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JusticeGH at the ATWT Fan Luncheon/Nuke-a-palooza 2008
Ok, ladies and gents…buckle up and pack a coffee, ‘cause here comes George’s over-long Nuke-tacular weekend recap.
Thursday Night
I met Chris (HighDensity on the Wiki) and picked up a present he wanted me to pass on to Van, then went home and spent hours writing Nuke trivia, as I had each night for the past three nights, waiting for Melissa to arrive. When she did, we printed out directions, I finished packing, and then she “went to bed”, while I finished writing more trivia. I finally went to bed at 4:15am.
Friday
My alarm went off at 5:15am…just one hour after I’d gone to bed. I made sure Melissa was up, and she in turn called Tom. After Melissa and I were ready, we picked up Tom, then Theresa, hit up Dunkin Donuts, and then got on the road. The ride down was fairly uneventful. Team Nuke New England sure can talk…which was essential in keeping me awake and the car on the road, so I am grateful for our gift of gab.
We arrived in NYC at the Milford and unloaded stuff. Melissa stayed with the car so I could run in and use the bathroom, and we saw Jammi and I got to meet Lyddie! Then I went to the bathroom and when I came out, there were Shirphie, Lisa, Michael, Chris, and the Twirls! Hugs were exchanged, and we were told Travis’ flight was running late, so Henry Davis Day would be delayed. Tom and Theresa stayed with Jammie and Lyddie, while the rest of the crew headed off to get Travis.
Meanwhile, Melissa joined me in driving the car to Brooklyn, where we could park it for free for the weekend. We headed back into Manhattan by subway, and after months of chatting online and by phone, I finally got to meet the lovely Barbara when we picked her up at her hotel. We walked to the Marriot Marquis and finally got to meet my Wiki partners in crime, Natalie and Nicole, along with Coni, Sage and Mr. Sage. Shortly thereafter, the most adorable person on the planet, Jordan, along with her sweet mom (Lisa) and her sister, showed up. We all marveled at her amazing handmade/hand painted Luke & Noah tote bag. When we got word that there was another slight delay, Barbara joined me in taking Nat and Nic to their hotel to drop off their things, then we went back to meet the group.
Renee and Laura had arrived to start the Luke & Noah’s Gay New York tour, while Shirphie’s crew continued working on getting Trav. Tom, Theresa, Lyddie and Jammi rejoined us as well. We headed off via the subway (it was fun watching some folks on the subway for the first time, or just taking everything in…like Sage wandering the car for “research purposes”) to the West Village (some of the group getting distracted by some of the more overt sex shops…I won’t name names <cough> Mistress Commanda <cough>). We visited the Factory Café, which is where Rob joined us. From there we wandered to molest the statues, as has become custom, but the park was too busy, so we didn’t get to. We stopped across from the Stonewall Inn, so that, unlike Luke, Renee and Laura could explain its significance to the group. Thankfully, to keep things Nuke accurate, they did mention that it’s historic. We stopped at the Oscar Wilde Book Store, the oldest GLBT bookstore in the world, and while folks browsed in there we also took some pics at the corner of Christopher and Gay Streets.
We stopped at a newsstand to see how Nuke did in the latest issue of SID. We won’t discuss that here. GRR. Then we headed off to the Cube. Finally, two big groups of Nukies came together as we met up with the Travis Rescue League. We finally got to meet Travis, and were now a group 23 strong. Everyone exchanged greetings, and I tried to convince folks we could actually manage a group photo, which we did. Then we worked in some smaller photos, including all the twins, the honorary twins, and the striped shirt folks.
From the Cube, we wandered off to have dinner at the famed (well, at least to us) sushi place featured in the Henry Davis videos. I was actually able to find something on the menu to eat, and recommended the same thing to Barbara. We enjoyed our meal, were entirely too loud (love us!) and just generally had a good time. Kay was able to join us at that point, and Scott and Peter soon followed. We were now at peak Nuke strength for Friday—26 fabulous Nuke lovers! After figuring out the ginormous bill, we headed back towards the subway to get to Times Square. We made one more quick stop at the Cube so Jordan could spin it and get giddy all over again.
Once in Times Square, we began to split up. Twelve of us were headed to rent. The Harrisons and Peter (and perhaps others) headed to Midtown Comics (which I am now officially designating a Vanmark), Renee and Tom took Jordan back to her hotel, and the remaining twelve got in line for Rent. The show was awesome…I know a lot of the music, but hadn’t seen the show before (despite owning the movie). Folks were all tired, but I was determined to still go out dancing with Lisa…I’d been looking forward to it for ages. When we got outside, Lisa spotted the car with the “Twins” license plate, and I yelped! I don’t know why…it was a crazy reaction. We took some pictures of various twins in front of it, and I also showed off the piece of the Die Mommie Die set that we, um…borrowed?...back in January.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for more fun. I took my bag from the Milford to the Courtyard Marriot where I was staying with Barbara, and got to meet Jenn for the first time. I quickly changed and headed to meet folks at The Ritz. I wondered in and it was HOT AS HELL as soon as I was inside. The place was packed. I found Lisa, Laura, Travis, the Twoys and some of Laura’s friends in the back room, and joined them in dancing. I usually need liquor before I can dance, but lack of sleep and lack of desire to stand in lines in that heat got me dancing without the alcohol. Eventually, Laura and I went to get drinks, and rejoined our crew. Dancing continued, as did sweating. Eventually everyone headed out, but I stayed with Lisa for a little longer. Finally, even we’d had enough of the heat, so we headed out. I got back to my hotel around 1:45 and finally slept.
Saturday Morning
It was luncheon day! I knew I had to meet a crew at 8:40 at the Milford to pick up Andy, so I had set my alarm for 8am. But the wake-up call came through at 6:45!! And scared the crap out of me…and the ladies slept right through it. So I hopped up and answered it, and we slowly roused ourselves. While Barbara was in the shower I voted in the SID poll.
When 8 finally came, I was just about to start getting ready when I got a call from Lisa that Andy had arrived early. I couldn’t reach Tom, Nat or Nicole, so I told Lisa we should just go get Andy and bring him back to the Milford to meet the group at 8:40…it’d be a fun surprise. I hastily got ready and headed to meet Lisa at Port Authority. We found Andy at his gate and took him back to the Milford where he got to meet Peter and Tom. We then waited for Nat and Nic to show up, and they got to meet Andy, too. I noticed I was wearing two different shoes…so I headed back to the Courtyard to change. Meanwhile, Barbara and Jenn had picked up Jill and her friend (who’s name I once again am blanking on, just as I did on Saturday), so I got to meet them. I changed my shoes, and we headed for the Marriot Marquis.
ATWT Fan Luncheon
Once we had reached sort of a “Nukie critical mass”, it was getting towards 10:30, which is when the doors were supposed to open, so we got in line. I got moved up to a line that no one really thought was a line, so I was in fairly quickly. I got in line to buy photos, and bought TPTIS, and then wandered around finding other Nukies I knew, and meeting other Nukies I hadn’t met before, including Champayne, Eileen, Paulette, Silas, Beth, Kim, Monik, Tony and tons more…sorry, trying to give shout outs just means you end up shooting yourself in the foot.
After signing assorted cards for assorted people and getting my lanyard, I wandered back to the raffle tables. I bought one ticket for the studio tour, and then bought one sheet of the tickets which you could split up and allocate across different items. I put one ticket in each of the following cups: Free ATWT Fan Club Membership, Java Shirt, Crash Shirt, Al’s Diner Uniform Bowling Shirt, and then spread the rest of my tickets between the cups to have your photo appear in one of the soap mags with four stars, and in the cup for Matt’s WOAK stenciled pants—which I would’ve given to Melissa if I’d won.
Right around then, as a member of the Nuke-a-palooza planning committee I was given word that Van and Jake would be joining us at the party. I quietly celebrated, and then went back to chatting with more Nukies until it was finally time to head to our tables. The tables weren’t numbered, and while many of the other fans started just taking seats, most Nukies were polite and waited for the Fan Club to rectify the issue and find our proper seats. When all was said and done, my table also included Barbara, Roger and Lyle, Andy, Tony (Rygel) and the Twirls. We picked at our food and chatted, took time to look over the amazing books that Tony (Kubick) had put together of all of the media blitz articles. Mindi was chatting on stage, and said something that led to Nukies screaming like crazy…apparently she had asked who was a first time Luncheoner. I had screamed regardless…I had trained myself to just go with it. She mentioned the Nuke storyline…I can’t remember the context, but she was clearly appreciative of it and of the new fans it had brought in.
Mindi started going through the raffle prizes, and the people who were winning just weren’t excited enough. I spent a good long while bitching about that fact, and had just put a roll in my mouth when she called my number! I didn’t even know what I had won. I double checked my card just as she called my number again. So, rather than by a hypocrite, I let out a whoop, and the Nukies all cheered along. I ran up and got my folder for my free Fan Club membership. We chatted more and the raffles continued. Melissa didn’t win Matt’s pants. But she did win the GLAAD photo, which was pretty much perfect. She screamed out “That’s me!” (it sounded a little Angela Arden in DMD) when her number was called, and Renee gave her a hug on her way up to the stage. Roger said that he was done with the raffle since all his prizes had been called already, and I no sooner said that I was still in the running for the Al’s shirt than Mindi called my number again…for the Al’s shirt.
After the prizes were done, Mindi turned the floor over to Michael Park, who MCed the event. He brought out Mick Hazen as his co-host, and they started calling out the rest of the cast who were in attendance. When Michael mentioned bringing out “These two guys together” we went NUTS. Tons of screaming! Michael got his intro out, including mentions of the controversy and the Kiss campaign going straight to his gut, and then finally announced Van and Jake, and we all really let loose!
Other notable arrivals included Colleen Zenk Pinter, who made an emotional and moving speech about how she missed last years luncheon and wasn’t sure she’d make it back, and urging people to get oral cancer screenings. Billy came out looking great in his beige suit and pink shirt, taking photos of the crowd and milking it for all it was worth. Austin Peck came out and almost immediately ran into the audience and hugged/half humped a random woman in the crowd who had cheered for him. Kathleen Widdoes came out and hiked up her skirt a bit before inviting everyone back to the farm for snacks afterwards. Liz Hubbard (that’s who she signed my autograph, so I think I can call her that) came out looking every bit the diva you’d expect. Ellen Dolan snuck on stage from the wrong side, as she was a late arrival. Ellery Capshaw made the most of her arrival, and the whole audience sang happy birthday to her.
Finally everyone was out and off to their tables, and we finally started to take our place in line. I was happy to wait on getting in Van and Jake’s line, since I’d already met them, but I also wanted to make sure it was the longest line, so I wandered over to it, and ended up being pulled into the line by Sherry, Barbara and Angie. We talked as the line moved up. I got to see Travis meet the boys, and caught a pic. Sherry asked me if I was going to keep my promise to ask the boys to kiss her on the cheeks. I was nervous about asking anything like that after the GLAAD controversy, so I was glad that she did the asking herself…and that they agreed! I did at least get a good pic of it! I also took Barbara’s pic with the boys before getting my photo taken with them and getting their autographs. I wandered off and realized in my excitement that I’d TOTALLY forgotten to pass on Chris’ gift. So I turned around and said “I’m not cutting…I just had this for you, Van…it’s from Chris, a fan up in Boston who couldn’t make it down!” He said “Oh, thanks! That’s so nice! Thank him for me?” I said I would and left our boys again.
From there I visited Liz Hubbard, and started a quick run through star tables, getting autographs on multi-colored, multi-shaped index cards which I planned to put in an album alongside my photo with the star. I met Noelle Beck and welcomed her to the show. I searched for Kathleen Widdoes, but she’d already left. I met Marie Masters. She asked how to spell George, and I kind of balked at the idea that there might be other options…and proceeded to spell it wrong. My own name. Luckily I corrected myself before she wrote anything.
I visited Ellery, Allie, and Ashley, and while I was in their line, the place went wild, and I saw Andy up meeting Van and Jake and Nukies around the room cheering! It was awesome! I teared up a little! I got to meet Eric, and told him I was thrilled he’d be back on the show. He seemed very appreciative. Champayne had told me that Tala said she was the only fan who liked Ameera, so I chatted with Tala a bit about the fact that I wanted to like Ameera, and I would as soon as she was in someone else’s storyline. She said it was ok not to like Ameera…she didn’t even particularly like Ameera. We also chatted a bit about Boston, since she graduated from BU.
From there I headed into Billy’s line. He unbuttoned his shirt for the woman in front of me, and then it was my turn to head up to meet him. Anyone who knows anything about me knows this is crazy, but I was thinking the group would be really amused if I got a pic of me kissing him on the cheek. I couldn’t believe I was even considering it, but he’d done literally anything anyone had asked thus far. I started to walk up, and he gave me a full on straight guy handshake/man hug, and then as I started to back away, he asked me where I was from, and I said Boston, and he said “Gangsta!” and then wrote my autograph “To George Gangsta, -Billy” with a heart. Then he slapped his thigh and was like “Ok…siddown!” I was so taken aback by that that I just sat down, handed my camera to the woman behind me in line, and didn’t think to ask anything else. Then he whispered in my ear “What do you want for Christmas?” Oh…the responses I could’ve given… The woman was too close, so you can’t really tell I’m sitting on Billy’s lap…but Roger saw and said he’d vouch for me…though I almost went back to ask for a re-do.
From Billy, I went to Jon and Marie’s table, just in time to see Marie and Jordan go through this adorable jump-off together when they realized they were both from outside Toronto. Jon and Marie were both very sweet. I crossed the room to Chauntee and Wole’s line, and snapped a pick of Terri and Austin while I was there…knowing I wasn’t going to spend the time in their line to get a proper photo. Wole and Chauntee were really friendly and nice, and were goofing around with this woman and her 8 year old son in front of me in line. They were really nice to me as well. I headed to Mick and Meredith’s line. Meredith asked where I was from, and I told her Boston. She said she had spent a little time in Boston for school. As Mick was signing for me, he looked up and with sort of a gravelly voice he said “Baseball fan?” and I said “Yes”. And he said “Red Sox?” and sort of scowled, and I said “Yankees?” and sort of scowled back and he was like “Yeah.” So I said “Well…can we put that aside so I can get a picture anyway?” and he smiled and said “I guess so.”
I headed back across the room to get a pic with Eileen Fulton. Peter, Barbara and I were the last three people to get in her line before she had to go. I took a pic of Peter with her, and then I think her husband took a pic of me with her, and exclaimed “I got a good one!” after it showed up on screen. From there I met Dylan and Marnie. Scott had asked me to give them some Senate beer cozies, and I did, and Marnie said “Best gift all day!”
I then headed to Trent and Ewa’s table, the last two people I had really hoped to meet. I stood in line with Jordan and her mom. I got a pic from afar of Colleen, Justine, and Jennifer, knowing their line was too long for me. The person in front of us in line was in a wheel chair, and Trent and Ewa graciously got up and took a pic with her, which meant they had our backs to us and were bent over…Jordan’s mom took this perfect opportunity to take a great picture of Trent’s…assets. Jordan couldn’t believe it and didn’t know why her mother would do that. I told Jordan she’d understand someday. When I got up to Trent and Ewa, Trent tugged at my lanyard and took a closer look at it. I said, “No offense, but I guess I have to admit now that Henry and Vienna are only my second favorite couple on the show. But I do adore you guys!” and he said “That’s alright…we know they’ve supplanted us amongst certain segments of the viewership.” By the way, Trent is way taller than I’d expected.
I reconnected with other Nukies, and we eventually went on our way and I joined Rob and Tony for dinner at the Galaxy Diner. I hadn’t really eaten much of anything all day, but still somehow felt fine. We had a lovely conversation, and then headed to Social to get ready for Nuke-a-palooza.
Nuke-a-palooza
We headed upstairs, and the Sages were already working door duty. I checked in with them, ditched my bag, and slipped out of my non-seducing version of the seduction polo (thanks for noticing Jordan!) and into my Luke striped shirt. Just to really ugly up the look, I added my Al’s Diner shirt over it. I got a drink, looked around the amazing space (outdoor patio, half upstairs overlooking the main floor, plenty of space). I took over door duty.
Now, we knew that the boys, Billy and Tala were supposed to be coming. And Mindi kept saying she’d see us that night. But it had been a long day, and it seemed like perhaps people would be too worn to show up. But the second person I checked in at the door was a photographer whom Van had invited to come. My heart sang! That was as good a sign as any that they’d really show up. I checked in a few more people, started my second beer, and was relieved of door duty. I started handing out Nuke Trivia prelim quizzes, and we got word that Dylan and Ewa were outside! What!? Not only were the people we invited coming, but our party was a hot enough spot to warrant bonus cast members, too!? So exciting!
Dylan and Ewa came in and got applause from the crowd, and were followed shortly thereafter by Van and Jake, who of course got a loud welcome. They greeted some folks and quickly wandered out to the patio. I went over to say hi to Ewa and Dylan, who were left almost alone when the crowd followed Jake and Van outside. They were super friendly and when I thanked them for coming they thanked us for having them. Around that time Tala arrived, and the handful of us that were still inside cheered for her. I greeted her and asked her if she’d like something to drink and I got her a beverage.
From here on out, the events are true…but may not be in quite the right order.
I headed out to the patio just as Van was toasting the fans! And me without a drink of my own! Damnit! Shortly thereafter, the photographer wanted to get a group shot, and he asked for my help in orchestrating it. I got the other celebs to come out to the patio, and started telling people to get in place, but the photographer kind of gave me an exasperated look, and said people weren’t going to get organized unless someone told them what to do. So I broke out my “I take teenagers on field trips” voice and yelled, “OK! IF YOU WANT IN ON THE GROUP SHOT…GET TOWARDS THE WALL! I NEED TALL PEOPLE IN BACK, SHORT PEOPLE IN FRONT, AND SOME PEOPLE TO CROUCH! LET’S MOVE IT PEOPLE! THE FASTER WE GET THE PICTURE, THE SOONER WE GET TO PAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTY!!!!” That seemed to mostly work. The photographer was happy with that. I repeated the yelling again to get people to sign releases.
I got another drink and wandered the party some more, sometimes listening to Van or Jake, sometimes chatting with other Nukies. Someone pointed out that I was wearing the Al’s shirt, so I should get a picture with “Vienna”. I asked her for one, and she got all excited about the shirt and took a pic with me. Billy and his friend arrived sometime during this period.
Lisa brought everyone inside for the presentation of the plaques to Van and Jake. Roger asked me to film it for him, and I did…but his camera died. Luckily other folks were filming, too. Roger did a great job presenting the plaques to the boys, and they gave very nice acceptance speeches, despite Billy interrupting several times to scream, “Take your shirt off!” Then Roger presented the Nuke lifetime achievement award to Andy, and we did some “Andy” chanting. The six stars gathered up at the bar for photos, and Billy licked Jake’s ear, which was hysterical.
I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but as some point I was on the patio listening to people chat with Van, and Tala came over. She was saying how much she appreciated how nice people had been to her, but that she was really glad we were all there for Van, because he’s just the sweetest guy, and he deserved to have such great fans. I tried to help Jenn and Monik get their photos with Van, which finally they did. I got one last photo with Van and Jake before the end of the night. I had long since decided that letting folks mingle with the stars trumped Nuke trivia…but I’ll still put those questions to good use somewhere.
I chatted with Ewa and Dylan again, and finally the stars started heading out. Van and Jake were the last to leave, having stayed for almost the whole party. All of our “special guests” were truly amazing and, while we could’ve had a blast without them, we had so much MORE fun because of them. It was a really special night.
The After-After Parties
After saying goodbye to some folks, it was time for me to run off to my scheduled singing engagement at Duets Karaoke Bar. Jammi and I took a cab to meet up with Lisa, Whitney, Wendy, Michael, Chris, Renee, Lyddie, Travis, Laura and Shirphie to sing out brains out for a while. Highlights included Travis on “Vogue”, Laura on “Cabaret”, and the group sing along to “Seasons of Love” (with male/female parts perfectly split, despite no prior coordinating efforts). I made my first karaoke attempt on “Alone”. I couldn’t quite do the scream, because my voice was beat after cheering all day, but Mike stepped up and covered that part for me.
I got word that some of the folks partying at Therapy were starting to leave, so I left karaoke a bit early and headed to Therapy. When I got there, there was a still a big group of Nukies hanging out. Melissa, Theresa, Ashley, Roger, Lyle, Sean, Kay, Champayne, Tom, Cathy, Sage, Angie and several others. I wasted no time starting to drink by getting Long Islands for me and my twin…and also pretty much immediately started dancing. We were on stage before long. I only sort of rememebr everyone I danced with...but Angie, Melissa and Champayne have been very complimentary...so apparently I did okay dancing with them, or they have very low standards (they do like Van and Jake...who experience shows can't dance worth a lick). I had another Long Island as folks started leaving and the karaoke crew arrived. A bit more dancing, and then we, too, decided it was time to head out.
Still, as great as the luncheon was, the lunch itself…well, hotel food is never my favorite. We were all starving, so Lyddie, Lisa, Travis, Chris, Michael, Jammi, Melissa, Theresa, Tom, Sean and I stopped for a snack at a diner on the way back to the hotels. We debriefed the day, discussed whatever random tidbits we learned, and in the case of me, Tom, and Melissa, ate chicken fingers which probably weren’t that great…but tasted AMAZING right then. We wandered back, and dropped the Milford crew off, and Sean walked with me back towards my hotel. I was finally headed “home”, and it was 3:45am. I somehow managed to get changed and crawl into bed in the dark, and apparently didn’t really wake my roommates.
Sunday
I awoke to find Jill leaving. Apparently Jenn had stealthily made it out of the hotel room earlier without me hearing her. I said goodbye to Jill, and then Barbara and I chatted for a bit before starting to get ready and packing up our things. I said goodbye to Barbara outside and she hopped in a cab to the airport.
I walked to the Milford. I headed up to the room that Andy, Tom, Lyddie, Jammi, Theresa and Melissa were sharing. We chatted some more and they pointed out that our late night snack stop was at the Galaxy Diner…where I had eaten dinner. Um…yeah, definitely missed that fact. We finished gathering our stuff and headed out onto the streets of New York. Meanwhile Nat and Nicole joined us, as they and Andy were headed to Jersey to meet the Sages. Lyddie stayed at the Milford with Lisa and crew, while Jammi met a friend, so we said goodbye to them.
I went to buy one of my trademark NYC pretzels, but realized I had no cash. The lady told me to take it and pay her on my way back…I said I wasn’t coming back and she said “whenever you come back…even if not today!” We said goodbye to Andy and twins at the Port Authority, and it was down to just Team Nuke New England. We took the subway out to Brooklyn, found the car where I’d left it, without a ticket! We grabbed some Dunkin Donuts, and then hit the road back to Boston. We played Nuke Trivia along the way (I think the folks in my car think I’d have given Mr. Sage a run for his money with some of my questions!). We dropped off Theresa, then Tom, and finally Melissa got in her car and headed home to NH. My amazing weekend had come to an end…but I knew I had Soapfest to look forward to in less than three weeks!
Sorry for the delay in setting up my photo gallery! I've been working on other Nuke "homework". I did get them up on Vanhansis.net because the process over there is a bit easier. Feel free to check 'em out there and I'll get them up here soon.
Thursday Night
I met Chris (HighDensity on the Wiki) and picked up a present he wanted me to pass on to Van, then went home and spent hours writing Nuke trivia, as I had each night for the past three nights, waiting for Melissa to arrive. When she did, we printed out directions, I finished packing, and then she “went to bed”, while I finished writing more trivia. I finally went to bed at 4:15am.
Friday
My alarm went off at 5:15am…just one hour after I’d gone to bed. I made sure Melissa was up, and she in turn called Tom. After Melissa and I were ready, we picked up Tom, then Theresa, hit up Dunkin Donuts, and then got on the road. The ride down was fairly uneventful. Team Nuke New England sure can talk…which was essential in keeping me awake and the car on the road, so I am grateful for our gift of gab.
We arrived in NYC at the Milford and unloaded stuff. Melissa stayed with the car so I could run in and use the bathroom, and we saw Jammi and I got to meet Lyddie! Then I went to the bathroom and when I came out, there were Shirphie, Lisa, Michael, Chris, and the Twirls! Hugs were exchanged, and we were told Travis’ flight was running late, so Henry Davis Day would be delayed. Tom and Theresa stayed with Jammie and Lyddie, while the rest of the crew headed off to get Travis.
Meanwhile, Melissa joined me in driving the car to Brooklyn, where we could park it for free for the weekend. We headed back into Manhattan by subway, and after months of chatting online and by phone, I finally got to meet the lovely Barbara when we picked her up at her hotel. We walked to the Marriot Marquis and finally got to meet my Wiki partners in crime, Natalie and Nicole, along with Coni, Sage and Mr. Sage. Shortly thereafter, the most adorable person on the planet, Jordan, along with her sweet mom (Lisa) and her sister, showed up. We all marveled at her amazing handmade/hand painted Luke & Noah tote bag. When we got word that there was another slight delay, Barbara joined me in taking Nat and Nic to their hotel to drop off their things, then we went back to meet the group.
Renee and Laura had arrived to start the Luke & Noah’s Gay New York tour, while Shirphie’s crew continued working on getting Trav. Tom, Theresa, Lyddie and Jammi rejoined us as well. We headed off via the subway (it was fun watching some folks on the subway for the first time, or just taking everything in…like Sage wandering the car for “research purposes”) to the West Village (some of the group getting distracted by some of the more overt sex shops…I won’t name names <cough> Mistress Commanda <cough>). We visited the Factory Café, which is where Rob joined us. From there we wandered to molest the statues, as has become custom, but the park was too busy, so we didn’t get to. We stopped across from the Stonewall Inn, so that, unlike Luke, Renee and Laura could explain its significance to the group. Thankfully, to keep things Nuke accurate, they did mention that it’s historic. We stopped at the Oscar Wilde Book Store, the oldest GLBT bookstore in the world, and while folks browsed in there we also took some pics at the corner of Christopher and Gay Streets.
We stopped at a newsstand to see how Nuke did in the latest issue of SID. We won’t discuss that here. GRR. Then we headed off to the Cube. Finally, two big groups of Nukies came together as we met up with the Travis Rescue League. We finally got to meet Travis, and were now a group 23 strong. Everyone exchanged greetings, and I tried to convince folks we could actually manage a group photo, which we did. Then we worked in some smaller photos, including all the twins, the honorary twins, and the striped shirt folks.
From the Cube, we wandered off to have dinner at the famed (well, at least to us) sushi place featured in the Henry Davis videos. I was actually able to find something on the menu to eat, and recommended the same thing to Barbara. We enjoyed our meal, were entirely too loud (love us!) and just generally had a good time. Kay was able to join us at that point, and Scott and Peter soon followed. We were now at peak Nuke strength for Friday—26 fabulous Nuke lovers! After figuring out the ginormous bill, we headed back towards the subway to get to Times Square. We made one more quick stop at the Cube so Jordan could spin it and get giddy all over again.
Once in Times Square, we began to split up. Twelve of us were headed to rent. The Harrisons and Peter (and perhaps others) headed to Midtown Comics (which I am now officially designating a Vanmark), Renee and Tom took Jordan back to her hotel, and the remaining twelve got in line for Rent. The show was awesome…I know a lot of the music, but hadn’t seen the show before (despite owning the movie). Folks were all tired, but I was determined to still go out dancing with Lisa…I’d been looking forward to it for ages. When we got outside, Lisa spotted the car with the “Twins” license plate, and I yelped! I don’t know why…it was a crazy reaction. We took some pictures of various twins in front of it, and I also showed off the piece of the Die Mommie Die set that we, um…borrowed?...back in January.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for more fun. I took my bag from the Milford to the Courtyard Marriot where I was staying with Barbara, and got to meet Jenn for the first time. I quickly changed and headed to meet folks at The Ritz. I wondered in and it was HOT AS HELL as soon as I was inside. The place was packed. I found Lisa, Laura, Travis, the Twoys and some of Laura’s friends in the back room, and joined them in dancing. I usually need liquor before I can dance, but lack of sleep and lack of desire to stand in lines in that heat got me dancing without the alcohol. Eventually, Laura and I went to get drinks, and rejoined our crew. Dancing continued, as did sweating. Eventually everyone headed out, but I stayed with Lisa for a little longer. Finally, even we’d had enough of the heat, so we headed out. I got back to my hotel around 1:45 and finally slept.
Saturday Morning
It was luncheon day! I knew I had to meet a crew at 8:40 at the Milford to pick up Andy, so I had set my alarm for 8am. But the wake-up call came through at 6:45!! And scared the crap out of me…and the ladies slept right through it. So I hopped up and answered it, and we slowly roused ourselves. While Barbara was in the shower I voted in the SID poll.
When 8 finally came, I was just about to start getting ready when I got a call from Lisa that Andy had arrived early. I couldn’t reach Tom, Nat or Nicole, so I told Lisa we should just go get Andy and bring him back to the Milford to meet the group at 8:40…it’d be a fun surprise. I hastily got ready and headed to meet Lisa at Port Authority. We found Andy at his gate and took him back to the Milford where he got to meet Peter and Tom. We then waited for Nat and Nic to show up, and they got to meet Andy, too. I noticed I was wearing two different shoes…so I headed back to the Courtyard to change. Meanwhile, Barbara and Jenn had picked up Jill and her friend (who’s name I once again am blanking on, just as I did on Saturday), so I got to meet them. I changed my shoes, and we headed for the Marriot Marquis.
ATWT Fan Luncheon
Once we had reached sort of a “Nukie critical mass”, it was getting towards 10:30, which is when the doors were supposed to open, so we got in line. I got moved up to a line that no one really thought was a line, so I was in fairly quickly. I got in line to buy photos, and bought TPTIS, and then wandered around finding other Nukies I knew, and meeting other Nukies I hadn’t met before, including Champayne, Eileen, Paulette, Silas, Beth, Kim, Monik, Tony and tons more…sorry, trying to give shout outs just means you end up shooting yourself in the foot.
After signing assorted cards for assorted people and getting my lanyard, I wandered back to the raffle tables. I bought one ticket for the studio tour, and then bought one sheet of the tickets which you could split up and allocate across different items. I put one ticket in each of the following cups: Free ATWT Fan Club Membership, Java Shirt, Crash Shirt, Al’s Diner Uniform Bowling Shirt, and then spread the rest of my tickets between the cups to have your photo appear in one of the soap mags with four stars, and in the cup for Matt’s WOAK stenciled pants—which I would’ve given to Melissa if I’d won.
Right around then, as a member of the Nuke-a-palooza planning committee I was given word that Van and Jake would be joining us at the party. I quietly celebrated, and then went back to chatting with more Nukies until it was finally time to head to our tables. The tables weren’t numbered, and while many of the other fans started just taking seats, most Nukies were polite and waited for the Fan Club to rectify the issue and find our proper seats. When all was said and done, my table also included Barbara, Roger and Lyle, Andy, Tony (Rygel) and the Twirls. We picked at our food and chatted, took time to look over the amazing books that Tony (Kubick) had put together of all of the media blitz articles. Mindi was chatting on stage, and said something that led to Nukies screaming like crazy…apparently she had asked who was a first time Luncheoner. I had screamed regardless…I had trained myself to just go with it. She mentioned the Nuke storyline…I can’t remember the context, but she was clearly appreciative of it and of the new fans it had brought in.
Mindi started going through the raffle prizes, and the people who were winning just weren’t excited enough. I spent a good long while bitching about that fact, and had just put a roll in my mouth when she called my number! I didn’t even know what I had won. I double checked my card just as she called my number again. So, rather than by a hypocrite, I let out a whoop, and the Nukies all cheered along. I ran up and got my folder for my free Fan Club membership. We chatted more and the raffles continued. Melissa didn’t win Matt’s pants. But she did win the GLAAD photo, which was pretty much perfect. She screamed out “That’s me!” (it sounded a little Angela Arden in DMD) when her number was called, and Renee gave her a hug on her way up to the stage. Roger said that he was done with the raffle since all his prizes had been called already, and I no sooner said that I was still in the running for the Al’s shirt than Mindi called my number again…for the Al’s shirt.
After the prizes were done, Mindi turned the floor over to Michael Park, who MCed the event. He brought out Mick Hazen as his co-host, and they started calling out the rest of the cast who were in attendance. When Michael mentioned bringing out “These two guys together” we went NUTS. Tons of screaming! Michael got his intro out, including mentions of the controversy and the Kiss campaign going straight to his gut, and then finally announced Van and Jake, and we all really let loose!
Other notable arrivals included Colleen Zenk Pinter, who made an emotional and moving speech about how she missed last years luncheon and wasn’t sure she’d make it back, and urging people to get oral cancer screenings. Billy came out looking great in his beige suit and pink shirt, taking photos of the crowd and milking it for all it was worth. Austin Peck came out and almost immediately ran into the audience and hugged/half humped a random woman in the crowd who had cheered for him. Kathleen Widdoes came out and hiked up her skirt a bit before inviting everyone back to the farm for snacks afterwards. Liz Hubbard (that’s who she signed my autograph, so I think I can call her that) came out looking every bit the diva you’d expect. Ellen Dolan snuck on stage from the wrong side, as she was a late arrival. Ellery Capshaw made the most of her arrival, and the whole audience sang happy birthday to her.
Finally everyone was out and off to their tables, and we finally started to take our place in line. I was happy to wait on getting in Van and Jake’s line, since I’d already met them, but I also wanted to make sure it was the longest line, so I wandered over to it, and ended up being pulled into the line by Sherry, Barbara and Angie. We talked as the line moved up. I got to see Travis meet the boys, and caught a pic. Sherry asked me if I was going to keep my promise to ask the boys to kiss her on the cheeks. I was nervous about asking anything like that after the GLAAD controversy, so I was glad that she did the asking herself…and that they agreed! I did at least get a good pic of it! I also took Barbara’s pic with the boys before getting my photo taken with them and getting their autographs. I wandered off and realized in my excitement that I’d TOTALLY forgotten to pass on Chris’ gift. So I turned around and said “I’m not cutting…I just had this for you, Van…it’s from Chris, a fan up in Boston who couldn’t make it down!” He said “Oh, thanks! That’s so nice! Thank him for me?” I said I would and left our boys again.
From there I visited Liz Hubbard, and started a quick run through star tables, getting autographs on multi-colored, multi-shaped index cards which I planned to put in an album alongside my photo with the star. I met Noelle Beck and welcomed her to the show. I searched for Kathleen Widdoes, but she’d already left. I met Marie Masters. She asked how to spell George, and I kind of balked at the idea that there might be other options…and proceeded to spell it wrong. My own name. Luckily I corrected myself before she wrote anything.
I visited Ellery, Allie, and Ashley, and while I was in their line, the place went wild, and I saw Andy up meeting Van and Jake and Nukies around the room cheering! It was awesome! I teared up a little! I got to meet Eric, and told him I was thrilled he’d be back on the show. He seemed very appreciative. Champayne had told me that Tala said she was the only fan who liked Ameera, so I chatted with Tala a bit about the fact that I wanted to like Ameera, and I would as soon as she was in someone else’s storyline. She said it was ok not to like Ameera…she didn’t even particularly like Ameera. We also chatted a bit about Boston, since she graduated from BU.
From there I headed into Billy’s line. He unbuttoned his shirt for the woman in front of me, and then it was my turn to head up to meet him. Anyone who knows anything about me knows this is crazy, but I was thinking the group would be really amused if I got a pic of me kissing him on the cheek. I couldn’t believe I was even considering it, but he’d done literally anything anyone had asked thus far. I started to walk up, and he gave me a full on straight guy handshake/man hug, and then as I started to back away, he asked me where I was from, and I said Boston, and he said “Gangsta!” and then wrote my autograph “To George Gangsta, -Billy” with a heart. Then he slapped his thigh and was like “Ok…siddown!” I was so taken aback by that that I just sat down, handed my camera to the woman behind me in line, and didn’t think to ask anything else. Then he whispered in my ear “What do you want for Christmas?” Oh…the responses I could’ve given… The woman was too close, so you can’t really tell I’m sitting on Billy’s lap…but Roger saw and said he’d vouch for me…though I almost went back to ask for a re-do.
From Billy, I went to Jon and Marie’s table, just in time to see Marie and Jordan go through this adorable jump-off together when they realized they were both from outside Toronto. Jon and Marie were both very sweet. I crossed the room to Chauntee and Wole’s line, and snapped a pick of Terri and Austin while I was there…knowing I wasn’t going to spend the time in their line to get a proper photo. Wole and Chauntee were really friendly and nice, and were goofing around with this woman and her 8 year old son in front of me in line. They were really nice to me as well. I headed to Mick and Meredith’s line. Meredith asked where I was from, and I told her Boston. She said she had spent a little time in Boston for school. As Mick was signing for me, he looked up and with sort of a gravelly voice he said “Baseball fan?” and I said “Yes”. And he said “Red Sox?” and sort of scowled, and I said “Yankees?” and sort of scowled back and he was like “Yeah.” So I said “Well…can we put that aside so I can get a picture anyway?” and he smiled and said “I guess so.”
I headed back across the room to get a pic with Eileen Fulton. Peter, Barbara and I were the last three people to get in her line before she had to go. I took a pic of Peter with her, and then I think her husband took a pic of me with her, and exclaimed “I got a good one!” after it showed up on screen. From there I met Dylan and Marnie. Scott had asked me to give them some Senate beer cozies, and I did, and Marnie said “Best gift all day!”
I then headed to Trent and Ewa’s table, the last two people I had really hoped to meet. I stood in line with Jordan and her mom. I got a pic from afar of Colleen, Justine, and Jennifer, knowing their line was too long for me. The person in front of us in line was in a wheel chair, and Trent and Ewa graciously got up and took a pic with her, which meant they had our backs to us and were bent over…Jordan’s mom took this perfect opportunity to take a great picture of Trent’s…assets. Jordan couldn’t believe it and didn’t know why her mother would do that. I told Jordan she’d understand someday. When I got up to Trent and Ewa, Trent tugged at my lanyard and took a closer look at it. I said, “No offense, but I guess I have to admit now that Henry and Vienna are only my second favorite couple on the show. But I do adore you guys!” and he said “That’s alright…we know they’ve supplanted us amongst certain segments of the viewership.” By the way, Trent is way taller than I’d expected.
I reconnected with other Nukies, and we eventually went on our way and I joined Rob and Tony for dinner at the Galaxy Diner. I hadn’t really eaten much of anything all day, but still somehow felt fine. We had a lovely conversation, and then headed to Social to get ready for Nuke-a-palooza.
Nuke-a-palooza
We headed upstairs, and the Sages were already working door duty. I checked in with them, ditched my bag, and slipped out of my non-seducing version of the seduction polo (thanks for noticing Jordan!) and into my Luke striped shirt. Just to really ugly up the look, I added my Al’s Diner shirt over it. I got a drink, looked around the amazing space (outdoor patio, half upstairs overlooking the main floor, plenty of space). I took over door duty.
Now, we knew that the boys, Billy and Tala were supposed to be coming. And Mindi kept saying she’d see us that night. But it had been a long day, and it seemed like perhaps people would be too worn to show up. But the second person I checked in at the door was a photographer whom Van had invited to come. My heart sang! That was as good a sign as any that they’d really show up. I checked in a few more people, started my second beer, and was relieved of door duty. I started handing out Nuke Trivia prelim quizzes, and we got word that Dylan and Ewa were outside! What!? Not only were the people we invited coming, but our party was a hot enough spot to warrant bonus cast members, too!? So exciting!
Dylan and Ewa came in and got applause from the crowd, and were followed shortly thereafter by Van and Jake, who of course got a loud welcome. They greeted some folks and quickly wandered out to the patio. I went over to say hi to Ewa and Dylan, who were left almost alone when the crowd followed Jake and Van outside. They were super friendly and when I thanked them for coming they thanked us for having them. Around that time Tala arrived, and the handful of us that were still inside cheered for her. I greeted her and asked her if she’d like something to drink and I got her a beverage.
From here on out, the events are true…but may not be in quite the right order.
I headed out to the patio just as Van was toasting the fans! And me without a drink of my own! Damnit! Shortly thereafter, the photographer wanted to get a group shot, and he asked for my help in orchestrating it. I got the other celebs to come out to the patio, and started telling people to get in place, but the photographer kind of gave me an exasperated look, and said people weren’t going to get organized unless someone told them what to do. So I broke out my “I take teenagers on field trips” voice and yelled, “OK! IF YOU WANT IN ON THE GROUP SHOT…GET TOWARDS THE WALL! I NEED TALL PEOPLE IN BACK, SHORT PEOPLE IN FRONT, AND SOME PEOPLE TO CROUCH! LET’S MOVE IT PEOPLE! THE FASTER WE GET THE PICTURE, THE SOONER WE GET TO PAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTY!!!!” That seemed to mostly work. The photographer was happy with that. I repeated the yelling again to get people to sign releases.
I got another drink and wandered the party some more, sometimes listening to Van or Jake, sometimes chatting with other Nukies. Someone pointed out that I was wearing the Al’s shirt, so I should get a picture with “Vienna”. I asked her for one, and she got all excited about the shirt and took a pic with me. Billy and his friend arrived sometime during this period.
Lisa brought everyone inside for the presentation of the plaques to Van and Jake. Roger asked me to film it for him, and I did…but his camera died. Luckily other folks were filming, too. Roger did a great job presenting the plaques to the boys, and they gave very nice acceptance speeches, despite Billy interrupting several times to scream, “Take your shirt off!” Then Roger presented the Nuke lifetime achievement award to Andy, and we did some “Andy” chanting. The six stars gathered up at the bar for photos, and Billy licked Jake’s ear, which was hysterical.
I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but as some point I was on the patio listening to people chat with Van, and Tala came over. She was saying how much she appreciated how nice people had been to her, but that she was really glad we were all there for Van, because he’s just the sweetest guy, and he deserved to have such great fans. I tried to help Jenn and Monik get their photos with Van, which finally they did. I got one last photo with Van and Jake before the end of the night. I had long since decided that letting folks mingle with the stars trumped Nuke trivia…but I’ll still put those questions to good use somewhere.
I chatted with Ewa and Dylan again, and finally the stars started heading out. Van and Jake were the last to leave, having stayed for almost the whole party. All of our “special guests” were truly amazing and, while we could’ve had a blast without them, we had so much MORE fun because of them. It was a really special night.
The After-After Parties
After saying goodbye to some folks, it was time for me to run off to my scheduled singing engagement at Duets Karaoke Bar. Jammi and I took a cab to meet up with Lisa, Whitney, Wendy, Michael, Chris, Renee, Lyddie, Travis, Laura and Shirphie to sing out brains out for a while. Highlights included Travis on “Vogue”, Laura on “Cabaret”, and the group sing along to “Seasons of Love” (with male/female parts perfectly split, despite no prior coordinating efforts). I made my first karaoke attempt on “Alone”. I couldn’t quite do the scream, because my voice was beat after cheering all day, but Mike stepped up and covered that part for me.
I got word that some of the folks partying at Therapy were starting to leave, so I left karaoke a bit early and headed to Therapy. When I got there, there was a still a big group of Nukies hanging out. Melissa, Theresa, Ashley, Roger, Lyle, Sean, Kay, Champayne, Tom, Cathy, Sage, Angie and several others. I wasted no time starting to drink by getting Long Islands for me and my twin…and also pretty much immediately started dancing. We were on stage before long. I only sort of rememebr everyone I danced with...but Angie, Melissa and Champayne have been very complimentary...so apparently I did okay dancing with them, or they have very low standards (they do like Van and Jake...who experience shows can't dance worth a lick). I had another Long Island as folks started leaving and the karaoke crew arrived. A bit more dancing, and then we, too, decided it was time to head out.
Still, as great as the luncheon was, the lunch itself…well, hotel food is never my favorite. We were all starving, so Lyddie, Lisa, Travis, Chris, Michael, Jammi, Melissa, Theresa, Tom, Sean and I stopped for a snack at a diner on the way back to the hotels. We debriefed the day, discussed whatever random tidbits we learned, and in the case of me, Tom, and Melissa, ate chicken fingers which probably weren’t that great…but tasted AMAZING right then. We wandered back, and dropped the Milford crew off, and Sean walked with me back towards my hotel. I was finally headed “home”, and it was 3:45am. I somehow managed to get changed and crawl into bed in the dark, and apparently didn’t really wake my roommates.
Sunday
I awoke to find Jill leaving. Apparently Jenn had stealthily made it out of the hotel room earlier without me hearing her. I said goodbye to Jill, and then Barbara and I chatted for a bit before starting to get ready and packing up our things. I said goodbye to Barbara outside and she hopped in a cab to the airport.
I walked to the Milford. I headed up to the room that Andy, Tom, Lyddie, Jammi, Theresa and Melissa were sharing. We chatted some more and they pointed out that our late night snack stop was at the Galaxy Diner…where I had eaten dinner. Um…yeah, definitely missed that fact. We finished gathering our stuff and headed out onto the streets of New York. Meanwhile Nat and Nicole joined us, as they and Andy were headed to Jersey to meet the Sages. Lyddie stayed at the Milford with Lisa and crew, while Jammi met a friend, so we said goodbye to them.
I went to buy one of my trademark NYC pretzels, but realized I had no cash. The lady told me to take it and pay her on my way back…I said I wasn’t coming back and she said “whenever you come back…even if not today!” We said goodbye to Andy and twins at the Port Authority, and it was down to just Team Nuke New England. We took the subway out to Brooklyn, found the car where I’d left it, without a ticket! We grabbed some Dunkin Donuts, and then hit the road back to Boston. We played Nuke Trivia along the way (I think the folks in my car think I’d have given Mr. Sage a run for his money with some of my questions!). We dropped off Theresa, then Tom, and finally Melissa got in her car and headed home to NH. My amazing weekend had come to an end…but I knew I had Soapfest to look forward to in less than three weeks!
Sorry for the delay in setting up my photo gallery! I've been working on other Nuke "homework". I did get them up on Vanhansis.net because the process over there is a bit easier. Feel free to check 'em out there and I'll get them up here soon.
Latest page update: made by JusticeGH
, May 6 2008, 12:01 AM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| pobgoblin | Just awesome | 5 | May 6 2008, 9:43 AM EDT by JusticeGH | |
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Thread started: May 4 2008, 6:11 AM EDT
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Thankyou for a wonderful recap George! You remembered so many little details - that's the stuff that makes it special! It was great reading about all the Nukies that you met (even though I can't match all the real names to their avatars...) yay for the Nuke Family! My favourite parts had to be when you spelled your name wrong (hehe!!) and when Billy whispered in your ear (did you go all tingly?)
I'm off to search for pictures now... Great job! :) |
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| HighDensity | Hurry! | 1 | May 2 2008, 3:09 PM EDT by atwtfan | |
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Thread started: May 2 2008, 2:26 PM EDT
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Hurry George!!! I'm like absolutely DYING to know the experience!!! I'm totally kicking myself for not finding money somewhere to go! LoL
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| pobgoblin | argh! | 0 | May 2 2008, 4:30 AM EDT by pobgoblin | |
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Thread started: May 2 2008, 4:30 AM EDT
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*jumps up and down*
can't wait to read your recap George! damn those technical diffculties! :D |
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