Meeting Kenneth Mitchell was more emotional than I was expected. I was just excited to see his name on the guest list. I really like the series Jericho. I saw the first episode at SDCC months before it aired on TV. Kenneth played the older brother of the main character.
When I found Kenneth’s table, I noticed a few people milling
around and one was in a motorized wheelchair. The person in the chair looked
like Kenneth but this was someone totally immobile. I just saw him in a Capt Marvel
a few years ago. It couldn’t be the same person, could it?
I walked away from the table and did a quick search on my phone. I saw he had ALS. It was him in the wheelchair.
I had no idea how this would work as I saw he could barely
move his head and he was typing with his eyes to speak. I could hear the Stephen
Hawking robotic voice from his chair as the group chatted. Everyone at his table
was smiling and joking and Kenneth was part of it too.
I walked back and smiled and nodded to Kenneth and told the
handler I wanted an autograph. She told me the money went to an ALS charity. She
mentioned that Kenneth couldn’t sign. They would use a stamp on the photo. She continued speaking and I didn’t absorb everything.
I watched Kenneth maneuver his chair closer to me. I really hope I’d kept a smile plastered to my
face. I was happy to meet him but I was concerned I’d do/say something wrong.
The photo is ‘signed’ and handed back to me. Then Kenneth and I talk. He has a few sentences pre-recorded. I listen.
I tell I was a huge Jericho fan. I saw the panels at ComicCon and I rewatched the
series less than a year ago. I still thought it was a great show. He nodded and his
eyes were typing.
He said something. I paused. I didn’t understand what he
said. I told him that. He repeated: Nuts!
Then he said it again a few more times. I hope he saw my eyes light up as
the fog burned off. I repeated it back
to him and to make sure he knew that I understood; I explained that ‘nuts’ was
part of the last episode of season one. I
saw a smile on his face as we shared a connection.
Since he can’t shake hands, he asked for a hug. I gently
hugged him and tried not to crush him with my clumsiness. I thanked him again and
went on my way.
Kenneth was one of the first autographs I had gotten in Vegas but I saved this post for the last. I vacillated about which details to include and how to write it and how much of my thoughts should be included. He is upbeat and witty. I saw a smidgen of his panel and he delivered a few jokes. I'm very happy that I got to see him.
AH
