Subj: [ClarkLex] Crikey!, or Stalking the Wild Rosenbaum
Date: 7/6/02 10:28:52 PM Central Daylight Time
From: jfc013@merle.it.northwestern.edu (Janet F. Caires-Lesgold)
To: ClarkLex@yahoogroups.com

 
The following is an off-the-cuff, spur of the moment report of the adventures of at least some of your merry Lexkateers today in Chicago! YMMV, IMHO, share your version of things if you like, EIEIO.

What I was wondering when I got home from Wizard World this evening was what my socks were still doing on my feet. I had been convinced that Michael had charmed them right off! DAMN, MR is one fine fellow, and puts on an amazing show! (I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love--whoops, I'm married! Excuse me...) It was a very long day, to wit:

It took me a whole half an hour to drive from my house to the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Getting my advance-order badge was a snap, as was lining up for early entry into the main hall. Unfortunately, the line for tickets to attend Michael's noon signing was capped before your faithful correspondent and her compatriots had even reconnoitered at 10:30 a.m.! We were very sad. :( So instead we hung around the lobby and got to know each other. (Hello, Em, Ace, Henry, Jen, Yvette, Tilla, and Tiff!) It was decided to split up and shop the show floor for awhile, then to try to get in line for tickets to the 3 p.m. signing before 11:30-12 noon.

Tiff & I banged about a little (running into the guy who voices Space Ghost, of all people), then headed back to the line, where we found most everyone else, JUST IN TIME to have it capped not far behind us! Whew! We ended up standing in a carpeted area for the better part of two hours, just waiting for the line to move. HOWEVER: we were in direct line-of-sight to the area where MICHAEL HIMSELF WAS MEETING & GREETING FANS! Ya, and may I add, hoo!

I think the 5'10" estimate is closer to his actual height than People Mag's 6' guess. He had a short crop of peach fuzz hair, wore dark slacks and a blue Lexian dress shirt with the collar open (necklace inside?) and the tail out, as well as small wire-framed glasses with slightly-tinted lenses (the latter for only part of this signing). Thanks to Ace, our tall member, we got intermittent reports of activities over at the signing table.

Finally, our line started to move. Our group had just made it to a break in the path for cross-traffic, when a security guy with a headset came up to us. "The line's a little short," he said. "Do you want to get in it to see Michael NOW?" (Um, lemme think: YES!!!!!) We all bolted over to the line in front of the signing area to wait our turn.

I had brought a silly "Happy 30th Birthday" card, which I had everyone sign, as well as a Matchbox model of a Humvee (no little silver Porsches to be found, but this was right after "Zero", so why not?) for a gift. Yes, we all wrote our e-mail addresses in the card! Some people had HUGE bags of gifts (a framed custom "Rolling Stone" magazine cover, for example), but he graciously accepted everyone's gifts! Some of us (with much better zoom capabilities than I had with my camera) will be posting lovely pics of the man, but we just had a great time watching him chat to everyone, even a few people on cellphones handed to him! He was adorable with the kids in the line, and flirted with everyone else. He remembered riding in a Hummer when I gave him his gift, and wrote "Thanks for the present" on the picture I handed him. (I got to shake his hand, and he liked my present! Wheeee!)

When we got done, we reassembled, just sort of hanging out near where he was. He was finally escorted off, and we split up for lunch and stuff. Em, Ace, and I were having lunch in the snack bar about an hour later, when a nearby door opened, and out popped Michael with his handlers to wander the show floor a little! Talk about your fortuitous timing! By then it was nearly 3, so we went to the fountain area where his next signing was scheduled, just to see if we'd be able to see him from the peanut gallery.

It just so happened that he burst through the main doors as we snuck through the side doors, and we got to see him go down the line of patiently-waiting fans, shaking hands and greeting folks. The setup of the hall allowed for a fairly large peanut gallery to assemble and watch the goings-on without being in the way. We just stood there and enjoyed his "performance" with all of the folks who'd come to see him, as we gave a hard time to a security guy named Seymour (even singing "We love you, Seymour, oh, yes, we doooo!"). There were even tickets left for some of us to go through the line again! (I was not so lucky, but then again, I didn't have anything left to sign!) There were Pez handed round, and lovely chocolate-covered raisins, but the plans for the ClarkLex group photo (okay--so we didn't tell MICHAEL what group we were with!) went awry. Never mind--he left everybody feeling good and wearing big smiles, and we sent him off with a chorus of "Happy birthday to you!" He seemed very pleased to be so well-received, and I know we were all thrilled to get the chance to interact with him on such a casual, almost-personal level--I suspect this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

The afternoon left us with only an hour to go shop the sales floor, but I for one feel I DEFINITELY got my money's worth! What a charming, sweet, sexy man we spent the afternoon hanging around! I may well dream about him for the next whole week! So, what'd *you* do this weekend?

Your faithful,

--
Janet F. Caires-Lesgold jfc013@merle.it.northwestern.edu
Speaker-to-Toys http://www.enteract.com/~jfc/
"I brought marshmallows. Occasionally, I'm callous and strange."
-- Willow Rosenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "The Zeppo"