(Looks around to check that The Wife isn’t around. Gets up
and closes the Door. Tip toes back to the PC.)
Okay guys, I need to be quiet. Lean in close so you can hear
me. I don’t want The Wife hearing this. I
kind of lied to her when I got this autograph. Not a big lie. Just one of those smallish types that make
things ‘interesting’.
On Wednesday night (Preview Night at SDCC), I went to the
ABC booth to find out more about the signings they were having throughout the
weekend. I thought this was a recon mission
but they were actually giving out autograph tickets right there and then. They had several shows to choose from.
The ABC booth was the Orca from Jaws and the autograph tickets
were in the water. The hungry ComicCon Great
Whites were swarming. The line for the autograph
tickets was capped. Security yelled unsuccessfully to disperse. The sharks,
ever vigilant, circled the booth waiting for the line to ‘uncap’. Hundreds of
eager fans encased the booth clogging the aisles and frustrating security. As I circled, I would swim close to see the
lists of shows that still had tickets. Several intrigued me. Lana Parrilla
(Once Upon a Time), Agents of Shield cast, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie), and LaurenCohan (Whiskey Cavalier) were all still available.
I had promised The Wife I’d try to get her Nathan. She likes
him a lot. Then if I failed I would try to get Lana. I like Lana a lot and The
Wife watches Once Upon a Time. I really assumed
that Nathan and Lauren would be gone before I even had a chance. As I mentioned, this SDCC was different.
The crowd spent 30 minutes
circling as shouts of ‘move along move along’ were hurled at us. Then one of the security guys passed me and
chatted with an older lady. I overheard:
‘Stick close’. I missed the rest but I knew what I needed to do, I stuck close to
HER.
Then the heavens opened and the sun shone upon us. The same security stopped and shouted: please
done rush - (Boom! I had 5 people
between the old lady and me) we are reopening the line.
The line was instantly 50 people deep and growing.
As I got closer to the front of the line, I vacillated between
Nathan and Lana. The Wife had met Nathan once before. He even told her a
secret. As I was about to select a ticket, I leaned to picking the Lana Ticket
for the Sunday signing. But my black dead-like eyes saw that Lauren Cohan was
still available.
(Pausing to look at the door to ensure it is still closed. My voice
is even quieter…)
I had to choose Lauren. She cancels a lot of conventions and
this might be my only chance to get her signature. I made a purely selfish choice.
I got my ticket and quickly walked from the booth. Excited. I
pulled my schedule from my pocket and checked if this signing (Whiskey Cavalier)
conflicted with anything else.
Then I realized I did not have a Nathan ticket in my
hand. I didn’t even have a Lana ticket
in my hand. The Wife was expecting one of those two. Later that night, when I returned to the room
I took the bull by the horns. I told her
I had mixed success at the ABC booth. While
I COULDN’T get Nathan, I was able to get Lauren.
She asked if Lana was ‘out’ too. I
told a half truth (or half lie), I said Lana was available but I choose at the
last second to get Lauren. I hope you don’t
mind.
(Did you hear something?
Is that a noise at the door? I stop typing and strain to hear…Slowly I start
to type again…)
Yes, The Wife assumed that Nathan tickets were gone and I didn’t
correct her! I’m such a bad husband!
The day of the signing, I was in line early enough to be on
the booth carpeting. It’s extra thick
padding and wonderful. But even standing 30 minutes on that is taxing.
The guests were late.
When they arrived, they had to do some press stuff and photo ops. Then they sat down and started the signing. They
posed for photos and were chatty. I was surprised by that. Being near the front
of the line I wasn’t worried about running out of time but I did wonder if everyone
would get an autograph.
Whiskey Cavalier is the new show that Lauren Cohen will be
in. For this signing, I was very focused on Lauren. I didn’t pay attention to
who they said was also signing. When I got to the table and actually looked at the
other actor, I realized it was ‘Noah’ from Walking Dead, Tyler James Williams.
I smiled and said hello. I told him the last time I saw him
was at Walker Stalker in Dallas. He paused
and a light went on. He said that was an awkward
convention as it was the day before he was killed in the series. It was hard to
keep quiet as EVERYONE was wishing him the best of luck with the show.
Then I side-stepped to Lauren. She looked much more glamorous
than on Walking Dead. She asked where I was from and if I enjoyed
ComicCon. I told her I was excited to finally
get to meet her. She asked my name and
signed the poster. Then it was over and I
moved on to the next quest.
Now remember, mums the word.
The Wife can’t learn of this.
Thanks,
AH
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