Working Security at the Minneapolis Target Center | Behind the Scenes Stories

Transcription

(Music)

S.E. Tschritter: I got to be on the floor when Michael Jordan played. I passed the ball to Shaquille O'Neal during a practice once. I drove players cars backstage because it was a circular driveway.

Dan: Today on Time We Discuss, I want to welcome S.E. Tschritter and it's time to discuss what it's like or what it was like working in security. S.E. Tschritter, thank you for joining me today.

S.E. Tschritter: Thank you so much for having me. This is going to be fun.

Dan: Absolutely. This is, like you said, going to be a great time. Now, admittedly, when I think security, I think mall security. I think people just kind of meandering about, moseying about, more than likely nothing exciting going on. But you have some really exciting stories to share with what you encountered.

S.E. Tschritter: So I actually worked security for the Target Center Arena in Minneapolis where the Timberwolves played. So there were concerts and wrestling events and all sorts of things that were happening in that arena. And I got to be there during those events. And then also, like there are some fun things that happened when there were only two people in the building and I was one of the two. So yeah, it was a really interesting experience. A great college job that I like, I just needed money as a college student and it worked with my schedule. So I was like, why not? Also there are some cute guys that were on the security team. So that was definitely a motivation to stay there longer.

Dan: One of the questions I typically ask is like one of the perks, unexpected perks that goes along with the job. And that sounds like that is one of them.

S.E. Tschritter: That was one of them. It was great. Like they did the event security and I was actually a building guard. So there were two people on security at all times. There's a guy in the command center who was like watching the cameras to make sure everything was good. And then I was the building guard. So I was walking around the entire arena and we had checkpoints and I had to make sure doors were locked and there was no one hiding in the bathrooms. And like there weren't any like homeless people on the Skyway. So things like that. Like that was my job.

Dan: Talk to me about how you actually got started doing this job. When I think of security, I think someone has to have some kind of legitimate experience. So how did you actually get started doing this?

S.E. Tschritter: A friend told me that she had done it as well. And I was like, that sounds awesome. Like who can say they're security? Like I don't know. It was just like a fun thing. So I applied and I was like, this is great. This is really cool. And they needed more female security guards because like, for instance, there are a couple of things that happened in a female bathroom. And I was one of, I was the only one that was able to go in. There were like female EMT people that were able to go in, but they needed security. And I was the only female security guard. So that was pretty cool. So not cool. Like that, that experience was not cool, but it was cool to be the only female security guard.

Dan: So I'm assuming that was the one instance where you said you had to crawl under a stall to get to someone.

S.E. Tschritter: I did. So there is a woman passed out and it's like passed out drunk in a stall and she'd been going to the bathroom. So she passed out while she was in the stall going to the bathroom and the EMTs were like not brave enough to crawl under the stall to unlock it. So I heard this call. It was during an event, obviously like I don't remember if it was a Timberwolves game or what, but I heard this call. Like we need a security guard to the female bathroom. We need a female security guard, which is like, they're calling me. So I got over there as fast as I could. And there were like eight, 10 people standing outside the bathroom, not sure what to do. And they're like, there's this woman passed out. We need to get her like out. The EMTs need to check her. I was like, okay. So I laid on my back and I closed my eyes and like reached up under the stall door and unlocked the door, crawled back under and said, she's all yours. And I left like let the EMTs take care of it. Cause that was not my job description.

Dan: That is, that is fun. That is really, really fun. And I remember from what I read before you talked about there's an instance where you clothesline someone as well. So let's, let's talk about that one.

S.E. Tschritter: I did. That was instinct and probably not the right move, but there is like this, it's like too much alcohol is a problem for a lot of people. But there is this guy that like wanted to go from one area where he, where his ticket was and there was like an open gate. So he was trying to run into this other section and he was going to try to run past me. I was sitting there like I had the security uniform, the white shirt and the collar and black pants and the walkie, like all the things. And he was running. So I just stuck my arm out and he went right over it. I was talked to about that move. Like right. Like that wasn't, that wasn't the right one, but it was really funny. And then he stood up and he was like mashing with empty chairs and it was, it was weird.

Dan: Being in security, it's not necessarily the glamorous of being walking the mall. For instance, there are definitely other instances where things can be a little bit more exciting. It sounds like.

S.E. Tschritter: Yeah. I mean, like I did have to kick a drunk guy out of the Skyway once. In Minnesota, they have in like inside walkways for like to go all around the city. And so there is a drunk guy sitting out there and he was trying to tell me that because he was a vet, he deserved to sit there. Like he paid for the freedom to sit in that walkway. And I was like, I'm sorry, sir. You have to leave. And he did. There was another instance where there was a very large man, very large, like 400, 500 pounds. And he broke one of the toilets while he was sitting on it. So and that was like, we felt bad because he was so embarrassed. He knew why it was broken. Right. But like there was like sewage stuff, like toilet stuff all over the floor. And like it was definitely like there are moments where it was like, well, why did I choose this job? I'm not sure.

Dan: Talk to me about the training that you received prior to actually starting because like that you're a college student. You decide. Oh, you know, this could be a cool job. Friend recommends it. Cute guys. Let's check this out. Talk to me about the training that that they gave you before you actually started doing the job.

S.E. Tschritter: I remember sitting in a room with everyone and they were talking through different terms, like just the difference between like assault and battery. And like, do you know the difference? They told us our job was just to look and be the eyes because there were also like off duty police officers that volunteered their time. And then the perk for them was that they got to be at the events. So if we saw something in a purse like a knife or a weapon, which I never did, we were supposed to call the police on the radio because they were on our same channel. Or if like there was a gang fight in the lobby that actually was on the news at one point and I was there and I was going to like go try to stop something. And one of the other security guards grabbed me by my belt and pulled me backwards. And he's like, nope, we're just going to call that in. I was like, all right, that's that's what we're doing.

Dan: How often does that happen where working security, you are working in tandem with law enforcement. You're not really the one that's really expected to go after the bad people, so to speak. How often does that happen where you're working in tandem like that?

S.E. Tschritter: Every single event there were officers there. So every single event when it was just when there was nothing else going on in the building and it was just a security guard like the building guard and the command center person, then there were no police. So it was just us making sure something was like everything was safe. But then, you know, during the events, the police were there. And actually, one time this guy, Andy, he's a canine officer that I got to know pretty well when he would come in to train his dog. But he he was undercover one day. So I remember walking around one of the concourses during an event and I saw him in this brown flannel. And I was like, I did this little like, oh, OK. And he is like, like, don't don't blow my cover type thing. So I didn't say anything to him. I just had to pretend like I didn't know him. But it caught me off guard a little bit because I had not seen him before the event started.

Dan: Let's talk about education briefly because like that you were you were still in college at this point. Were you studying criminal justice? Were you pre-law? Were you anything even remotely related to security?

S.E. Tschritter: Not at all. Like, there is no security, anything related. Now I'm a writer. And so I draw from different situations that happened while I was a security guard. And it was the security job was training for me as an author to teach me different things. So it worked out backwards a little bit in that in that aspect.

Dan: Let's talk more generally about that. You're how often do you incorporate your life experiences? I'm probably assuming most authors do this. But how often do you incorporate your own life experiences into making your novels?

S.E. Tschritter: There is a lot of crossover because it's hard to write about what you don't know. And so a lot of times when you're thinking about something, trying to come up with even a name, you come up with a name. It's like I named one of my characters the other day and it was the name of something I'd watched on, like the character of someone on TV. Right. So it's just like your everyday life just kind of creeps into the writing. Like I said, Andy, that canine officer used to train his canine in the boiler rooms. He had this scent that smelled like a bomb and he was training his dog to recognize, to find the bomb and recognize it and alert him. There are all these different pieces. And I'd love to tell you more, but I'm excited to like put that in my novel. So we'll have to do another one of these when it's in my novel and I can share that secret once it's in a book.

Dan: That would be lovely. That'd be lovely. OK, so talking about that for a second, the canine doing the training, what other trainings did you yourself participate in, if any? Were there any like not mandates, but I'm going to go in that direction where it's like you're required to take additional training to help better you as a security person or not so much?

S.E. Tschritter: Not so much. It was like, OK, go do your thing. It was I was a college kid enjoying all the perks. I got to be on the floor when Michael Jordan played. I passed a ball to Shaquille O'Neal during a practice once. Like that made me feel really lame because the ball like dribble or rolled toward the bleachers and I was there. So I picked it up and I threw it to him and I was so worried that I wasn't even going to be able to throw it the distance to him. You know, like just really embarrassing. I drove players cars backstage because it was a circular driveway. So they would pull in the Timberwolves pulled in and I was insured to drive their vehicles, but they like they were not insured to drive each other's vehicles. So we would get into these cars and we would have to like move them forward so that other players could get out and around. And like, first of all, they're tall, right? I'm five, eight, five, nine. And they're a lot taller and you don't move the pedals. Like I was so afraid to like mess up anything in the car. So I'd get in these cars and I was like, reach, you know, like reach for the gas pedal. And it was also really funny to see what they were listening to to get pumped up for their game. Because there's like some hardcore rap, which kind of expect that then there was like some symphony music, like strings, orchestra. I was like, what the heck is going on in here? Like who's just not what you'd expect from an NBA player, but okay.

Dan: Maybe it's all queued up for when the game is over to kind of bring them back down a little bit.

S.E. Tschritter: Yeah.

Dan: So how okay. So when you start working this particular gig, were you brought in through like a third party agency that you were then contracted out to different events? Or is it you worked just at the stadium and whatever was going on there, you were there for that. How did that work?

S.E. Tschritter: There were event guards that were there at the arena that were only there for the events. I was, and we were all contracted by the Target Center arena. So it wasn't like an out, like outsourcing job. We were there. And so if I happen to be the building guard during an event, then I just got to be there and walk around and do the thing. So that was kind of cool. And then the other times it was like, you just walk around the empty building. And sometimes I brought rollerblades and rolled around the concourses instead. We had to go downstairs for some of the checkpoints though. So that got a little dicey. There's a game called camera tag. We used to like the building guard and the command center guard would play camera tag. So the building guard would like try to run around really fast and like see if they could get caught by or like not get caught by the command center guy. So that was kind of fun. I got to go on the catwalk as well. That was 10 stories up. And so there were some concerts and some like wrestling events and NBA games where I was standing in the catwalk just looking down at the things going on. It was pretty darn cool job.

Dan: I think I told this in a previous episode where I am terrified of heights. And in a previous life, I was hanging microphones above a stage and I was about 40 feet up. And at one point just like froze and found it next to impossible to move because I was just so high. In my head, just so high up and just terrified, eventually I was able to get up and get out there. But heights not for me.

S.E. Tschritter: Yeah. Well, me either, which is the crazy thing because that was 10 stories at least. And I was walking right above it. And I just thought I was the coolest thing in the world being able to like look the coolest seat in the world for a game. Just be able to like look down and be above the Megatron thing. Like the Jumbotron. Yeah.

Dan: We touched on this earlier, but other unexpected perks. Do you ever get like comp tickets or anything like that for different events? Yeah.

S.E. Tschritter: Yes. Concerts. I went to Evanescence for free. I had free Timberwolves games. So like if there were ever extra tickets laying around, they would offer them to the security guards and first come first serve. So that was one of my late husbands and I's first date was Evanescence.

Dan: I think that was really, really cool.

S.E. Tschritter: It was. He was pretty impressed. I'm like, yeah, I got us some Evanescence tickets. Why not?

Dan: So I'm going to take this a step farther. What about like backstage opportunities? Do you ever if you you because you know the well, okay. So the security guards that are like at front of stage for our concert, we'll say, is that in house security? Do they belong to the do they travel with the musicians? Are you able to like, hey, can I get back(stage)? How does how does that work?

S.E. Tschritter: There were interactions between us and the like, especially the NBA players, probably the most because we are around. I think that like the concert guys had their own security and we had part of our training. You asked about that earlier was do not ask for an autograph that is an automatic firing. So we were never allowed to be like, oh my God, it's Kevin Garnett, can I have your autograph? Because he was there to work and it was our job to work. So get the job done. Don't bother the players. So I didn't get a single autograph in the two years that I worked there. But I mean, just being able to talk to the players. OK, so one day Kevin Garnett forgot his gym shoes. I don't know how basketball player forgets gym shoes, but maybe it was just like he wanted a certain pair or something. So his sister brought his gym shoes that he wanted to the command center and I had to go down to bring like I went down to their gym and I brought Kevin Garnett his gym shoes. And it was a super short conversation. I just happened to like go in and hand them and thank you. You're welcome. Like, you know, just the typical and I wanted to ask for an autograph, not allowed. And then but that that moment, actually, my late husband, like I said, we were dating at that time and he had brought me dinner. So he was he was let into the command center and he was looking at the cameras. And the moment he walked in happened to be the moment that I was talking to Kevin Garnett on camera. He was like, how on earth am I supposed to compete with that? There's no way. So that was kind of fun.

Dan: When you were talking about that story reminds me of speaking with Lisa from Colby's Army is a nonprofit down in the southern U.S., if I remember right. And she talked about basketball players, I think over in Europe were donating shoes because they needed they needed larger shoes sizes. And you had these basketball players that were donating shoes. And when you're talking about these, I'm just picture like these huge like.

S.E. Tschritter: They were I mean, it was like, yeah, they were big.

Dan: I have to ask, even though I know, you know, people, you know, they they grow up career wise and move on. But why did you end up leaving? It's just because college was done. What happened?

S.E. Tschritter: Yeah, just because of the time of life, like I was graduating from college at that point. I had I was actually going to school for ministry at the time. So I got a job at a church as the youth director and I was moving into my career. The the security thing was honestly like just for fun and to make money. And it was it was great, like between, you know, there's some nights where I would work like 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. And then not go to sleep, like just go straight there to my first class. And so there were nights where I was doing homework. If there was nothing going on or there are a couple of nights I took naps. Because I had I had the key to the suites. So sometimes I would just go find one of the suites and sleep on a couch for an hour or so to like sleep, like function so I could function at school the next day. But it really worked with my schedule and it was just a super fun, convenient job. It was great. I would not trade it for anything.

Dan: That's awesome. We got so much great experience. So many great stories out of that. I love. So let's talk about you as an author, because invariably. So an author, I like to think of it as any other kind of business, essentially, you know, you know, when more than likely you're not able to just decide right out of the gate you're going to write and you're going to make a bunch of money. You got your salary. Usually you have to kind of work into that. So and which means you're probably either working full time as well or part time or have a partner that's doing that, you know, all kinds of a variety of scenarios.

S.E. Tschritter: Right.

Dan: What was that like for you? How did you balance your time so that you can make life work while you're starting to get your writing career off the ground?

S.E. Tschritter: I have been blessed and that my late husband and then also my current husband, I remarried in 2023 have both worked. And so I was a stay at home mom when my kids were little and writing was the thing that I did in between momming. Momming was my first priority. And then I would write in the middle of that or like I was also when I first first got started, I was a youth director, as I said, and I would come home and write for fun. I really enjoy writing. It's not a chore for me at all. It was like a hobby and something fun. And so I would come home and I would write like while my husband was watching TV or whatever, like just not to kill time. But like that's what I did with my time.

Dan: That's interesting talking about being a mom and trying to write. I was talking to Kristin Williams back in the early stages of this podcast. She was like episode eight or something like that. She wrote a book called The Inept Mother and it talked about she talked about basically, you know, being a parent, there's no book for that. Everyone just kind of figures it out. You know, we fake it till we make it and that sort of thing. But and this is where what made me think of this. She's talking about writing her book on her phone or ideas on her phone to then come back to you later. And any opportunity she had, she was doing that to try to to make the balance of momming and work and writing, try to make that all kind of coincide.

S.E. Tschritter: That resonates with me a lot. Like I have too many notes on my phone or like you need to get a plot idea. Like, shoot, I got to write that down before I forget it. So, yeah, absolutely.

Dan: So I've asked this to other creators as well. But I ask this to you. Do you tend to carry, I'm old school here, a notepad and pen where you can jot down idea real quick or do you have something on your phone that very quickly you can take those ideas before they're gone. What do you do?

S.E. Tschritter: I use my phone, but I feel very naked without a pen in my purse. Like I get mad at myself. I don't have a pen to write with because I've written poetry and like prose on napkins and paper placemats and all sorts of things when I'm out in public. Like give me a receipt. I just need some paper. I have asked businesses like, do you have any scratch paper? I need a piece of paper now. Now it's important.

Dan: It's going to be gone in a second. I need to get this idea down.

S.E. Tschritter: Keep it there. Keep it there. Yeah.

Dan: The book you're currently working on, how how far into it, when it's going to be published, where where are you in the timeline?

S.E. Tschritter: All right. So Prodigal Son released January 1st and that is my late husband's story, The Prodigal's Son, Crackhead to Jesus Freak. It's not a happy story. It's a hard story, but there is hope and humor laced into it. It took me seven years to write. I don't know if I said that out loud or just in my head. It took me seven years and it started really rough. My late husband was an alcoholic and a crack addict. And when I met him, he was sober and then he relapsed in alcohol when we first got married. He was sober for nine and a half years and he relapsed again toward the end of his life. And when he relapsed, he got in a drunk driving accident. They scanned his body for broken bones and bleeding and they found cancer during that scan. So that was like a Chernobyl of my like my life just blew up all in a few hours. But he that that was his story. And he asked me to write it. He was like, I want you to write my story. What are the chances I'd be married to an author whose best work comes from moons? I want you to interview me and I want you to help other people with my story.

Dan: Wow. Wow. You're the second person that I've spoken to recently. And I wish I remembered who the first person was. But I want to say, you know, for my listeners and watchers, go back about maybe three or four episodes. That's probably the person. And keep keep hunting till you find the person. But it was that idea of talking to people and capturing their stories and how important it was because you don't know, you know, once someone is no longer on this planet, all of their stories go with them. And the important thing that this person was talking about was getting these stories and sharing them. And it could be a grandfather, a great, great, great grandparent, a mother, a daughter, just get the stories and was encouraging people to do the same thing. So I'm just inspired by that. And the synchronicity is just really, really cool. Wow. Wow.

S.E. Tschritter: Thank you. So yeah, so the more tragic part of that, I don't know. I mean, every tragedy is unique in his own way, but he was a pastor who relapsed on a Saturday night. So he was supposed to be preaching on at two different churches that Sunday morning and he woke up in the hospital instead. And after his release from the hospital, he was arrested for the felony charge of fleeing police. So it was like a huge fall from grace. It was on TV, like, you know, Methodist pastor, you know, drunk driving accident, like all the papers covered it. It was pretty crazy. And so his heart for other people that went through similar things was like, if God can use a screw-up like me, then he can use you. If he can use me, he can use anyone. And he wanted people to know that like, if they're battling shame or battling addiction or had a family member like that was like just there is hope. There is hope. There's the possibility of healing and no one is beyond God's grace was what he wanted to tell people.

Dan: And if I remember correctly, you also do like grief advocating, right?

S.E. Tschritter: Yeah. And that came out of this basically. And then my first book was about miscarriage because I've experienced infant loss as well. So I wanted people to; I wanted to write the story in the midst of my grief so that readers would not be alone in theirs. And that was my heart for Love Letters to Miscarriage Moms. That was where I think Clint, my late husband, got the idea to have his story told as well, like to write it in the midst of our trauma so that people would understand like it's dirty. It's messy. It's not like gratuitous with profanity, but there is language in there because he wanted it to be authentic and real and show people like these are two Christians that are like legit struggling and not afraid to show it.

Dan: Wow. Wow. That is awesome. I absolutely love what you're saying about authenticity. I think that is very trendy right now in a good way. So that is just awesome. Now, unfortunately, I am running out of time. But before I hand the floor over to you, I want to take a second and thank Mickey Mikkelsen for introducing us. Mickey was episode 51 as a publicist. Everyone, please go check out that video. Link is in the description. Now, this is the part of the show where I'd like to offer my guests the opportunity to talk about a project they're working on, a cause they believe in, more about their books. So if there's something specific you'd like to discuss, the floor is yours.

S.E. Tschritter: Like I said, Prodigal Son right now has been on the Amazon bestseller list for all month, like all month in three different categories. So it's doing really well. I'm working on a romantic suspense book right now. It's going to be my debut novel. I'm excited to write fiction because I've been in the hard grief space for so long. And the fiction is going to feel like a break, even though there's like murders and stalkers and stuff. It's going to be it's going to be great. But that that will come out later this year. So if you follow me on my website, LoveUnedited.com is the website. There's a link tree there and all my socials there, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, all the things you can follow me and keep updated with all the things that are going on. And I look forward to what people have to say about the books that I've written.

Dan: That is awesome. I'll make sure to get all those links from you. They'll be on the website, in the description, in the show notes. They'll be all over the place so when people are trying to find you, they can easily find you.

S.E. Tschritter: Awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah, that'd be great.

Dan: It has been absolutely awesome having you on Time We Discuss where we talked about you as a brief advocate, an author, and working in security.

S.E. Tschritter: Thank you so much. It's been great. Thank you.