J.G. Hertzler can neither shut up when he needs to, nor keep still long enough for good picture-taking. I snapped one while he was at his table, which did comeout nicely, but the other stuff is terribly blurry. He and Robert O'Reilly are hilarious together onstage, and their Klingon rap song is so cool. More dancing, guys! ^_^ J.G. is also very personable, and I got a picture with him as well as a hug.
Conner Trineer looked a little stoned on the first day, but was very nice and funny once he got some sleep under his belt. Yes, I got a hug from him, too.
The biggest thing that happened personally to me didn't happen until close to the end of the day on Sunday. I had just gotten back to my position after trying to snap pictures of Robert Beltran onstage (damn camera and its insatiable hunger for batteries) when I turn to see Garrett Wang clinging to Robert's leg. I rushed changing the batteries, but didn't get done until Garrett popped back offstage. A few minutes later, I turn to see him in the exhibitor's area window-shopping. I tried to sneak over for a quick pic, but he moved off. I worked up my courage, and followed him back to his table and asked for a hug, which he gladly gave, chanting a little "Hug hug..." Later in Robert's show, I noticed Garrett was lurking about, waiting for his "cue" (I swear, they had much of this planned), then he walked back out in plain sight and sat in the front row. I ran up and sat next to the emcee's chair to snap pictures. Garrett spent a little time standing next to the stage, then sat in the chair that was right next to me, so I got one of him sitting. Then, I got up the nerve to ask Robert for a hug.
Now, mind you, I didn't deliberately time this, but it happened this way. Robert did a spit take right on cue, then acted like I was nuts to even ask it. He finally did give in and invited me onstage. Garrett, again right on cue, intercepted me and hugged me again, only a bit firmer than he had earlier. Once I got up onstage and got Robert to hug me, he did a little singing, kissed me on the forehead, and asked how I was doing. As I'm going back down the steps, I hear Garrett (I think) say "You should take her home with you." I was shaking quite hard by the time I resumed my post. After the Expo closed to the public and we began tearing down, Robert walked back through, and I thanked him for the hug. He said "You're welcome," winked, and walked away.
More later as I remember more important stuff and have pictures to help me. That will include details about the wedding that took place, and tales from Jonathan Frakes and Genie Francis.
Edit: here's a link to my newly uploaded picture folder from this year's Expo. 2006
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Update: The wedding was very lovely. J.G. Hertzler and Lee Meriwether recited a poem during the vows, and I was crying like a baby. People did notice that the guy got his ring put onto his right hand, but it wasn't a big deal. The cake was served at the Supper with the Stars, and the lucky couple even got to have their first dance together before everyone else.
The supper was awesome. Great brisket, which Robert Beltran complimented during his onstage time. I ended up getting a couple pictures taken (John Wesley Shipp and J.G., i.e. the fuzzy ones), then came time to clear out and moving stuff back around for the James Darren concert. I had my head down too long erasing numbers from backs of chairs and had to sit, but thankfully J.G. had stuck around to help clean up, and was tossing tables like a pro. He snuck out at the beginning of the concert, dancing a little, and I stuck around for almost the whole thing before sneaking out myself.
Now, the part of the story that gets a little heated. During one of the charity auctions, Bruce Boxleitner had a pair of underwear autographed up for bids. He showed them to us, and people started cheering and begging him to put them on. See, a few years back, Kevin Sorbo wore the set he was auctioning while bidding was taking place, and the lucky woman got to pull them off him. Same thing happened again after the bid closed at $450. Not to be outdone, on Sunday John Wesley Shipp decided he'd do the same thing, only bigger. He came out onstage wearing a t-shirt and red boxers (no pants), which were autographed. He slid them off and handed them to the emcee, showing he had a gray pair on underneath, also autographed. He tugged them down a bit, revealing black underneath, but didn't remove them. He left the stage, and R.A. started to set up for the bidding when, over the top of the curtains, we see a gray blur fly up and nearly hit R.A. in the head before settling on the edge of the stage. Both pairs were put up for bids, and went for about $50-60 each.
I've already mentioned the Klingon rap song, but I left out that J.G. and Robert came back onstage during the Sunday auction to offer up the chance to sit onstage while they performed it again. It went for $55, and the lucky redhead had to withstand some rather interesting dancing, which is damned near impossible to photograph properly, which explains why those pictures are so blurry.
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