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June 18th, 2001 - Part 2: We eventually entered the theater and we were lead to the right hand side. Hey, this was a first for me. I've never sat on this side of the theater. These seats gave a clear shot of Dave at his desk. Very cool. Well, it would have been extremely cool, but Ms. "I'm Queen Page, and you will listen and be accosted by me every minute. I will be so precise in my accosting, you can set your watches to it." The first thing this page did was ask if I wanted to move to the aisle because "I might be more comfortable there." WTF? Hey, I might be the size of a Yugo, but c'mon here. I told her I was fine. One minute later she forced me to move to the aisle. No reason. Couldn't you give me a reason, lady? I'm beggin' ya for a reason! Was my Late Show baseball jersey distracting to you? Just tell me!!!!! That was my last dealing with her, but every so often, she would yell at our section "These are high profile seats, so please keep seated." I mean, once is enough, lady. You didn't need to do it over... and over... and over... and over... I counted 7 separate times where she either said that line or talked to someone in our section about some behavior. What did she think we do? Perform a mutiny? We're not exactly going to rush the stage here. I will say that this page was the one bad apple in the group. I found most of the pages outgoing and pleasant to be around. I hope this page might learn a lesson from them about audience relations (especially with people who have a medium to vent about over-bearing pages). Anyway, I did move, and I was right behind Mr. Brad Hill. I rubbed his head for good luck. I think he was freaked out by it. I couldn't believe I did it myself, so as a gesture of good will, I apologize whole-heartedly for rubbing Brad's head. Eddie Brill began the audience warm-up by showing a clip of "Dave talks to Kids." How old is that clip? I think it's growing mold or something. Let's just hope it doesn't make it to one of Dave's flashbacks on Thursday. Eddie rehashes the rules and gets some jokes in. He told different jokes this time, which was appreciated. Eddie did tell us not to perform any stranding ovations so as to not ruin the ebb and flow of the show, so Traci's idea was given a quick kibosh. Eddie introduced the band and they played my favorite CBS Orchestra tune, Basket Case. Yes, they're sick of it (you would be too if you played it constantly for numerous years), but I love to hear it. Paul came out and did his thing, and the stage was set. Eddie introduced Dave. The place is electric and in awe of the Big Man. Dave tells us that he's really happy to see us and wishes that we had a better show to see. Dave even gets in a "bullshit," but I totally forget what he was talking about. Does someone have some direction for me? Corky Ramirez, stagehand extraordinaire yells "one minute," and Dave keeps talking. My dreams of going 3 for 10 were squashed. Not that I thought I could do it. I had a bunch of people behind me who were ready to lynch me if I got another question answered by Dave. The show starts. Now I've covered the show in my Impressions report, so you can read it by going here The show ends, and we all get up to leave. Tony Mendez motions up to Helen Read to come up to the stage to talk. Traci follows Helen, and I say, "What the hell" and I go up to the stage. Eventually most of the group is up on stage. The only three missing were Marilyn, Nick, and Greg Anderson. In the excitement of the moment, we forget to get them. We'll get them later, so don't worry. Tony talks to us as a group and we all introduce ourselves. Tony has never read posts by me, so I was humbled. I almost died. It's OK though, it's not like I post every day. Tony eventually invited us to take pictures behind Dave's desk. Wow! This was going to be a great memory for all involved. I went behind the desk and I heard someone yell "Bill, not again!" Well, there was no seat behind the desk. I wasn't going to sit there anyway, I moved to the side. Tony and Mike McIntee (not scared to see us this time) came out to take pictures. During this time, Shirlee knocked over a coffee mug and got the desk all wet. I don't blame Shirlee. She and everyone else was so nervous from the excitement of what was happening. After that, Tony asked if we wanted to take pictures individually behind the desk. I figured I needed a new pic compared to the old one from '98, so I and everyone else jumped at the chance. I also took an opportunity to sit in the guest chair. I must say, it fit my ass like a glove. It was roomy, and very comfortable. Just remember, that chair has now been graced by the presence of Bill Lehecka's ass. Brad literally jumped at the chance to take a picture, by laying on it. It was one of the oddest things I've seen. I wonder if Dave knows that the desk is used as a jungle gym after the show? During this time, I finally met and shook hands with Mike McIntee. My question is: Why didn't anyone get a picture of us? I missed the opportunity. Oh well, maybe some other time. After all of the pictures, Tony asked if we wanted a tour. We said no and left for dinner... ... ... ... OF COURSE WE SAID YES! Tony first took us into the prop room and showed us all of the cool props that have been used in one form or another during the show. It looked like a crowded science lab. Tony then took us to the Hal Gurnee control room. We all sat and enjoyed the ambiance. Some people, including myself, got pictures taken by Tony from behind the director's chair. Others decided to swipe scripts, which Tony said was OK. The big question was: Why did a CBS control room have a TV on NBC? Meanwhile, we kept on finding sheets of paper that said, "Tony Mendez is an ass." McIntee left them. How cool. Tony showed us the sound room, and the old green room. We eventually made it up to the new green room. Tony gave us some background. This room is for the guest's entourage. The guests usually say in their dressing rooms upstairs. I swiped a cookie from there. It was mighty delicious. We made our way up the balcony to see the theater from there. Tony showed us something way cool: The apartment shots they use for bits are actually shot up there. I always thought they were shot on stage, but no, they have their own corner up in the balcony. That was mighty impressive. We walked back down to the stage and gathered to see the old Ed Sullivan chandelier. It was way up there. Tony went back and got some cue cards for us and signed some for people who asked. I got one that said "Keep on Watchin', Tony." I said to myself, "I haven't watched the show in 5 years!" The ghost light came out and George Clarke looked impatient. It was actually time to leave the theater. Apparently, George was going to close up at 7:30. We all left and thanked Tony for the totally awesome experience. We were all awestruck at what happened. In fact, it didn't hit me until now, which is why it took so long for this report to be posted. Well, that and wrestling... We all made our way to Carmine's for the post-show dinner. While walking there, I spoke to Carl on Traci's Cell Phone. I made an oblique Simpsons reference that I don't think he caught. We all got to the restaurant and waited... and waited... and waited. Most of us were out there for about 45 minutes, with others waiting longer. People who had to leave early were let in first. It was a really disjointed effort by Carmine's. Even the wait staff seemed a little testy in there. The food, though, was spectacular, as always. The stuffed mushrooms were to die for. We all had a great dinner, snapped pictures, and reminisced on our shocking experiences. It was a great time. 10:15 rolled around and it was time for Cathy and me to go. We all made our good-byes. Marilyn gave me a candy necklace. I told her I'd treasure it always. Too bad I missed the whole eating candy necklaces off of each other's necks, but hey, I've seen the pictures already. Cathy and I walked to Penn Station, where I was going to catch my train back to my sister's house, and she was going to catch her Amtrak train. We said good-bye, and I boarded my train with my cue card in hand. I sat on the train in awe of what I just experienced. It was a great trip. I trip none of us could have ever imagined or probably ever experience again. Thank you's have to be made to Traci and Renee, who organized the trip. Thanks go out to Brad and Karen for the shirts that kick ass. Major, AFLer of the Year Thanks goes out to Helen Read, who wrote a letter to Tony telling him that we were coming. And I'd like to say that it was great seeing and/or meeting all of you. I can't wait until next year for the 4th annual DaveCon! Jump to a page:
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