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<TITLE>Overly Long Con Report</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Hi Folks! </FONT>
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<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Well, here is my belated Con Report. Hope you have taken your No Doze. No goofy trips to LA this year. (If you newbies want to know what THAT's all about, ask Eric to post the video he made after Larry & I missed the Groo Panel a few years back.) </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Anywho, as indicated in Eric's Scoop 1 video, I spent a lot of time at Sergio's table. I hope I didn't give the impression that Sergio isn't there a lot. He is!! I'm sure he spends more time at his table signing stuff, talking to folks, and doing quick little sketches than any other person at the Con. As for me, hanging out there is a blast. I get to visit with Sergio, tell people (who don't already know) all about Groo and Sergio's other work, talk to other big fans, meet with Groopies, and generally have fun. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Thursday I arrived at about 9:30 and went straight to Sergio's table. It was great to see him after a whole year. After helping him finish setting up, I zipped by Dark Horse to say "hi!" to my contact there and then to Stan's table, which is literally a quarter mile away from Sergio. Stan and his wife, Sharon, are two of the nicest folks in the world. Then for much of the rest of the day I did my thing behind Sergio's table, periodically wandering around the convention floor, ogling the occasional "booth babe" and taking in the various displays, some of which are spectacular. (Or is it ogling the various displays and taking in the occasional "booth babe," some of whom are spectacular?) Whatever. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">At one point, I ran into The Incredible Shrinking Man, Mark Evanier. Mark looks great! I can't wait to see him next year. We talked a bit as he made his way to Artist's Alley. Of course, I forgot everything I had intended to talk to him about if I got the chance. I also saw a number of Groopies, as previously mentioned, including Dougie McCoy, who had thoughtfully gotten me a hotel key. Dougie is a wonderful hotel room host, supplying us with a seemingly bottomless box of doughnuts. Late in the afternoon was the Groo Panel, which has already been discussed in detail. Unlike other years, the Groop did not get together for dinner after the Groo Panel. Maybe next year. Eric, Dougie, and I had dinner at one of San Diego's finest restaurants, Che' Wendy's. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Friday was more of the same fun for me, and it was as crowded as it usually is on Saturday. The costume folks start showing up on Friday, some in truly marvelous outfits, others in costumes that might best be termed ill advised. At some point during the day, the lovely and talented Carolyn Kelly stopped by. Since she missed last year's con, it had been two years since I'd seen her. Of course she is as wonderful and sweet as ever. Later, she very kindly invited me to dinner with her and Mark, which Mark very kindly insisted was his treat. And that's when I pulled my first of several Grooisms. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">You see, on Friday, Sergio gave me a bunch of change (ones, fives, and tens) so I could start taking $$ from fans for his books. This gives him more time to sketch and talk. The Con floor closes at 7:00, so as soon as I was done helping Sergio close up shop, I zipped over to the Hyatt restaurant, a couple blocks away. In the middle of dinner Sergio called Mark's cell phone to tell me I had walked off with a big wad of his money! Oops! I told him I would give it to him at the Eisner's and try not to get mugged in the meantime. Mark had to leave early to rehearse a presentation and instructed me to escort Carolyn to the Eisners. (Which I would have done anyway, of course, but Mark is always appropriately protective of Miss Carolyn.) On the way over, I realized I'd left my backpack at the restaurant (but not Sergio's money. Even I'm not that bad.) So when I escorted Carolyn to the Special Persons entrance at the Eisners, I told her that if she spoke to Sergio to tell him I was going out to try and get mugged. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Of course, the Eisners being the Eisners, by the time I got my backpack, dropped it off at my hotel, ate a couple more of Dougie's doughnuts, and tried to get mugged, before finally wandering into the regular persons entrance, the award show was only about one third over. Sheesh! Mark is right. That thing is too darn long! (Kind of like this Con report.) </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Anywho, Saturday was another great day to be at Sergio's table, talking to folks, people watching, watching Sergio in action, and stuff like that. Sergio spoke Italian, and later said he didn't speak Portuguese-in Portuguese! It was also Quick Draw day, which really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Scott Shaw! and Kyle baker are very funny and very much compliment Sergio's improv cartooning skills with their own. I also got to talk to Ray Harryhausen and Joe DeVito at the Dark Horse booth. It was not a good day to wander around. In the central part of the floor, where all the mega booths are located, you literally could not walk at times. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Now I told you a couple weeks ago that Sergio has supernatural powers and here is the proof: I had an 8:40 flight to catch and we decided that leaving the Con at 6:00 would be safe. But all of a sudden at 5:50, Sergio says "You should go now." So we said goodbye (I almost walked off with another wad of his money) and I got to the bus stop just as an airport bus was leaving. At the airport, I got to my gate just as an earlier flight to Seattle was finishing loading. I asked the gal at the counter if there were any seats and in two minutes I was sitting on the plane next to a guy with a cell phone who let me call The Long Suffering Mrs. G. to tell her I'd be arriving early. On the way home we saw the traffic that Becky would have been stuck in had she picked me up as scheduled backed up for miles because of an accident. So because Sergio told me to leave 10 minutes earlier than originally planned, we saved at least 3 hours and a lot of frustration. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">All in all I had a great time. I wish more Groopies had been able to come and we had been able to get together. So start saving your kopins. Take care all -Gary G. </FONT></P>
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