The Rowdy One

I had to blog about this before the euphoria wore off.

I just got back from meeting three guest stars here at Monster Mania.

I first got in line to meet Jason Mewes, "Jay" from Jay and Silent Bob of CLERKS, MALLRATS, etc. His line was pretty long, but moved fast. It was his third day here and he looked a bit under the weather. He was still very nice to everyone. Behind him, he had his name printed on a sheet of paper, but he or someone else had drawn a penis under it with "loves" written and an arrow pointing towards it. And on his table he had a sign that read: "If you want a picture, just sit the fuck down" with an arrow pointing to an empty seat next to him.

He signed my copy of CLERKS and I got my photo with him. Told him I was from Texas and that New Jersey has been good to me. He thought it was cool that we drove the whole way here.

After that I met Brian O'Halloran who played "Dante" in CLERKS & CLERKS 2. He was really cool. Very nice. This is his first convention.

Now, here's the thing: I have a very strict budget while on this tour (refer to my experience with NOES 3 cast member). So I can really only afford to get 2 or 3 autographs per convention. But that's at the $20 price tag. Here, like I said, it's $25. I could justify, in my head, the $50 I spent at Fear Fest on Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp, and I could justify $60 for three autographs, but $75 for three? I just couldn't rationalize it.

So as much as I would have loved to also get Rowdy Roddy Piper's autograph, I had decided that while they're both here, and I have my CLERKS DVD on me, I would get them this time and hope to meet The Hot Rod another time. BUT what I didn't know was that Brian O'Halloran was only charging $10 to sign something you brought. I had no idea. I even laid the $25 down on the table and he told me the correct price. I jumped for joy in my brain at that moment because I knew that I might be able to afford to meet Piper this time around too.

I went to his table and discovered that it was $25 for an autographed 8X10 and an additional $10 for a personal photo. I opted for the autograph. Mostly because I never really like the photos I take with people and I wanted to have something to frame. Well, as soon as I got up there I turned into a little kid again. If you're not into wrestling, you're not going to understand, but I'll try and explain.

I started watching wrestling when I was really young. Roughly between WrestleMania 3 and 4. And there's been hardly any time in my life when wrestling wasn't a part of it. So, I am more likely to be in awe of wrestlers than any other type of celebrity. And Roddy Piper is a certified LEGEND. I was just thrilled to shake his hand.

I mumbled and said something like: "I had to meet you. I'm a movie guy, but wrestling came first." I also said something along the lines of: "You're one of the few people that I truly wanted to meet in my life." Or some variation of that. It's kind of a blur. But that's not hyperbole. At that very moment, I realized that I needed to meet that man. And I'm so happy I did.

Best part: He was the sweetest guy in the world! He was leaving in about 30 minutes, but didn't seem rushed. He shook my hand asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from Texas he asked if everyone back home was in good health. I mean... It was awesome. I don't need a photo with him, I will never forget meeting him ever.