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Visions 1999 Part Two He was beautiful. That's basically all I remember though – I was pretty stunned just to be in the same room with him, so I don't remember what he was wearing that day, or how his hair looked, or anything like that – just that he was beautiful. Monique, Little Sister and I kept sneaking up to stand towards the front to get a better view (and better pix, since I didn't bring my telephoto that day). We kept getting shooed back, but we never gave up. James was amazing. He was charming, he was witty, he was really enjoying himself – so much fun to watch. The crowd wasn't too big – Saturday was mostly Star Trek fans – but he still got plenty of questions – where'd he get his accent, why'd he leave Sunnydale (these were a lot of young kids, BTW), was Dru coming back, etc. (I don't really remember much of the specifics – idiot me for not taking notes.) Then he headed back to his little room to await the 3:00pm autograph session. Autographs were $15 each, so we decided to wait until Sunday (he was scheduled for 12:45 Q&A, 6:00 autographs). We left the auditorium, and Monique introduced us to Christopher Golden, who was so very nice. He signed all the books I had with me (Watcher's Guide, Gatekeeper Trilogy) and promised to sign the others I had in the car. We talked books for 20 minutes and would have talked longer, but there was a line forming behind me, so I promised to be back later (poor guy had no idea how often he'd be seeing me that weekend). The four of us wandered the dealer room for awhile, fantasizing about inviting James to our Boston Bronzers Breakfast. We even – very temporarily – considered asking Chris for a James intro, but nixed that idea quickly – no one wants to be used to meet someone else, so that would have been way less than cool. We checked back at the auditorium frequently, and James was always there, signing autographs. Alexandra Tydings (from Xena/Hercules) was there for awhile, but she only lasted about 45 minutes. The line wrapped around the auditorium, and James was always there. Monique and Phantom Denis left, but we stuck around because we promised to meet a friend at 5:30 – my wallet was seriously tested during that afternoon while we waited for Rebecca. We made a trip to the car to drop off some booty, had some faux pizza and pretzels (major ick factor), wandered around. We went to one booth and picked out some Beanie Babies for my mom. While there, I heard someone behind me mention Nick's name and the word 'cancelled'. PANIC! I turned and said, "Nicholas Brendon cancelled?!" They looked understandably confused, and I apologized for interrupting. Then I explained my question, and they said that James had been booked last minute because they weren't sure, w/ Nick's movie schedule, if he would be able to make it. Then the man told me he had a front row ticket, but would probably skip Sunday – he'd seen (and bought) all he wanted. I was kinda stunned, but I still had the presence of mind to say, "Would you sell it to me??" And I walked away $20 poorer, but one seriously kick-ass VIP ticket and autograph stub richer. Rebecca arrived early – 5:00 – and James was still there signing autographs, so she got to gawk for awhile from the sidelines. We fantasized some more about inviting him to the breakfast. Then we saw him head to the bathroom, and Rebecca and Little Sister tried to convince me that it was the perfect opportunity – ambush him when he came out. NO way. Aside from the fact that I have no guts, I was not going to accost him outside of a bathroom – I sure as hell wouldn't like it if someone did that to me! So I let that 'opportunity' slip by me. The line was getting really low, and I decided, what the hell, I'll pay the $15 just to invite him to breakfast. Who knows, it might actually impress him if I don't even ask for the autograph. I went to the ticket counter, but they said that's it, he's finished for the day. Dammit, it's not often I act on my impulses, and I was too late. He finished his autographs at 6:00, and though we lurked outside 'the room' during his walk back, we had no opportunity (and I seemed to have used up what little guts I had). He disappeared into the room, and that was it. But it wasn't. Little Sister mentioned that she'd noticed a door in the lobby, in just the right place to be in the back of the little room. So we ran to the lobby, and there he was, coat on and ready to go, chatting w/ the event officials. We continued walking through the lobby, and out the door. At this point I was scared stiff, and Little Sister and Rebecca were yelling, "This is your last chance!" at me. He walked out the door with his one-man escort, looking truly exhausted, and headed across the parking lot, crossing directly in front of us about 15 feet away. Little Sister and Rebecca were starting to sound like broken records – "last chance, last chance" – and he was getting further and further away, and I saw regret sneaking up behind me, and I closed my eyes, raised my right hand, and called out, "Mr. Marsters, could I have a moment of your time?"
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Visions 1999 Relevant Links |