Holy Crow...

...I MET RUDY!!!

Luck was with me Monday night: I got front row seats at the Sean Astin talk, got some great pictures of him during his lecture, and met him after the show. It was absolutely awesome! For those of you who want the whole story, read on.

The night started with me wolfing down my dinner. I made some nice oven baked sandwiches, but just like the dinner before New Kids on the Block, in 1990, I could barely taste it. I was too hyped up, and my stomach was churning with excitement.

By the time we got to Foellinger Autitorium, on the lovely University of Illinois campus, there was a queue waiting to get in. I grumpily walked to the end, thinking for sure we wouldn't get good seats. As I listened to Astin Amateurs talk about Samwise Gamgee and getting Peter Jackson's number, I tried to figure out where we would be able to sit: middle would be okay, but I wanted some good pics for the FB. As the doors finally opened, I held my breath as I gave my ticket to the ticket taker and then proceeded to the auditorium's doors. OHMYGOODNESS! There were still front row seats at Stage Right, where the podium was placed! I raced to the front to get these precious seats.

We waited in our seats [somewhat] patiently for approximately 20 minutes. I kept talking to Husband about my favorite Astin films, and Friend and I hoped against hope that he would mention Toy Soldiers and Memphis Belle, two Astin greats that are rarely brought to the public's attention. The lights went dim, and then the screen lit up: LET'S HEAR IT FOR A MONTAGE! Just what I was hoping for: a montage of Astin clips with his greatest speeches as Mikey, Samwise, and Rudy (among other films). And, since Friend was on my right, she got a swift slap on the leg when the montage started.

His lecture was adorable: he kept shifting from foot to foot, read right off the page, and lost his place more than once. I think this was one of the first times he'd given his lecture in public. He said he wants to travel around to campuses across the country and speak in an academic setting about the importance of leadership and fellowship (in a non-secular way), and he used his characters from The Goonies, Rudy, and LOTR to illustrate his point. He closed his time with the group with a Q&A session, in which Friend got him to talk about the aforementioned favorites, Toy Soldiers and Memphis Belle. Niiiiiiiiiice.

The evening was supposedly over, until we hit the exit. After trying to get backstage to get a picture taken, and failed, we exited on the east side of the building. Upon exiting, I looked to the right, and 10 feet away, there stood Mr. Astin amongst a bevy of fans. He was politely signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. OMG, I WAS TOO EXCITED! I patiently waited in the relatively short line (when I got there) and eventually got up to him. I thought of my friend, Mr. Bill, and how he would be fainting if he was there now. (Well, maybe not: he's too cool for that.) I kept looking back at Husband, to make sure he was with me, and he kept reassuring me, "Yes, I'll take your picture." I got up to SEAN ASTIN, and I said, "You and Michael J. Fox shaped my youth."

"Wow. That's nice! I mentioned him twice tonight."

"I know. I counted. Could you take a picture with me?"

"Sure."

After the pic was snapped, I thanked him, and he warned me, "Be careful of that chain. I don't want it to hurt you."

He was so nice, humble, and modest! He kept talking about coaching his daughter's soccer team, and all of the everyday things he does. And, I always knew the guy was short, but he seemed even littler in "real life." He was my height exactly. What a fun evening it was! One of the best, thanks to Husband, the Illini Union Board, and Mr. Sean Astin.