regard for the fact that the little kids had a ‘reserved area’ for their egg hunt. My wife and I witnessed adults pushing kids aside to pick up eggs. We witnessed kids taking way more than their 5 egg limit. We witnessed kids and adults opening eggs on the spot to see what was inside and discarding the eggs and their contents if not satisfied with the results. It appeared as if it was the end of life on earth and everyone was trying to get on the last bus to heaven. I was embarrassed to be human being at that very moment. WHY? What was the driving force behind the actions of adults and kids on this very day… the chance to walk away with a Wii, a Xbox 360, and many other essential ‘must haves’ in today’s society. For all of the adults and kids who ignored the rules, or who thought they were above the rules; I hope you are satisfied with your prizes from your eggs. Congrats! OH, but it gets better.
Yes, there is more. Now it starts raining. People ran, yes ran, to get off the field. No regard to the trash they left behind, no regard for running over kids. We witnessed little kids (well under the age of 7), wondering off the field in tears, no eggs (not one), no parent, just an empty egg basket and utter fear. Organizers quickly announce that missing children should report to the registration area and parents looking for missing children should do the same. My wife and I tried to ask kids as they ran by with bags full of eggs (20+) if they understood what ‘5 eggs meant’. Of course, we were ignored. They got theirs and to heck with everyone else. We then focused our attention on looking out for our 11 year old as she returned from the battle field. She wasn’t crying, but the disappointment was written on her face. She was one of the lucky ones. She had been pushed down to the ground by an adult only once and she did have 1 egg in her basket. As we walked away, she opened her egg and found a piece of gum and a piece of hard candy. She was thankful for managing just 1 egg and apologized to us for putting us through the ordeal.
The journey from football field to the library parking lot was like marching home from battle in defeat. Kids crying, parents screaming, mass confusion all around. Our 11 year old daughter even stopped and tried to give her egg to a little one who was crying because they didn’t have one. The parent showed great appreciation for the gesture, but declined. As we cross the library parking lot, my wife sees a little girl, standing in the middle of the street, crying. So scared, she can hardly breath. My wife bends down, comforts her, and the little girl accepts her invitation to hold her in her arms. What is so amazing to us is this fact, thousands of people passed by this little girl; and no one stopped.
Did you hear me? NO ONE STOPPED. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. NO ONE STOPPED. We begin the journey back to the football field to the registration table (it is still raining). We find out her name, she is 4 years old, and we return her to family who are relieved. As we begin our journey back to our car, I said a prayer… “God, please be with those family members who are separated and help them find each other, thank you for the rain, and God, please save the World”. March 15, 2008 - A Sad Day for Mankind.
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10 responses so far ↓
1 MarkMartin // Mar 20, 2008 at 10:49 am
The solution for next year:
1) There are 2 football fields at the park. Separate the ‘entertainment’ attractions from the egg drop zone. Utilize all of the space available in the park.
2) Designate specific times for different age groups to hunt for eggs. You can still have the helicopter drop the eggs, but create a controlled environment by age group to collect eggs. Setup barriers and keep adults out of the egg zone. This would give adults a chance to take pictures or video their kids hunting for eggs (a special memory).
3) All major prizes like video game systems, gift certificates, etc… should only be given out as a name drawing and you have to be present to claim your prize. You could still include a special prize in an egg per age group, but just don’t tell anyone. I remember as a child, attending egg hunts and expecting gum or candy in the eggs; but would be surprised to open one and find a dollar!
On a side note: after hitting the ‘publish’ button, I realized a few typos (this is an emotional subject for me so I apologize for the typos). In the very first sentence it says ‘didn’t not’. Of course, remove the ‘not’. In this sentence, “We witnessed kids and adults opening eggs on the spot to see what we inside and discarding the eggs and their contents if not satisfied with the results.” The word ‘we’ should be ‘was’ in reffering to ‘what was inside’.
2 MarkMartin // Mar 20, 2008 at 11:35 am
Justin - thanks for teaching me how to fish. I was able to use the manage tab to correct my typos and assign the post to a category.
3 Aaron H // Mar 20, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I was there, with my 2 1/2 year old daughter and wife. My daughter was extremely excited to see the people and hear the music. When we lined up for eggs, she actually got scared before anyone even had run on the field yet. Funny that a child knows best. After people were let go, we went onto the field to find an egg for my daughter, and found a blue egg bottom, a single chocolate egg, and 3 life savers. I found a yellow top to complete the egg for my daughter’s empty basket. She was happy enough, so was I, at least until I saw the greedy kids with baskets full and little kids crying. My wife found some information about what happened - a Charlotte church cancelled their event and sent the Charlotteans to Harrisburg without regard to the volumes of people they were sending unannounced to the gracious hosts of the Harrisburg event. One lady told a story of asking another mother to spare one of much more than 5 eggs in her son’s basket for her eggless child - only to be told “tough __it”. Typical, and that’s why I hated living in Charlotte for 8 years - and why I usually avoid going there for anything beyond my control. Materialism controls Charlotte and most of the US. But the littlest children are happy with someone else’s scraps. Let’s raise the next generation to continue that thought and move away from materialism. Those who acted that way, from Charlotte or Cabarrus County - shame on you, you’re repayment is coming - God will make sure of it!
4 Aaron // Mar 20, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Mark,
Great first post for the new and improved Cheap Seats! ( Jury’s still out on the improved:)
My wife and kids almost went to it with some friends but our friends got sick.
I’m exremely glad my wife didn’t go. She’d have been calling from the Jail. She’s got a zero tolerance policy for such antics and would have beaten those parents to death.
5 Brad Spry // Mar 20, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hasenfeffer!
6 Steve Smith // Mar 20, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I guess in this day and time your’e lucky you didn’t get shot or run over by the cars that were leaving. It was, in fact, the biggest mess I ‘ve ever seen. Too bad the pilot didn’t take pictures so we could how badly we behaved.
7 Bob Carruth // Mar 20, 2008 at 9:26 pm
What a mess. I have been part of things like this before as well. Sad thing about it - the true season we are celebrating is about God becoming man, and letting himself be killed in the most violent death known to man at the time. All because of His love for everyone out there, even the most greedy. Although he could have refused, he didn’t. The fact that he didn’t, and went to that cross, is the only hope we have.
8 Jeanna // Mar 22, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I too was at this event with my 5 year old Daughter- We came at the end and luckily were at the field goal end which did not have many of the older children. I was one of the parents who did not let go of my child (thank goodness) but I did help several children who were lost. I too was so sad to see how the “older children” acted and how their parents allowed the behavior. My daughters 4 and 2 year old cousins were 2 of the many children who did not get eggs- when my daughter spoke to her cousins on the phone later that day she said”Im sorry you didnt get any eggs, I will bring you some of mine”. I was so proud of her and I wish other parents would have used this difficult situation as a learning tool instead of another day to teach selfish behavior. I appreciate UC Fellowships desire to create a memorable event and I know that any 1st time events are going to have bumbs along the way- I hope that they take the advice given and work to create a safer environement in the future.
9 Sam // Mar 22, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Welcome to today’s “It’s All About Me Society.” This is the breakdown of American society that has been in the works for the last 40 plus years.
10 Justin Thibault // Mar 23, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Mark - Solid job on this post. I can’t believe that only one day after I launch this format that I get exactly the kind of thoughtful and informative post that I’d hoped for.
All - First and foremost, I really appreciate the fact that nobody bashed UC Fellowship: the church that hosted the event. From what I can see, they had a fun event planned - they just got invaded. By the way, there’s a site EggDropHarrisburg.com that has videos and photos from the site. They really didn’t have some of the details that Mark mentioned in this post. The Observer ran a story on the event with some quotes from people who had a similar experience to Mark’s. I find the quote from the Mayor to be particularly interesting.
Second, it’s great to be leaving the 10th comment on someone else’s post. It gives me a lot of confidence that this blog will really be an asset to the community. Also, just to show you that you’ll be heard by posting to this site: as of today: if you Google “Harrisburg Egg Drop” Mark’s post shows up as the first result - two ahead of the official site of the egg drop.
Third, to add to the comments. When I read this, it reminded me of the sentiment of this song (Warning: there are some explicit lyrics): [video - 3 min, but highly recommended] or [lyrics]. Yes, even though the format of the blog has changed, I still persist on linking to Ben Folds.
Finally…
Brad - You wouldn’t try that with this bunny. [Everybody - this isn't an inside joke, just Google "Hasenfeffer".]