I had a wonderful time in Jersey. As always, this show allows me to add a wealth of autographs in a short time. I look forward to attending in the future.
One event left a sour taste. A bomb threat.
At 4:00 PM, after a long day of collecting autographs, I was ready to work on the last 3 celebs I really wanted. These 3 (Shirley Jones, Kristy McNichol, and Tatum O’Neil) had long lines all day and it was at the point when most people had left and these lines were manageable. I had checked on the length of the lines several times through the day. Now was the time to get these last 3 signatures.
I joined the line for Shirley Jones. It wasn’t too long but the guy front of me was odd. He wandered to the front to look over the photos and then wandered back. He did that several times in the half hour we were queued. When he was finally in front of Shirley, he was basically doing the pee pee dance as he bounced from one foot to the other. He still couldn’t decide on a photo to get signed.
Then the fire alarm went off. It was 4:30. His head bolted up toward the sound. He paused. He said we needed to leave. The handler was undeterred and wanted to make a sale. I was siding with the handler. Our friend said, he didn’t feel comfortable. They needed to leave. The handler asked if he decided on a photo. And I’m thinking: if you feel like you need to leave, please do, so I can get my autograph. Our friend continued to bounce from one leg to the other and requested that we all leave. The handler looked to me and I pointed to the photo I wanted signed. I had money in my hand and before I handed it over, hotel security came into the room. They asked that we all leave as this was not a false alarm. Dang it!
I could see the vindication in Pee Pee man’s face just before he fled from the room. NOW he left.
As I walked out, I heard people say this occurred last year too. Others said, the Fire Marshall does this because too many people were in the building. A fire truck slowly drove through the parking lot and the police were already outside the hotel.
I walked back to my car and sat. It was good to take a load off. Then I drove to a fast food restaurant and ate. I drove back and hung out for another hour. People were milling around outside the entrances but not allowed back in. About 6 PM, I gave up and left. Disappointment clung to me as I started home. I missed out on the last 3 signatures. And Shirley Jones was just seconds from being completed.
As I read through Facebook that night, the only thing I found was that a bomb threat had been called in. It happened last year too. A shame.
AH
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