I have to confess, I've only been a regular viewer of Stargate for about a year now. I'd seen bits and pieces on occasion, but my work schedule made it hard to get into and follow anything on TV. That all changed last October when I lost my job. Science fiction has always seemed to help me through the rough patches and did not let me down this time either. I started watching SG-1 and was immediately hooked; in most part, due to Amanda Tapping's portrayal of Sam Carter. So, when Creation announced their Stargate con in NJ, I jumped at the chance to go. I was really excited to see that Amanda was scheduled to be there and then disappointed when it was announced she would not be able to make it. Still, I was determined to go and have a great time. And, a great time it was!!

I met some really nice people at the party Saturday night and we all decided to sit together for the breakfast Sunday morning, too. I usually attend cons by myself, so this was a nice change. I might see familiar faces from other cons, but don't really know anyone. So, I would like to say thank you to all of them for helping make it such a fun weekend.

All of the actors were great on stage. I felt bad for Rachel Lutrell, from Atlantis, who seemed really nervous but none the less handled herself very well. Tony Amendola, who plays Bra'tac, had a good one when a young boy asked if the costume was heavy. He said yes and then had the boy come up on stage. He picked the boy up in the air, put him down and said "About 3 times your weight.". Good answer! Teryl Rothery, who played Dr Fraiser, to me, seemed the most comfortable on stage. She had great stories and explained herself very well. Christopher Judge (Teal'c) and Michael Shanks (Daniel) were a trip! Oh, man!! Teal'c may be a man of few words but Chris sure isn't. At one point he even pulled people up on stage to act out one of the answers. Michael kept running on and off the stage. They definitely kept everyone laughing. When asked about the rest of the cast, Don Davis (Gen Hammond) got choked up talking about them and mentioned specifically what a sweetheart Teryl is. I had read this before about Teryl. Little did I know I would soon learn for myself what an amazing person she is.

One of my hobbies (when I have the time) is making these really nice collage posters using pictures and articles from magazines. I started out doing them for myself and getting them signed. Then I started doing them around particular characters (usually favorites or ones that had influenced me somehow) and giving them to the actor portraying the character. For this con I made one for myself around the whole show, one for Amanda and one for Teryl. (I ended up sending Amanda's to her since she couldn't make it.)

In the past, when I've gotten them signed, actors have asked me about them but nothing like this time. When I got up to the autograph table Saturday, I handed mine to Tony Amendola for him to sign and he immediately started asking questions about it. After talking with him for a moment or two about it, he asked where I wanted to him to sign it. He signed it, told me great job and shook my hand. I thanked him and moved along to Chris Judge, who did the exact same thing as Tony, asking questions and talking to me about it. Chris also asked where to sign, told me great job and shook my hand. I thanked him and moved down to Don Davis, who was in the middle of talking to someone so he didn't say much. He did comment on it, though, and asked where to sign. And, when Tony came to our table Saturday night (and I'll bet the rest of you at the table didn't pick up on this), he came over to me and said something to me about the collage again!

As if my weekend couldn't get much better, something would happen during one of Sunday's autograph sessions that would be the highlight of my weekend. First up, though, was Michael Shanks. Even though he was pressed for time (he had to get back to Canada for an early set call), he took a moment to ask me about the collage, where to sign and shook my hand. Due to the short notice, I didn't have time to make one on Atlantis and had Rachel sign a photo instead.

Then came the moment I had been waiting for all weekend - having Teryl Rothery sign my collage and giving her the one I made for her. I don't mind telling you - I was really nervous! I had no idea what to expect. I gave her mine to sign first. She said something about it (don't ask what, I don't remember) and asked where to sign it. When she finished, I told her I had one for her and held it up on the table for her. She kept saying "This is for me?" while looking at it and I kept saying yes. Then she said "You're going to make me cry. I told you I cry easily. This is really for me??". She was looking right at me and again I said yes. For a minute I thought she was going to cry but she didn't. She thanked me and I thanked her for signing mine. So, I'm thinking "That was cool!" when it got better. As I was walking away, I heard her say "Wait" and turned to look behind me. She had stopped in the middle of the next person's autograph and was saying "I'm sorry. I have to stop for a minute.". I stopped as I realized she was standing up and coming around the table. She came over to me, gave me a hug and said thank you again! Probably the most amazing thing about it was how sincere she was. It was one of those times where you just know it came from the heart. That one simple gesture made my whole weekend!!

I have to say, I've been going to cons and charity events for over 10 years and have met some really nice celebrities. I think there's only one other that comes close to my experience with Teryl. Even my experience with the rest of the actors at the con beats most of my experiences hands down. They are a truly nice, down-to-earth group of people and they seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the fans. I would gladly see them all again!

As a quick follow-up from that weekend, Teryl Rothery has again shown me what an amazing person she is. As if the hug wasn't enough of a thank you, in the mail today (Aug 23) I received a thank you card with a hand-written note from Teryl! All of this just makes me that much more a fan of hers. I won't forget this experience any time soon! I'd love to see her again next year!

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