When it was announced that tickets for the luncheon were going on sale in January of this year, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to hear who would be attending. I kept checking the website but no names were posted. I only wanted to attend the luncheon if Hillary was going to be there. When I did find out in April that Hillary was attending the luncheon it was too late, the tickets were already sold out. I was so disappointed. I mentioned to a couple of my friends that I really wished I could have bought a ticket to attend the luncheon. My friends encouraged to me to contact Diane Casale to see if she had any cancellations.
I contacted Diane Casale to see if she had any cancellations. Diane got back to me a day later stating that I was in luck because she had a cancellation from the night before. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I think I thanked Diane 50 million times during our conversation. Diane said she should be thanking me because I saved her life because everyone that was asking about cancellations wanted to have more than one ticket. After about a minute from calming down and taking a deep breath, it dawned on me that I would have to get on an airplane to get to the luncheon. I’ve never been on an airplane before. It’s not that I had a bad experience flying, but it’s because my mom (rest her soul) was afraid to fly. I felt that was a valid reason for me not to get on a plane, too.
I said to myself there’s no backing out now, because if you do, you’ll miss the chance to see Hillary again. So, I swallowed really hard and thought about the fact that I was going to have to get on a plane and fly 2,000 miles to see Hillary for the 3rd time this year. There was a time when I never thought I would ever meet her because of my fear to fly. I also said to myself “Come hail or high water” I was attending this luncheon. I was going to see the most special person in the world to me.
On August 20, 2010 I purchased my plane ticket to go to NYC. I was really excited by then. “Fast Forward” to Oct. 7, 2010. At 7:30 p.m. I arrived at LAX International Airport to catch my flight to Newark, New Jersey. At approximately 9:10 p.m. we boarded the plane. As I walked down the walkway to the plane I said a silent prayer for God to keep us all safe. I proceeded to take my seat on the plane. I really wasn’t nervous about the plane ride, I was more nervous about seeing Hillary again.
On October 9, 2010, I arrived at the Helmsley Hotel at 8:43 a.m. to check in for the luncheon. There were fans all over the place. The atmosphere was electrifying. Everyone was happily chit chatting about there favorite actors/actresses. I caught up with a few friends I’ve met on Facebook & Twitter. I was really amazed at how many people were in attendance. At approximately 11:00 a.m., everyone was allowed to enter the dining room to take their seats. The waiters entered the dining room to serve us our lunch which consisted of: grilled chicken breast, mixed vegetables, red potatoes. For dessert we had cheesecake with caramel & chocolate mousse. At approximately 1:00 p.m., the actors/actresses were introduced. The audience erupted into applause when each actor/actress was introduced. Soon after that the “Question/Answer” session began. It was my turn to ask a question. When I stood up to ask my question, Hillary recognized me. That really felt good that she remembered who I was. At approximately 2:00 p.m., the actors/actresses were escorted to our tables in twos. The crowd got out of hand a little so the actors/actresses were sent next door to an adjacent room where tables were set up for the duration of the autograph signing & picture taking. I was waiting patiently to be called in the next room to get my autographs & pictures taken, when Laurie, from the OLTL publicity department, approached me and said she heard that I flew for the 1st time to attend the luncheon. I told her “yes”. She then asked if I was a huge Hillary fan. I said “yes”. She also asked if I was a big Bo & Nora fan. I also replied “yes”. We shook hands and that was it, so I thought. Approximately 10 minutes later, Laurie approached me again and ask that I come with her into the adjacent room. As we were walking in the room I could see Hillary at her table signing autographs. Hillary looked up from signing autographs and said to me, “Come here you” and gave me a huge hug. She was as excited to see me as I was excited to see her. She asked me how my flight was and how it felt to fly for the 1st time. I replied “Awesome”. I couldn’t believe I was standing there with Hillary let alone in New York City. We talked for a bit, it was really nice. I had given her a poem that I wrote for her regarding my experiences of meeting her in person 3 times in one year. As I was standing there talking to Hillary, I made a phone call to a very dear friend (Lori) who also loves Hillary just about as much as I do. I asked Hillary if she could say Hi to my friend Lori, she replied "Sure". My friend Lori was so excited she was talking to Hillary. It’s truly a Blessing being as though I never thought I would ever get a chance to meet her at all. I also gave her a few other things. She was very pleased by everything I had given her. Hillary will never really know how much she means to me. She kind of got a hint from the poem I gave her. Watching Hillary on T.V. was a step out of reality for me because I sustained a terrible loss in my life. I was 16 years old when I lost my mom. I didn’t know how I could survive that, but by the grace of God I did. Watching Hillary portray Margo Hughes on ATWT on a daily basis was comforting for me. For some reason, she was a distraction from what was really going on in my life. I found comfort in watching her on the show. She brought light to my life when it was really dark. It's just something about her that kept me glued to the T.V screen. The one thing I do know is that she is so good at what she does. To me, she is the best in her field. No one comes close. I've had 3 tries to tell her how special she is to me, but it didn't work. I have been a fan of hers for many, many years. This was truly a dream come true for me.
I contacted Diane Casale to see if she had any cancellations. Diane got back to me a day later stating that I was in luck because she had a cancellation from the night before. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I think I thanked Diane 50 million times during our conversation. Diane said she should be thanking me because I saved her life because everyone that was asking about cancellations wanted to have more than one ticket. After about a minute from calming down and taking a deep breath, it dawned on me that I would have to get on an airplane to get to the luncheon. I’ve never been on an airplane before. It’s not that I had a bad experience flying, but it’s because my mom (rest her soul) was afraid to fly. I felt that was a valid reason for me not to get on a plane, too.
I said to myself there’s no backing out now, because if you do, you’ll miss the chance to see Hillary again. So, I swallowed really hard and thought about the fact that I was going to have to get on a plane and fly 2,000 miles to see Hillary for the 3rd time this year. There was a time when I never thought I would ever meet her because of my fear to fly. I also said to myself “Come hail or high water” I was attending this luncheon. I was going to see the most special person in the world to me.
On August 20, 2010 I purchased my plane ticket to go to NYC. I was really excited by then. “Fast Forward” to Oct. 7, 2010. At 7:30 p.m. I arrived at LAX International Airport to catch my flight to Newark, New Jersey. At approximately 9:10 p.m. we boarded the plane. As I walked down the walkway to the plane I said a silent prayer for God to keep us all safe. I proceeded to take my seat on the plane. I really wasn’t nervous about the plane ride, I was more nervous about seeing Hillary again.
On October 9, 2010, I arrived at the Helmsley Hotel at 8:43 a.m. to check in for the luncheon. There were fans all over the place. The atmosphere was electrifying. Everyone was happily chit chatting about there favorite actors/actresses. I caught up with a few friends I’ve met on Facebook & Twitter. I was really amazed at how many people were in attendance. At approximately 11:00 a.m., everyone was allowed to enter the dining room to take their seats. The waiters entered the dining room to serve us our lunch which consisted of: grilled chicken breast, mixed vegetables, red potatoes. For dessert we had cheesecake with caramel & chocolate mousse. At approximately 1:00 p.m., the actors/actresses were introduced. The audience erupted into applause when each actor/actress was introduced. Soon after that the “Question/Answer” session began. It was my turn to ask a question. When I stood up to ask my question, Hillary recognized me. That really felt good that she remembered who I was. At approximately 2:00 p.m., the actors/actresses were escorted to our tables in twos. The crowd got out of hand a little so the actors/actresses were sent next door to an adjacent room where tables were set up for the duration of the autograph signing & picture taking. I was waiting patiently to be called in the next room to get my autographs & pictures taken, when Laurie, from the OLTL publicity department, approached me and said she heard that I flew for the 1st time to attend the luncheon. I told her “yes”. She then asked if I was a huge Hillary fan. I said “yes”. She also asked if I was a big Bo & Nora fan. I also replied “yes”. We shook hands and that was it, so I thought. Approximately 10 minutes later, Laurie approached me again and ask that I come with her into the adjacent room. As we were walking in the room I could see Hillary at her table signing autographs. Hillary looked up from signing autographs and said to me, “Come here you” and gave me a huge hug. She was as excited to see me as I was excited to see her. She asked me how my flight was and how it felt to fly for the 1st time. I replied “Awesome”. I couldn’t believe I was standing there with Hillary let alone in New York City. We talked for a bit, it was really nice. I had given her a poem that I wrote for her regarding my experiences of meeting her in person 3 times in one year. As I was standing there talking to Hillary, I made a phone call to a very dear friend (Lori) who also loves Hillary just about as much as I do. I asked Hillary if she could say Hi to my friend Lori, she replied "Sure". My friend Lori was so excited she was talking to Hillary. It’s truly a Blessing being as though I never thought I would ever get a chance to meet her at all. I also gave her a few other things. She was very pleased by everything I had given her. Hillary will never really know how much she means to me. She kind of got a hint from the poem I gave her. Watching Hillary on T.V. was a step out of reality for me because I sustained a terrible loss in my life. I was 16 years old when I lost my mom. I didn’t know how I could survive that, but by the grace of God I did. Watching Hillary portray Margo Hughes on ATWT on a daily basis was comforting for me. For some reason, she was a distraction from what was really going on in my life. I found comfort in watching her on the show. She brought light to my life when it was really dark. It's just something about her that kept me glued to the T.V screen. The one thing I do know is that she is so good at what she does. To me, she is the best in her field. No one comes close. I've had 3 tries to tell her how special she is to me, but it didn't work. I have been a fan of hers for many, many years. This was truly a dream come true for me.
