Archive for August, 2012
Pay Much, Wait Long, and Prosper
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
There’s such a thing as a quest. The guys and gals from Star Trek knew that. Sometimes they don’t even make perfect sense. I know that. For me, after I managed to meet two of the cast members of Star Trek by sheer chance, those two being George Takei and Leonard Nimoy, my quest to finish the job of getting photos with the rest began in earnest. I consider there to be seven main cast members, but some might add actresses Majel Barrett and/or Grace Lee Whitney, the former of whom is deceased, and the latter whom I have in fact met. This whole thing is ironic because I’ve seen very few episodes of the original Star Trek, although I have quite enjoyed the films. Read the rest of this entry »
Mass. Burials and Other Fun Things in the Boston Area
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Thursday, July 5, was the second day of the two-weeklong road trip that Bob and I were taking. It was a good day overall, although just a bit grave-heavy, so please have tolerance. Checking out graves of the famous appeals to me for a few reasons. The first and most obvious is to simply pay my respects to someone whose work I like or admire. If rule number one doesn’t apply to someone who has achieved some other fame or notoriety, see rule number two… which is the checklist/scavenger hunt aspect of it. And finally, I legitimately enjoy the detective work sometimes involved in tracking down a headstone based on various clues that we pick up in advance. So although it is easier to just go to the main office of the cemetery and ask for directions, a lot of times I enjoy it more when we have to scour the cemetery to find it. So while I have no objection to the stereotype of the grave-hunter to be somewhat morbid, I wanted to lay out the facts as I see them. Read the rest of this entry »
Johnny Whitaker
Monday, August 13th, 2012
My meeting with Johnny Whitaker had been a long time coming. One of my goals in life is to correct my own stupid action of not getting photos with most of the celebrities whom I met during my first two autograph shows in 1995 and 1997. As I’ve mentioned before, back in those days I concentrated mostly on the autographs, but that passion has become dwarfed by getting photos with the stars. As another fan recently said, “you can buy autographs.” So despite meeting Johnny Whittaker on Saturday, June 28, 1997, I had never had never gotten a photo with him. Read the rest of this entry »
John Adams and Me
Friday, August 10th, 2012
As most people involved with the Adams National Historical Park will tell you, the popularity of and interest in our 2nd President John Adams rose exponentially after the popular book John Adams by David McCullough was published and the HBO mini-series that followed was aired. No longer is he regarded as simply an oddball northerner and one-termer who was wedged amongst the other four of the first five Presidents, all of whom hailed from Virginia. Adams served as our nation’s President from 1797-1801, and had previously served as the first Vice President to George Washington from 1789-1797. Read the rest of this entry »