Los Angeles Queer as folk Convention 2013
Sunday, June 9th 2013
by: Predec2
Source: Predec2
Edited by: Marcy
Okay, here's the first part of my experience. The con was scheduled to start at 10:00 yesterday, but I happened to notice everyone being admitted around 9:40, so I scurried over to the entrance and walked in. Being a loft ticket holder, I was fortunate to sit in the front row, but agonized over where to sit. Should it be on the left, right, or center? I had no idea when G and R would be announced or where they would sit, but I finally chose to sit slightly off center left.
Around 10:00, our moderator, Sheena from the Sheena Metal Experience Show began her introductions. She introduced Ryan Greene first, then Michelle, then Bobby, then Peter; and when she said Gale and Randy next I started doing somersaults inside because I knew they would be sitting almost right across from me.
What I DIDN'T expect was for Gale to come in after Randy with Scott riding piggyback on his back. What a hoot! Gale sat down and was his normal "Poet in the Coffeehouse" self. In other words, he sort of fidgeted, kept his head down at times, and spoke so softly it was hard to hear him. As everyone I'm sure knows by now, he still has his 'Bohemian' look with the beard, long hair, and cap. Someone said due to him working on some Civil War project? Not sure. But he looked much like last year at the other cons.
There was a brief opening ceremony and then the loft ticket holders were ushered down the hall for the autograph sessions. I had six autograph tickets for Gale and five for Randy (I know, ridiculous - ha!). But I was obtaining autographs for others as well, and had a few unique items to have signed. One of them was a poster from last year that everyone in the cast signed at Cologne except for Gale, so I made sure to get him to sign it finally!
I can divulge what my gifts for Gale and Randy were. I was a little nervous about whether they would sign my copy of the gifts, but they did. I gave Randy's his first, and a big smile broke out on his face as he said it was 'incredible.' I also had him sign a photo for a friend in Poland. In addition, I had him sign a special photo of Gale and him together that someone had made for me (thank you, my friend, for doing that - you know who you are!), as well as his con photo (so gorgeous).
When I waited for Gale's autograph, I handed him the same gift and got a vastly different - or should I say - indifferent response. No smile, no thank you; just some off-the-wall comment about "Is that.....?" He said a name, but I didn't recognize it, so it kind of threw me off balance. I think he thought I was nuts anyway for getting so many autographs - one for someone in Russia, one in Ohio, one in Poland, and one in Australia in addition to the poster autograph and the autograph of his copy of the gift, as well as the Gale and Randy photo and his con photo. I don't think he was ungrateful; he was just being his own weird self. Very soft spoken, and kept picking up the wrong color Sharpie for me to have him sign (I had brought silver, gold, and black, and had to have him change one when he tried to write black on black - ha!).
I obtained autographs of the other actors, who were all quite gracious and even remembered me from last year's con, which was very nice.
After getting done with that, there was a brief lag while the others obtained their autographs were we headed back to the ballroom to be entertained by Sheena. What a wonderful - and perfect - moderator! She was the most down-to-earth person and worked hard to personally speak to everyone out in the audience. She knows several of the cast members in person, so I'm sure that helped to make them feel even more comfortable. But what a lovely, warm person to be the moderator for the con! Elke couldn't have picked a more perfect choice!
I WILL leave you with one tidbit from the coffee break with Gale and Randy. A fan asked them which cereals they liked the best, and Gale - the dork - answered "The Waltons." Randy said Cheerios, which immediately made me think of Episode 101 where Brian asked Justin if he liked Special K and he told him he liked Cheerios better. I'm sure Randy had completely forgotten about that, but it was TOO funny! He said his mother didn't let him eat cereal growing up with a lot of sugar in it, so he figured most kids wound up eating Cheerios when they were young.
I want to thank everyone who has wrote in to support what I said. I LOVE to share these photos and recollections with everyone else. What I DON'T love is someone who feels the need to snag it, post it, and act like they don't know where it came from. So unfortunately going forward, it's either post these photos as "friends only" posts or post them with my watermark. And right now I have very few that I have friended (not sure why to be honest), so that would have severely limit who gets to see them.
So I finally decided I wasn't going to let a few rotten, unethical people spoil it for everyone else, so I decided to keep these posts public. Sigh...if they really feel a tremendous need to steal other people's work, then have at it. But my user name will be plastered on B and J photos going forward. Sorry about that.
If some of those I trust want one of these photos to use as an icon, BTW, PM me and I'll probably say 'fine' and send you one without my watermark. All I ask is that you properly identify where it came from.
Okay, that being said - let's get back to Sunday!
Some highlights that I specifically recall from Peter and Scott's meet and greet - they are TOO funny together!
I mentioned before that a fan had asked Gale and Randy what their favorite cereal was. I forgot to mention, though, that Gale had finally answered "Wheatabix" instead of the "Waltons" - ha! Anyway, Scott mentioned that he used to eat an entire box of "Booberry" Cereal and it turned his poop green. Now everyone needed to know that, right? LOL!
And this was my favorite story of all. He and Peter were talking about their Australian director, Russell Mulcahy, and specifically about Ep 108 which took place in a bathhouse. They were using baby lotion on all the extras in the steam room scenes to make them look more authentic, but he couldn't actually tell one of the extras how to position themselves in the scene, or they would be upgraded to a higher-paying status. So he had to tell the ASSISTANT director to tell them. Well, one in particular needed to be moved a particular way, and he finally went over and placed his hands on the guy's ass and began to turn it the way he wanted it. Only problem is, with the slickness of the baby oil, one of his thumbs slipped into the guy's ass, and the guy turned around and just said, 'Ohhhh!' Hilarious! (Maybe you had to be there, but trust me, it was funny!)
Thought I would try to put some more of my thoughts down while they were (fairly) fresh in my mind.;) This probably won't be in exact order, so I hope you will bear with me.
When I first received my ticket packet at registration the day before the event (which included different colored tickets describing activities, photos, or autographs that I had either purchased or were already part of my loft purchase), I noticed I had one that said "Coffee Break Gale and Randy." I wasn't even aware there was going to be one with them, so that got me quite excited!
As it turns out, I think that event was only attended by around 12 other fans, so it was a very small affair. We waited by the hotel's restaurant entrance (inside) for a few minutes until we were ushered into a separate side room. As we came in, to our right were a couple of white table-clothed, rectangular tables with various drinks (coffee, soft drinks, etc.) and some desserts such as chocolate brownies, and, ironically enough, lemon bars. Well, I had to have a lemon bar in tribute to Debbie! So I grabbed a bottle of water and a lemon bar and followed the rest of the group over to a small dining area consisting of tables and booths. A minute or so later, Gale and Randy walked in with their personal assistants and sat nearby approximately 6 feet away from me. Gale and Randy were sitting next to each other with their assistants flanking them on the outside (Randy's assistant was Elke's daughter who had been his assistant last year). At first not a lot of people said anything, but eventually I asked Randy what it was like working with three dogs during his movie, Such Good People. He kind of gave me a wry smile and a look that said it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I commented that it must be hard to work with co-stars that won't take direction well, and he kind of nodded and smiled in agreement. He DID say that he felt sorry for them the other day, though, because they were shooting on a hot day in a parking lot, and they were not very comfortable in the heat. I thought it was kind of sweet that he had been worried about them.:) He did confirm that they were labradoodles. I have seen the photos of the dogs before; very cute! Although I suspect Randy is more of a cat person. I should have asked him that: cats or dogs? But I know he has two cats, so I imagine I already know that answer.
Then someone asked them if they were to describe each other, how would they describe them? That was quite interesting, and really the first time that I noticed Gale opening up some since the beginning of the day. I will try to paraphrase it as best I can. He basically said how he felt comfortable working with Randy from the start, and how it could have been difficult being thrown together at the beginning with such intimate scenes if he hadn't been compatible with him. He said he could talk to Randy just like he would talk to one of his friends and that they found they had a lot in common. He said they would band together whenever they felt like their characters or a scene weren't going in the right direction. Randy at some point interjected that it was what gave him the courage to tell the producers that something was 'bullshit' when, without Gale's support, he might not have done that. He said he felt like Gale always had his back.
Gale also said something about how he felt like a lot of times during filming it was like a Mexican stand-off except without the Mexicans and he and Randy were both pointing their guns in the same direction. (Thank you, Wirthwoman, for helping me remember this one a little better).:)
After he was finished speaking, Randy was asked to answer the same question. Randy kind of blushed a little as he answered he felt the same way about Gale. He also said that he looked at Gale as his 'rudder' when he needed support during filming the show, which I thought was kind of neat for him to say.
Gale, of, course, kept the glasses and cap on the entire time. It would have been nice to see him without them! But except for the opening ceremony, where he briefly had his glasses off, he didn't take either one off the rest of the day. Ugh. Still a gorgeous man, but how I wish he had allowed us to see more of his features that day!
BTW, I'm sure you've noticed that he is still wearing his tendon cast. He explained about his injury and said that he will need to have a new cast soon because the swelling has gone down, etc. I think he told one of the other girls that he had injured more than one tendon. Since he's been wearing that for some time, I can only surmise that it must have been a pretty severe injury. He did tell others that it was a soccer injury.
The coffee break only lasted about 10 minutes, so that was about the gist of what occurred. But it was great to see them up close and personal, and to see how comfortable they seemed to be with each other.
The photo sessions took up most of the afternoon once the coffee break with Gale and Randy was over; I barely had enough time to run upstairs to my hotel room and drop off my autograph photos, signed poster, and the much-treasured bobblehead dolls before I got a text from a friend telling me they were doing the photos for Peter and Scott. Deciding to change into my outfit that I would be wearing later for the cocktail reception and the VIP dinner to save time, I hurried back downstairs, just in time to be ushered back in for my photos with them. After accomplishing that, I headed directly across the hall to wait until the other ticket holders had finished up their photos.
I really have to give Sheena, our moderator, a lot of credit. She was still holding down the fort in the small ballroom, whether there were dozens of fans in there or in this case just a smattering of them. She was so personable and friendly to everyone; when she saw me come back in, she immediately asked me if I had changed and if she should have gotten more dressed up for the dinner later! (I found out she would be sitting at Michelle's table a few days earlier during dinner with her after being on her radio show). I told her I was sure she would be fine, but I found it amusing that she was asking ME that question. She was so just down-to-earth; totally not what I would have expected a well-known radio personality to be, but so perfect at putting you at ease. I also got my photo taken with her, and I know a lot of other people did the same.
Shortly after that, it was time for the group photos, so I had to go back across the hall for the final photo of the day. I was both excited as well as nervous to discover that the seat where we would be photographed was situated right between Gale and Randy. Truthfully, though, it all happened so quickly that it was hard to really dwell on that fact as I sat down, smiled for the camera, and hoped that it would turn out to be a good photo.;)
Soon I had all photos taken and it was about time for the short closing ceremony. I finally figured out where the photos we had paid to be printed out would be available, and I hurried over to the room where the photo shoots had been taken to see if I could obtain the photo I had paid for with just Gale and Randy. When I had had it taken earlier, I think they probably thought it was a little weird without me being in it, but I noticed them laughing together just before it was taken, and they seemed very at ease as the photographer took the photo. I thought if I took nothing else away from the con, I would at least get one good shot of them together by themselves! The photographer was running late - and I was getting nervous about missing the closing ceremony - so he finally said to go ahead and go to the ceremony and come back and he would have it printed out for me. So I rushed back into the ballroom, just a few minutes ahead of the cast. Of course, all of us were taking advantage of the empty director's chairs that Gale and Randy had been sitting in earlier and we got to take photos of them before everyone returned. Randy signed just the top of his, while Gale, in an imitation of the old "Kilroy was Here" message, wrote in big, silver letters "Gale was Here." I briefly stood up on the stage so I could aim my camera downward to take a good shot of it.
Just before the actors came in, Elke made an announcement that it was our last opportunity to bid on the chairs that Randy and Gale had sat in and signed, along with an autographed QAF book, and I made the spontaneous decision to go find out what the current bid was on Gale's chair and see if I could place a bid before the closing event. Only problem was, I couldn't find the person who was in charge of the bidding process. I finally found Elke over where the photos were being done across the hall, and told her who I was looking for. Quicker than Brian Kinney could say, "Next!" Elke had called her over and I asked what the present bid was. She told me, and I gave her my bid before I rushed back into the ballroom, just in time for the actors to return for the last time.
It was all sort of a blur then - only lasted approximately ten minutes and the day was running a little long - but Sheena had each one say something briefly until she got to Michelle, who started getting emotional. Gale gave her a not-to-subtle sign that he thought she was going to take too long, because I looked and he had slid down until his knees were on the floor and his head was resting on the table as if he were about to go to sleep. Very humorous!
I'm not sure how it came up, but at some point the stunt last year where Michelle recreated the scene at Cologne where she picked up Thea and twirled her around was brought up, and Scott held out his hands to Randy, who first laughed and dropped his head down onto the table before he walked over and was swept up into Scott's arms in an attempt to repeat the same action. But only for a few seconds, because he was promptly dropped onto the floor! Of course, the crowd roared with laughter. Too funny!
And before the chairs were auctioned off, Scott made a point of claiming he could tell by smell which one Randy sat in and which one Gale sat in. He covered his eyes as he walked around to the front and stooped down to smell each one. Got each one right, too - LOL! Elke then formally announced that I had won Gale's chair - woohoo! Of course, it was then that I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into, and how exactly I would get it back home. As I mentioned earlier in another post, though, I eventually got it shipped back to me via UPS. The cost was outrageous. But well worth it for this one-of-a-kind item.;)
You can view the entire closing ceremony on You Tube, BTW, including Scott's not-so-successful attempt at proving his virility, here (Thanks to Elke for posting this! Brings back some good memories!):
As the closing ceremony came to a close, a group photo was taken with the actors and the volunteers, providing us with a chance to take one last shot, also. It was only later after seeing some other photos that I noticed Gale putting up 'rabbit ears' behind Scott's head during one of the shots. Why am I not surprised, though? LOL!
After the official closing ceremony for the con was over, it was time for the optional cocktail reception and the VIP dinners, where fans purchased tickets to sit with members of the cast. We were ushered a few minutes later into a room across the hall for the cocktail reception first - part of the same room where we had had our photos taken earlier. There were (I believe) four tables altogether, rectangular in shape and sitting approximately 12 - 15 people each (?). Each table had two seats at either end; one of them had a piece of red construction paper on top of the table that said something like "reserved for actor." So when I walked in and saw one of the seats to the side of the reserved one empty, I thought, why not? I took my place at the chair immediately to the right of the one reserved for the cast member. I kind of wondered at the time why no one had taken it - and I had no idea which actor would sit there - but I decided to go for it.;) We had been told at the time we purchased the cocktail reception ticket that all the cast members would rotate/mingle among the tables, so I was hopeful that we would get to talk to all of them at least for a few minutes.
As we waited for the cast to show up, employees of the hotel circulated around the room in black and white uniforms, carrying round trays with three different types of wine on them in glass goblets. There were small, white, Styrofoam bowls, two at each table, with small snack crackers, but I don't think anyone touched them during the event. I took a glass of wine and was sipping on it when the actors walked into the room; two of them sat down at our table, and I wound up the first time with Bobby Gant sitting right next to me. He had a big smile on his face and asked how everyone was doing; very gregarious. The group at his end asked him a few questions, and I can remember someone mentioning to him at the time that I wrote fan fiction that extended the stories beyond the last episode of the season. He then asked me if I had written stories like that about his character and Michael's character. Oops. Well, uh....I kind of stammered on that one, because I'm a dyed-in-the-wool B/J shipper, so I think I just said that I had written about them from time to time, but it was mainly about Brian and Justin. (Insert foot in mouth here...!). I did remember that he did not seem quite as muscular as he did on the show, but he still has a gorgeous smile, was very engaging with us, and still looked fit and trim.;) Great smile, too.
Then, after a few minutes, he and the other actor at the far end (I think it was Ryan, but I couldn't hear what was being said at the other end, so I really didn't pay a lot of attention) got up and they played musical chairs as the actors took their place at a different table. There was a slight blip that occurred as they tried to figure out who was supposed to sit where, but that's where I got lucky, because eventually RANDY wound up sitting next to me - woohoo! A couple of first impressions as he spoke to us: my first thought was that he had the most perfect teeth. And then my second thought was a bit of surprise over how hairy his arms were. Not dark, really noticeable hair, but fine, blond hairs all over his arms (he was still wearing his brown, short-sleeved shirt at the time). I would have never thought from seeing him on the show or in his plays that his arms were so hairy - ha! Funny the things you think about! But, of course, he was gorgeous as always.:)
One of the fans there talked to him for several minutes about art and what types of art he likes. At one point I asked him what it was about certain roles in plays that interest him; in other words, what does he look at when he chooses which plays to perform in, since he has had such a wide variety of them? He told me that he had to imagine himself in the role; that it would have to be one where he wouldn't feel awkward performing it. He mentioned he had a possible play in the works, but when I asked him if it was in the Berkshires, he told me no. (I later found out that it's going to be in NYC again starting in July...and yes, I already have tickets to it....). I know...obsessed!:)
At the same time Randy was sitting next to me at one end, Gale came and sat down at the other end! Ugh. That was good and bad, because I could see him but couldn't hear a thing he was saying to the other fans. Hopefully someone else will write about what he said; all I know at one point was that he had them laughing over something. I DO know, also, that he impishly held up his sign toward Randy that said "Reserved for Actor," which was kind of humorous.;)
All too soon, both of them had to get up and move to another table.:( Peter then sat down next to me, and if I remember correctly, the other person at the far end was Michelle. Peter was very friendly and outgoing; talked at length about the Fosters, the new show he is involved in, and asked if we had seen it. I told him that unfortunately I didn't get that channel, but would try to watch it online. One interesting question that he was asked was why a conservative channel called "ABC Family" would broadcast his show - they expressed surprise over that. He said that originally the show was owned by CBN (Pat Robertson, the minister, I believe?) and as part of the buyout agreement, they had to agree to use the name "ABC Family" for the channel for ten years. So it wasn't so much that the channel was conservative and wouldn't be apt to broadcast a show with a decidedly unorthodox family arrangement, but more with the agreement reached with the previous owner.
I also complimented him on his rather quirky fashion style, and he thanked me. He was wearing a traditional tie today, unlike the bow tie he wore last year at the Cologne con. He told me that bow ties were kind of getting passe now - that it seemed like everyone was wearing them - so he had kind of been shunning wearing them lately. I noticed with a little amusement that the waitress wound up serving him two different drinks - both were in short, stout glasses and appeared to be water with lime? Or it could have been a gin and tonic? Not sure. But he kind of smiled when the waitress brought him yet another drink to set next to the one he really hadn't even touched yet.
After a short time, all the cast bid us goodbye in preparation for the VIP dinner which was to commence shortly afterward. Since not everyone had paid for a VIP dinner ticket, there was a brief pause in between events while the hotel prepared the ballroom where we had been earlier in the day for dinner. They set up several, round banquet tables with white tablecloths and set the table settings before we were allowed to come in.
We each had to give the con volunteer our special dinner ticket and were led over to our place at the table. I had a seat at Randy's table, and we were assigned where to sit. I wound up directly across from him - perhaps four, five feet away? We all sat down as I noticed a green, 8" X 10" card in front of my plate that instructed the wait staff which meal I had chosen to eat. We had been given the choice a few weeks before of either filet mignon and jumbo shrimp, grilled chicken with baked salmon, or pasta with assorted vegetables. Every dinner also began with a Cesar salad, and consisted of some sort of potato dish and a lemon tart dessert. (Lemon dessert seemed to be the feature of the day - the coffee break also had lemon bars - shades of Debbie Novotny - ha!).
I felt very comfortable at the table, as I already knew everyone that was sitting there, either from previous cons and/or some of Randy's plays, so it was a lot like a family reunion.;) I wonder if Randy felt a little funny about seeing so many familiar faces at the dinner table, but if he did he hid it well. On the other hand, maybe it made him more comfortable, too; hard to tell.
After a few minutes, Randy walked over and said hello as he and his personal assistant, Ana (Elke's daughter), came and sat down with us.
The wait staff served the Cesar salads first, and the rolls and dressing were passed around (kind of like a family dinner - ha!). Then someone asked for the butter (they were cute little balls of butter), and while we were eating, one of my friends at the table asked Randy if he had ever had any formal ballet training, because she had seen him in QWAN at the beginning when he came out and did some classical ballet moves. (Now you haven't lived until you've seen Randy strutting his stuff in a ballet leotard - yowsa! Sorry...where was I? LOL!). He told her that he had had four years of training while attending school in Cincinnati (yay! home town), and she told him she could tell, and that she also figured out that he was a leftie based on how he had done the moves. He kind of smiled at that.
At some point I asked him if he had had a chance to read the newspaper article that I had left with Ana for him to look at while he was signing autographs. It was about an instructor at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music that had been there for 29 years and was retiring. I had seen the article in the local paper, and had saved it to give to him, thinking he might know the teacher and be interested in reading it. He told me yes, that he was familiar with him. He was polite when he answered, but not overly effusive about it. So I don't know if he liked the teacher or not - didn't really get a vibe either way.:/
While we were having our meals served, two of the other dinner guests gave him their gifts that they had brought him. They are always so good about giving him gifts when they go see him in his plays - and very creative, too, I might add (you know who you are!). At QWAN, for instance, they gave him a copy of caricatures they had had sketched of all the cast members. They also forwarded a gift from another admirer who couldn't be there, and he thanked them.
He had ordered the steak and shrimp, and it was pretty funny when the waiter twice tried to serve him the pasta and he had to tell him that he hadn't ordered that.;) Finally, they brought him the correct entree.
I can't remember if it was during that time or before that when I watched as Gale, who was sitting at a nearby table, walked over and unexpectedly stooped down next to him to talk to him about a page out of a hardback QAF book, probably the one that had been auctioned off earlier at the closing ceremony. I found out later that he was pointing out a song they both knew but didn't realize had been used in Episode 512 of the show: it was a song called "This Mess We're In" by P.J. Harvey, and unless I'm mistaken it's the song at the very end where Gale was reading the Art Forum article aloud and Justin tells him he's the only one who hasn't lied to him before he kisses him.
It was great to see how natural it seemed for Gale to walk over and show that to him, and how comfortable they appeared with each other. Just as quickly as he did, however, he got up and quietly walked back over to his own table.
At some point, Elke came up to me and told me that she was going to have Gale personally autograph his chair with my name, which I thought was very thoughtful of her. I noticed later that he had signed it to me on the back fabric panel, so I wound up with two signatures on it
Randy politely answered some more questions and mentioned that he was taking a red eye right after dinner, and as a result would miss the wrap up party for "Such Good People." He stated that he never slept on planes, but since he was tired at the moment he might consider doing that. He also expressed disappointment that he would miss his friend Bridget Everett's show at the Largo Comedy Club tomorrow night.
We were served our dessert - the lemon tart in a miniature pie shell - and I noticed he ate just a little of it before telling us he had to leave. As we thanked him and told him goodbye, I watched as he walked over to the doorway and hugged Scott goodbye, then kissed Peter very briefly on the lips before hugging him as well, and then, as everyone probably knows by now, stood on his tiptoes and gave Gale a tight hug for several seconds before he turned and headed out the open door. A little while later, I noticed that Gale, too, walked out of the room briefly before coming back. Now my fan girl heart wants to read something into that, but I was told by someone later that they saw Gale walk out and converse briefly with an unidentified woman to let her know that he would just be a few more minutes instead.
Soon after that, the rest of the cast stood up to make their departure. After one last final wave - and some hugs for fans - they finally turned and headed out the door. And that, my friends, was that. I heard that both Robert and Ryan stuck around for a while longer, either in the lobby or Brewster's Bar, but by then I was so tired from the day's events that I headed back up to my room with my memories fresh in my mind of a wonderful time.;)
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Some brief parting thoughts: I thought it was funny at the meet and greet with Randy and Gale how Randy casually took his shoes off while he was talking like it was the most natural thing in the world before he put them back on again. I remember thinking how disappointed I was that they were plain, black footies, after seeing him so frequently wearing lime green and salmon-colored socks, and telling us at last year's meet and greet how he liked 'colorful' socks. In fact, when I had the bobblehead of him made up, I had requested lime-green socks in his honor.;) They wound up green, but more of Kelly green.
When a group of us fans went to see Randy in QWAN last September, as a tribute one of the ladies courteously supplied six of us with lime green socks, We sat in the first row and tried hard to get Randy's attention during that time, but, alas, the way the stage was set up we couldn't get our feet up there high enough - LOL!. But I DO have a photo that was taken by Rockie2010 afterward in the lobby as evidence of our attempt.
I was very surprised by Gale's admission that he had had a traumatic brain injury, and how he spoke at length about the dreams he had experienced during that time, and how he couldn't be sure if he had really seen the visitors he imagined or not. It was the first time I could recall him mentioning anything about having such a condition, so it was fascinating to hear him talk at length about it.
And at dinner, there was an empty seat between me and another woman at the table. At one point, the waiter told us to remove our personal belongings from the seat because someone would be joining us. Never happened, though, so whoever it was they missed out on a good time!
Written by Predec2 - Edited by Marcy