So, if you know me, you know I'm not someone who gets all dressed up and goes places. For me, dressing means I put on my shoes. Most of the time, I wear sweatpants, tee shirts, undergarments (of course), and socks. I don't like wearing shoes! If I have to put on my shoes, it means I'm leaving my house, and if I'm leaving my house, that means I'll end up seeing people!
Believe me, I'm not an introvert. I love being the center of attention, and I love engaging in conversations with people I know and people I don't know, but lately, because I work from home, all the people are communicate with are online or on the phone because they're either people calling me about work stuff, or I'm calling them about work stuff. I just don't do people really. I mean, I do go to stores, shop, socialize, and whatever, but I'm not going out of my way these days - - it just doesn't happen.
When Laura asked me to drive her to the Comic-Con about a month ago, I thought it was in Oklahoma City. It wasn't. It was in Tulsa!! Let me just say if I didn't have another kid in Tulsa, I wouldn't have agreed to take one kid halfway across the state so she could dress up and mingle with other anime and comic characters. I just don't -- until I did. I did, and I think I'll do it again, too. Laura really doesn't drive anymore, she's got a bit of anxiety going on, so it's me behind the wheel and this last trip sort of shocked my "Snap Shot" from Progressive. I fully expected Progressive to write to me to ask me if I knew I drove over 250 miles in one day. I don't usually drive 150 miles in a month!
Comic-Con was fun. Jeannie went with us, and she was cute in her shiny little cat ears!! I wore summer joggers and a "Go Dog Go" tee, but Laura dressed up as a really fun and cute Mahito—don't ask me who he is. Caity dressed up as some sort of anime sorcerer who gets "burned," and she was adorable, too. My grands dressed up, and Sailor even made her own mask for whatever creature thing she was...very cute, very green. Brandola, my son-in-law Brandon, was a minimalist like myself. We did the observation thing.
While at the Con, I met about 2000 new friends and talked to a few more. I got a free book from Eryn Adams, author of KING OF THE SHORE. I met too many Batman characters, a Joker, and a few cartoon things and people that I recognized, but so many of the cosplays were people or things I'd never seen before - Laura and Caity had to tell me who they were. It was fun, though, and I'll do it again. Laura met her co-worker and friend Sarina for the first time in real life! She and her mom, another CMR worker, drove up from Ardmore! Woo Hoo!! They were fun.
Though it was a bit expensive and took a minute to drive up to Tulsa, there was something worthy about it all -- I did something I don't normally do, and that felt pretty good. I got some steps in too, about 8000 or so, which wasn't as many as I thought I would, but the convention wasn't as big as I thought it would be either - I guess I was thinking it was going to be massive, but it was rather ordinary - - but packed...absolutely jammed with authors, artists, gamers, people, costumes, and the like. There was one thing that was cool - - cool for people who like celebrities and the such. There were anime and character voice actors there, and the kids met a few. There was also a famous composer and actor, Paul Williams. He was nice. Then, there was this other guy - - I heard them announce his name over the intercom; John Schneider.
I first met John Schneider in 1972 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He was about 17, and I was 10, almost 11. It was in August. The sands were white, and the trees were tall and green. I think, if I had to be honest, he was my first real crush. He grew up to be Bo Duke, and I grew up and went to Hollywood soon after he did; we ran into each other a few times, and today was the first time we'd seen each other in about 40 years. It was fun to talk to him. There were only a few people at the table where he was, so I waited to speak to him. When his "bodyguards" asked if they could help me because they didn't want me just approaching him - - I laughed. I don't do the whole "I'm so famous I need bodyguards" type of thing, and really, John doesn't either -- it's probably something the event thought was necessary.
We talked, and he was the same old John. He's always been a bit bigger than life, and he hadn't changed. He's down to earth and normal and every day. John is a lot like Jim Garner in that sense; what you see is what you get. He's not going to put on any airs. It was good to see him and good to know that after all the years that have passed since The Dukes of Hazzard, he hasn't lived as some secluded, stuck-up celebrity who can't hug people and take a few minutes to talk- - he can. He's from the South (born in NYC but raised in Georgia) he gets it. I hadn't been to any cons before, so I didn't know what to expect; this one was really fun. I'm glad I went.
Copeland, Brandon, Caity, Sailor, Laura - - Comic Con 2024, Tulsa
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