Last week I got an email from my roommate Hilaro (NNN Regiment) saying that Jackie Mitchard, the author of DEOTO was sponsoring a reception and screening of DEOTO in Madison, Wis. on March 9 and that JJ was going to be there. I think my reply was called "WE ARE SO THERE!" We live in Chicago, so Madison is only about 3 hours north of us. We made arrangements to get directions and to have the tickets held for us at the church where the reception was beforehand. The reception ran from 5:00 to 8:00 and the screening started at 8:00. Hilary managed to get hard cover copies of DEOTO for Jackie to sign—for only $7.00. I have to confess a second. I totally fronted to Jackie's office that I wanted to meet her and THAT'S why I was driving in from Chicago (not that I wasn't thrilled, but I wouldn't have spent $75 to meet ANYONE other than JJ or BH.)

Well, we've been having really bad weather lately and it took me over an hour to dig my car out of the snow. I think Hilary summed it up well when she said, "There isn't another person on this earth that I would do this for." I though my muscles were going to implode after that... But, we made it the 50 feet down the side road that we live on to a main road. After that, the driving was OK. We talked the entire way about what we would say to JJ. :) 20 minutes out to Highway 90, Hilary said, "I forgot the books!" I had forgotten the Scarlet Road tape too. Oops. It's a good thing we left 2 hours early because that wasn't the last mishap we had... Let's just say there was a lot of "I have to go to the bathroom... Get off at that exit...no, you missed it.... Here's Madison... Where is that stupid church???... Get out the other directions.... Ok, there's Park Street! ...Wait, I'm turning around...THERE IT IS!...Yes, we were lost in Madison for 40 minutes. Like I said, it's a good think we left 2 hours early... We got there at 4:40. Considering we "left" at 12:30, and all the times we got lost, I thought that was pretty good.:) When we arrived at the "can't miss" church, there was a limo out front. Hilary immediately said, "I bet JJ is here!" I was trying not to have a heart attack from my excitement so I said, "It could just be one of the authors. Why would he be here early?" Then, of course, we had to touch up our makeup and hair and I put my suit coat on. (I wasn't sure how formal it would be so I just went with a black suit from the Gap and a white cotton Express shirt with a V-neck. Hilary had on black pants and a grey/blue twinset.)

THE FIRST SIGHTING!

We walked in and saw Peggy, my contact, and she recognized my name and told us to "just go in" and that she would get us our tickets later. We also noticed that there were name tags on the table for the authors to put on when they got there and that JJ's name tag wasn't there. :) We went inside to the reception and standing about 20 feet away from us, on the other side of the room was Jonathan. He was giving an interview with a TV station and Richard was standing off to the side. He was wearing black guess jeans, a dark shirt underneath, a brown and black jacket (the same one he wore at Planet Hollywood the day before with the zig zag pattern), black Nikes with a silver swoop, his crucifix on the black leather band (that thing is huge. I was tempted to tease him and say "So, tell me, are you a Christian?"), and a silver loop earring with a pattern on it. He was taller than me (I'm 5'6 and was wearing 2 inch Docs) which was good, but not by much. His hair was short and parted, but still fluffy. No swoop thing like GH does to it.

At this point, Hilary and I started doing what we did pretty consistently throughout the evening—gazing at him. I felt like the ocean was roaring in my ears. When I met Cameron Matheson, I felt like all my senses were highly attuned and I could remember every second. This time I felt like my senses were on overload and I could barely remember my name, much less the events of the evening. (I'm 23 years old and I was dying to meet a 16 year old soap star...I think I need therapy) Suddenly JJ finished his conversation and started walking towards the entryway. I smiled at him and then JJ smiled back at me. Let me tell you, it was quite a smile too. (I felt like it was in slow motion like in that Madonna video Papa Don't Preach where she sees her boyfriend for the first time as he's walking with his friends...) JJ was being interviewed pretty consistently through the evening.

JACKIE MITCHARD:

Hilary and I got out our books so that we could approach Jackie Mitchard. Then we realized that the books still had the bargain stickers on them. Oops. Those things were stuck on there like glue too! I hope JJ didn't see us picking at those books...anyway... We decided to go to the ladies room before the event got really busy. As we were walking in, a lady came out dressed in a black suit with short brown hair. She almost ran into me and I said "Excuse me." I noticed that her name tag said "Jackie." Once Hil and I were in the rest room, I said "Oh my god! That was Jackie Mitchard!" We went back into the reception area and ran into Peggy (my contact), who gave us our tickets and introduced us to "Jackie." The first thing she said to me was "I know you! Have you been to book signings?" I said "um, no..." Later Hilary said she was thinking "yeah, you just ran her over coming out of the bathroom." Anyway...we talked about the book and I asked her if the movie stayed true to the book. She said that it was different but the emotional core was the same. I told her how much I liked the character of Vincent and she said that "Jonathan Jackson is the best part of the movie." I almost said, "Oh, I know!" even though I hadn't seen the movie yet. Luckily, I stopped myself. She was very nice and open and had an easy smile.

CONTACT!!!!!!!!

We began to observe the situation (ie: When would be the best time to approach JJ be?) and we decided that approaching him sooner than later was probably best. He was being interviewed all over the place, but then we saw him talking with Richard, alone. BINGO! Hilary and I approached him, introduced ourselves and said that we were fans of DEOTO and that of course, we watched GH. I even shook his hand! Then we talked about DEOTO a little and I think I said that Vincent was my favorite character and that I was glad I read his section first. JJ said, "You read books from the middle?" I'm not sure what I said but I think it was, "Well, why would I want to read a book that I'm not going to like by the time I get to the middle?" (note: I didn't say "Why would I want to read the part that isn't about your character?") When he talks to you he does look right into your eyes. Wow. We asked if we could get a picture of JJ and Richard offered to take it but I said "Um, could we just get one alone first?" So, I took 2 pictures of JJ (click, click) alone, one of JJ and RLJ and then Hil and I each got pictures with JJ. Actually, I wish I could have gotten a picture of me and Richard because we spent so much time together, but oh well... When JJ and I were getting our picture taken, we had an awkward moment where we didn't know if we should put our arms around each other and we sort of bumped into one another. I was trying to lighten up the situation so I said, "Well, hello!" like I was just seeing him for the first time. He laughed and Hilary took the picture. :)

RICHARD, MY NEW BEST FRIEND. :)

After that, JJ got cornered by a reporter and Richard, Hilary, and I were still standing there. Ok, I think we should have spent more time in the car trying to figure out what to say to Richard, because we talked to him for about a half-hour. Richard was just waiting for JJ. It was pretty funny because he would look over at JJ, see him still talking to the reporter and then turn back to us...look over and turn back to us. At that point I really realized that this was a 19 year old and JJ really was a 16 year old kid who probably wouldn't be that interested in talking to a 23 year old paralegal trying to get into law school. So, the brain drain began. I just kept thinking to myself "THINK ERICA THINK! What did I do at 19? He and JJ seemed like very quiet people. He was very nice but not a big conversationalist. We talked about Ally McBeal and how funny that episode was (note: we actually have that tape labelled "Ally with Lucky's brother"). I told him that I liked the Scarlett Road tape. OH! This is pretty funny! I told him that I got the tape for my birthday (from Boo!) and that I was like "Who are these guys?" He laughed at that. :) Then I told him the story that my friend was listening to the CD as she worked out and she fell over when she realized that the song "Unlucky" was actually about Lucky. I told him I got this breathless long distance phone call to tell me that. Seriously, it sounds sort of dumb, but Richard really seemed to think that story was funny. He told us that the new CD was coming out soon and that he sang 2 songs on it. He said he wasn't thrilled to do it at first but that it was fun. Hilary asked him about new projects and he told her about his and JJ's independent movie. :) I asked him if he was in school. He told me he was a freshman and that he had taken time off to do some projects. I think I told him something like "Well, it's better to do it that way. I went straight through and believe me, you don't want my loans." He laughed at that too. (ok, I'm a little embarrassed that I said THAT...) I also asked him "So, do your parents let you guys travel alone? Your brother is what...17? My parents would flip." He said that JJ was 16 (like I didn't know!—I just didn't want him to think I was a stalker fan that knew every detail about his brother...) and that they did travel alone sometimes. He said that they usually stayed up late, watched movies and ordered pizza. I said "Welcome to college. That's pretty much it." He laughed at that too. :) Ok, now I should tell you guys that I stumped the poor guy. Oops. I said, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but what's it like to be an actor? I'm a paralegal, so I couldn't be more removed from that sort of thing. What's the hardest part?" Richard said "um...hmm...uh..." After a couple minutes I said "Oh, that's OK, it's no big deal," and he said "No, give me a minute..." Eventually he said that the hardest part was working 12 hour days and then having to go to public appearances afterwards. Oh and I should tell you that afterwards Hilary was making fun of me because I kept touching Richard. I have a habit of touching people's arms when I talk to them. Not holding on, but just touching them when I make a point. I think I did it to Richard a lot. After JJ was done with the rabid journalist, Richard abandoned us and (hee hee) then HE got cornered by the journalist. Poor guy. He was really nice to us though. OH! And he called JJ "John." I think we went to eat then. We saw JJ posing for photos all over the place. He was very nice about it and always smiling.

VIRGINIA:

Before we approached JJ for the first time, we were looking at the gifts that had been donated for silent auction and we began talking to a woman named Virginia. She was retired and a real sharp character. She asked us who JJ was (he was being interviewed) and we told her. We also told her that he was going to be a big star someday. She mentioned that she wished she had brought a camera to get a picture with Jackie Mitchard. I told her that if she gave me her address that I would take the picture and send it to her. (I didn't really think she'd take me up on the offer). Well, as we were eating, Virginia came up and said, "Do you want to do it now?" So, then she beelined for JJ and she approached him and said "Now, I don't know who you are, but this young lady tells me that you're going to be a big star someday. Can I get my picture taken with you?" I was pretty mortified but JJ laughed and said "Sure." As I was taking the picture, my lens switched on me. Oops. I had pressed the wrong button. I covered and said "Oh, sorry. Just a second. It's a new camera." Yeah, 4 years "new." Then I asked JJ if he and TC got along off screen, because they always seem like they have a good time during scenes together. He said, "We play on the same basketball team." I said, "Oh, I know. I just wanted to let you know I love watching your scenes with him. You guys crack me up." Then I think I asked him if Lucky and Liz were going to get a story line soon and he said "No, just more Lucky and Liz stuff." Then Virginia dragged me off to get a picture with Jackie, but she couldn't get to her.

PRESENTATION AND SHOW

There were several presentations and speeches (none of which I remember) and then JJ went up to the pulpit to sing his song that he wrote for DEOTO. He said, "Well, I guess God's going to judge my pitch." He does this thing where he'll say something witty and then he'll smile quickly, like he's all proud of himself for making a joke. It's very cute. The song was very good and Hilary and I ran out to buy the CD single in the lobby.

After the presentations, or maybe it was before, JJ was sitting down and someone approached him to sign something. Hil and I then whipped out our programs from the SOD Awards and approached him to sign them too. He had given the pen back so I had to whip one out of my organizer (note: Hilary criticized me for bringing my whole purse, organizer, phone and wallet, but I bet she was pretty happy I had that purse with me then!) He said "Were you at the Soap Opera Awards?" I blushed and said "Yeah, my best friend lives out there and we found out about it while we were visiting." I think Hilary said, "It was so coincidental!" (Chyaaa! And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.) Richard asked if we wanted him to sign them too, so of course we said yes. :) Hilary wanted to ask JJ who else he would want to work with if he could. He said Maurice Bernard and Steve Burton. Then I said "Really? What about Sara Brown? You know, one thing I can't figure out is how you and Carly are cousins on the show and you never interact." I swear, he looked like that was the first time he had ever heard anything like that. But hey, it's true.

We left the church and went to the theater where the movie would be shown. Hilary found a seat while I went to speak to another of the authors. I found Hilary close to the front. She went to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she said that JJ and RLJ were sitting in the back row and that there were open seats around them. I immediately said, "Let's go!" We got up and went back there but the seats were taken darnit! We went back down. :( There was a presentation with Jackie Mitchard and JJ. I guess he was supposed to sing at the theater, but he didn't. Then the movie started. After the movie, we were heading out of the theater into the lobby and they were giving out free paperbacks of DEOTO! I remember thinking that the night would be just perfect if we could just see JJ one more time. Then, there he was! He was signing the paperbacks in the middle of the lobby. I grabbed one and asked him to sign it. After he signed I said "Thanks. You were the best part of that movie." He smiled and said thanks. While we turned to leave Richard said, "Oh, hey, it was nice talking to you guys," and smiled at us. I think I said, "Have a nice trip home."

QUESTIONS I'VE BEEN ASKED:

What does he smell like? Um, I don't know. I didn't get that close.

Where did he look when he was talking to you? He looked right at me. I didn't notice him doing the Lucky thing where he looks at the actor for a minute and then looks over their left shoulder. He pretty much looks right at you. He and Richard had the prettiest eyes too.

Did I tell him about the Alexis/Liz mother/daughter idea? No, but I thought about it. Oh, I just remembered. I think I told him (after the Virginia Encounter) that I had watched GH since Tony Geary came on and that I was so glad that Luke had a cool kid. He seemed to think that was pretty funny...

Was he quiet? Yes, even when he and Richard were talking alone, they didn't seem to be saying much to each other.

CONCLUSION

Well, that was about it. I think I have wrung every detail out of my brain. The three hour drive home didn't even seem that bad because we couldn't stop talking about the evening. It was a total blast! Although, I think Hilary and I are going to get grey hair from the pressure of trying to be interesting to Richard. Aw, Richard.…