Welcomed The Picture From Ron Simmons...Didn't Need One From Alan Tudyk

"Hey--is that Alan Tudyk?" I asked as I entered the Green Room for dinner.

"Yup."

"That's pretty cool."

I watched the actor and another person from afar being interviewed. When you see these famous people hanging out in a space where they're taking a break, good convention manners would say that we're basically to leave them alone. They get enough of people fawning all over them during the rest of the con. Eventually Mr. Tudyk did make his way over to our table and shook our hands. It was something he didn't have to do--class act!

But I met another celebrity at the convention, and he was a class act, too. I used to follow professional wrestling back in the 70s and 80s. If I had been paying attention in the 1990s, I would have heard of Ron Simmons, and watched him and learned his famous catchphrase, 

"Damn!"

Ron was assigned the table right next to where we were selling books and a better next-door-convention-neighbor I could not imagine. He was so wonderful to his fans, so gracious, so personable, and not just to his fans, but to us as well. When he and his business partner, Rodger packed up, we said our goodbyes and I made sure to get a picture with this man (I got one with Rodger, too...). The one with Ron and me is a little blurry, but that's okay because it will remind me of the awesome weekend we had.

Now, I could have pressed Mr. Tudyk for a picture when we shook hands in the Green Room, and he probably would have been accommodating, but it wouldn't have meant the same thing. Sure, I could provide actual proof that we'd met, but that's just to brag (I've done enough of that, already...). The picture with Ron, now that's something special.