I arrived at the Springfield airport Friday, February 18 at 10:30 p.m. This was the first time I’d ever deplaned right on the runway. I mean, a step scaffold from door to tarmac, then pick up suitcases before entering the terminal. Luckily, my suitcase was transported directly from Edmonton, so when Moyra and Suse saw me two minutes after I arrived (we did the “huggies” thing) we quickly picked up my bag from the carousel and hit the parking lot. Springfield’s airport is very small, so we were on the road to the Clarion hotel in very short order. For some strange reason, Mira’s Q & A had been slated for 6:00 p.m. that evening, so I missed it (darn!). Couldn’t be helped, but it was one of a long line of events the last few weeks that I just missed by… that much!

This was going to be a weekend of constant talking, storytelling and speculation, and it all started with a few bits of information Moyra and Suse had gleaned from Mira’s talk. TWO MORE episodes of Lost, after “Numbers”; Mira will be doing Medea again at Mali Brijuni, end of July; TMOS is dead (No surprise there!); Mira will not be doing the Rick Biggs Memorial Event because she will be filming Lost that week and she wants to take Marko with her to Hawaii. And by the way, “Mira says hi!”

The Drive to the hotel was long – 45 minutes, but that’s only because the hotel is totally on the opposite end of the city than the airport. And finding any location here is a nightmare because of inaccurate signs. Moyra did claim several times that in this town, you can’t get there from here!

We hit the “Friday Night Karaoke” Bar where it was too loud for conversation. So when we adjourned to our hotel room, we caught up on plans and info then. Mira had an autograph table in the gaming room, and according to Moyra, she would be there at 10:00 a.m. Well, we were there at ten sharp and there were only a few gamers and guests setting up. We met Donna Neuman, who is the convention rep for Jason Carter and the late Rick Biggs. She brought several art prints with her to sell, and a DVD collection she’d put together with Rick and Jason, called “Moments.” She is a really sweet person and we really enjoyed talking to her about her experiences with them.

Mira arrived at 10:15 and we helped put up the banner and set up the table. After getting my registration badge, I took the opportunity to check out the dealers room and the art display. My Firefly panel was slated for 3:00 p.m., and the Yoga session with Mira would be at 4:00. So there would be lots of time to talk to fans and guests. And we did! The people in Springfield were so friendly and appreciative of Mira’s involvement in their con. Mira had an extensive variety of photos and it took some people a long time to decide which to choose. So we’d talk about B5 and Lost and the reason behind the birth of the Minions. Con-goers talked to Mira about her performance as Delenn, asked about TMOS, asked about that actor she talked about, Tim… Oh, he played Zathras? I LOVED Zathras!! A few sci-fi geeks would say how much B5 affected the way they now view science fiction, and you know… Mira would smile and ask them about their kids, what they do for a living and where they are from, utterly charming the pants off anyone in a 20 foot range. Lots of smiles, lots of people thanking her for being there. The Minions just basked in the residual radiation. Moyra had a magic bag, and every time Mira said, “I need…”, she would pull it out of the bag. She was the best-prepared Minion in the galaxy.

I’ve always thought the best part of going to cons is the serendipity. There are many opportunities to talk to interesting people, and look at the world from new perspectives. I always learn more interesting stuff about people at cons than anywhere else.

Well, the dates for Medea are July 21-24 (a weekend basically). If I am to afford to go there, that means no more cons this year, and scrounging to go to Croatia twice instead. It won’t be an easy task.

My Firefly panel only saw four people join me, but it was joyful and positive, and everyone is looking forward to the Serenity movie. I offered temporary tattoos and an information sheet to all, and brought three prizes for the trivia contest. The bulk of the panel time was spent going through the questions and we had a few laughs sharing net info. It was a good day!

I Am in Pain, and It’s Mira’s Fault!

Yoga – 4:00 p.m. Never touched the stuff before, and I have to admit it was more curiosity than anything. Mira is a born teacher – she took us through breathing techniques, posture, and stretching. Of course, it helps that she knows the subject matter very well – and she wants to get certified to teach Yoga to the masses. For that, she needs to record a session on tape. Right on, I’ll buy that! Originally, participants were to pay $50. for the session, but when we paid up she said, “Oh, you should get a discount – this is only an experiment!”

Moyra, Suse and I and one guy were the only ones who dared try Mira’s Yoga class. The guy – named Raymond – had done similar exercises before but he was somewhat overweight and like me, conjured up quite a sweat. It was mostly simple muscle stretching and posture exercises, but I am so out of shape I couldn’t do it all. Did my best, felt muscles I didn’t know I had, took note of the positions and I can probably do it at home, but Lordy, one hour was too much. Moyra and Suse were troupers. The neatest part was listening to Mira and following her movements as if we were all on our own planet. Proper breathing, shoulders back, straighten backbone, etc. and she pushed at my rounded shoulders (Heh, good luck!) to try to get them into proper position. I’m sure poor Ray’s experience included the revelation that a famous actress touched his butt! It was a good day.

The charity art auction started at 6:00 p.m., and the contents of the sizable art display were there specifically to be auctioned off to support the charity, a local women’s shelter. Mira arranged to sign some of her stuff to include in the auction – but she wanted her contribution to go to the memorial fund for Tim Choate’s son Flynn. We joined the auction just before it finished, and in 15 minutes she gathered almost $300 for the photos (I obtained one for $30. – because no one else was bidding on it and I couldn’t let it go without a bid.) Others later added to the fund with cash donations, putting the total well over $300. Mira was pleased.

Stick Me with a Fork, I Have Been Grilled!

Up until a few years ago, I was a very shy person, reluctant to participate in conversations much – but my dad always taught me to be polite, and to answer any question put to me. So when Mira asked me questions about myself, I answered them. It was too much for me to hope she would remember me from my four past encounters with her – and she didn’t – but I think she got enough out of me this time that I won’t be forgotten again! It occurred to me only later that this was my official grilling. The other times I’d seen her I was amongst a crowd of other Mirafans, most of whom she already knew personally. So she starts off in the gaming room asking me where I’m from (she assumed I was from Toronto, like Moyra and Suse) and I say Edmonton, and she says, “Oh, I was there.” I say, “Yes, I was too,” then I make the faux pas of telling her this is the third time I’d said it and she never remembers from one time to the next. She said she has a very bad memory for people. Scripted lines she can remember from ten years ago, but when it comes to people she has Alzheimer’s. Well, that’s something else she and I have in common. I also know that I have a very nondescript face and it’s easy for me to fade into the background. In the car going to the restaurant for dinner, she kept asking me personal questions and darned if I didn’t keep answering them. She sucked information out of me, I swear! For some reason, she encourages people to unload on her – so I did. She now knows most of the sordid details of my life, especially concerning my children. But she was very concerned and very sweet. After the Yoga class had ended, she asked me if I was all right, because she was worried that it was too much for me. I said, “I’ve had three kids. This was just an hour out of my life!” I would survive.

At dinner I related the story of how Moyra and I got to know each other, and the coincidences of our lives, pure kismet. She asked about Judy and Val and how they were doing; admitted that the chocolate salami lasted them a month and they brought it out for dessert when they had people over. I gave her the letters and drawing that June had sent (I’d had the drawing mounted on a plaque – it looked faboo!). She was impressed, said she would read the letters later. I’m assuming she will get to that when she reaches home.

We closed down the restaurant. There were no lulls in the conversation, and that’s probably why the evening went by so quickly. It was very relaxed and pleasant. The high point was Mira defending romance to three jaded women. Her hopes were that Suse especially not give up on true love. She is such a pretty woman and young enough to still take a chance. Suse says if it happens, it happens but if it doesn’t, she won’t mourn the loss. Like me, she is happy having good friends and close family.

The restaurant we had chosen is called Hemingway’s. It’s in the top portion of a huge mall/department store that specializes in hunting, fishing and sports equipment and clothing. We wandered about and Mira was amused by the merchandise and wildlife displays. Upon retuning to the hotel, Mira adjourned to her room, and Moyra headed for the Bar. Suse and I talked till we fell asleep. On the world’s most uncomfortable beds, no less.

I am Minion, Hear Me Roar!

Sunday was fantastic! It had rained during the night but when the sun came out, it quickly warmed up to the low 70’s. Mira signed at her table till 12:30. Her flight was to leave at 5:40 p.m. so as soon as she checked out we were off for lunch and Minion pictures. We tried to go to a “Fish” place but it was closed Sundays… so we went to an Indian restaurant that had a delicious buffet. We were all super-tired but the meal was great. I’d talked so much the night before that I was just plum talked out. I do remember Mira talking about some of the countries she’s visited. She’s never been to Africa, but was exposed to the poverty of South America and it was very distressing. She gave us some advice on getting to Trieste from London at a reasonable price. Suse and I would both love to join Moyra for the Medea weekend, and it seemed like Mira wants us there. Fingers crossed!!

We took pictures at the car and then took the long, scenic drive to the airport. We talked about the ironies of life. And did you know that Mira has almost died three times? Car accident in Yugoslavia, almost choking with a table full of friends in LA, and recently inadvertently between two gun-toting a$$hats in the street. And she thought she’d gotten away from the crazy dangers of war! There’s a lot to be said for living in the reasonably-safe country of Canada.

We got Mira to the airport about 90 minutes before her flight was to leave. It was kind of a sad farewell. Mira said a personal goodbye to each of us, and then we just watched in silence as she towed her suitcase across the parking lot pavement to the entrance doors. I thought it would only be polite for us to escort her in, but Moyra said she prefers to just be left at the curb. I guess she needs some down time before getting on the plane. We really didn’t want our time with her to end. Returning to the hotel just wasn’t the same. We topped the convention off with drinks and a snack at the hotel bar, talking, reminiscing and making plans for our next meeting… hmm… there must be a way to get to Brijuni without breaking the bank…