| Michael Easton Fan Encounters p. 2C |
| Photo and story by Tina Payne |
| After 3 years of anxiously hoping and praying Michael Easton would attend Super Soap Weekend, which I'd been to every year at Disney MGM Studios in Orlando FL, since it began in 1996, he finally made it there in Nov. 2003! This would be my 5th encounter with him, and probably my best, as of then.
That Sat. began with some near misses and total misses for me. It was the first year we had to line up and take Fast Passes to see our actors. I stayed up all night to take the first Disney bus, from the Disney resort where I stayed, so I'd be among the first in line when the park opened. My husband had left me at Disney so he could go to a TN/Miami football game with friends, so I was on my own to get my Fast Passes. The first line I got in was for the One Life to Live actors, so I could get my Fast Pass to see Michael Easton. My hope was just to get to see Michael Easton, "John McBain" on One Life to Live, and my sweet Michael E. Knight, "Tad Martin" on All My Children, who I'd watched and loved since my first year in college and seen every SSW except the two MEK missed. I was getting close, in my OLTL line, when my husband called, and Disney made this loud speaker announcement that if you were planning to get a Fast Pass to see Michael Easton, you might want to consider someone else because at any moment ME's confirmed Fast Passes would be gone and the machine would click over to stand-by passes that weren't guaranteed passes to see the actor. I was about to panic, as my husband (who'd promised to always do SSW with me after the year 2001 when he went to a TN/Notre Dame game, had a classmate of his do SSW with me, who failed on both days to get me there to see Maurice Benard the only year he ever came) listened to the announcement on the phone. I like to be a good wife, who lets my husband have fun, so I'd let him out of his SSW promise in 2003 when he really wanted to do that ballgame. He knew I'd be about to regret letting him out of it, if missed one of my 2 beloved Michaels, when he heard that announcement, so he quickly said the guys were calling him to go to breakfast! Well, by the grace of God, I did get a confirmed Fast Pass for ME's picture/autograph line that Sat. just before the machine ran out of them. Then I had to hurry to the All My Children line for my Fast pass to see Michael E. Knight. In no time, they announced that Susan Lucci's and Michael E. Knight's Fast Passes were about to run out and turn to stand-by, but I actually got my MEK confirmed one, before they ran out as well, so I was so relieved. My time to be in Michael E. Knight's line was much earlier than my time to be in Michael Easton's. So, I was almost up to MEK, and here came Disney workers to take him away, before he got to me and about 4 other fans, with GUARANTEED Fast Passes! We were devastated and MEK was hugging, kissing, and apologizing to us, as they were dragging him to the next SSW event for which he was scheduled. He was so upset saying "These people stood in line for hours and got a pass guaranteeing to see me?" You need to do something for them to come back next signing." Many years of SSW has taught me that if anything bad happens to you at SSW, Disney usually does not care or do anything to make amends, just ask my friend Terrie who was injured at SSW and nothing was done to compensate in any way. Because Michael E. Knight himself told them to do something for us, we were given a Fast Pass and a ticket to come back and see him Sun. morning during his first signing. At this point, I was in a panic I'd miss Michael Easton too. I went to a talk show he was scheduled to do, I was early, asked if I had time to go back to my room for my camcorder, and they said "Yes, definitely." When I got back, the theater was locked and they would not let me inside even though they said I had time to get back. I went to the guest services to semi complain, but also to see if they could hold some of my stuff so I didn't have to make another rough trip back to my room. They were nice enough to hold my stuff and invite me to sit and rest, before ME's autograph line started, while I was worrying he'd be yanked away from me just as MEK had been. I sat there with my feet propped up, reading my favorite of ME's poems to them from my book I'd planned to ask him to sign, and they seemed to enjoy them! He is my favorite poet, of course, and proceeds from his book "Eighteen Straight Whiskeys" go to the Cancer Foundation, in honor of his mom. The time came near to be there for ME's line, and I didn't want to miss one second. The 2 previous years when I'd ask actors, who worked with him on Port Charles, why Michael didn't come, they said he was shy about big crowds like that. So when I saw Disney workers walking Michael in, I was a little worried because the crowd was huge, just to see him if they didn't have Fast Passes, and he had a little glass of wine, so I figured he was scared to death. In no time, Michael was smiling often, laughing a lot, and seeming to really enjoy himself with the fans in his line and in the crowd. I started getting pretty hopeful I'd get to see him and one of the Disney girls I'd been reading his poems to, was there watching and also thinking I was going to make it this time, without my beloved fellow being dragged away from me! I was nearly to him, asked if a Disney worker would hold my camcorder and she said she'd only aim it for a second, which was better than nothing, but she had his head cut off most of the time, yet I still wouldn't take anything for the tape because he was so incredibly sweet to me. I remember Michael greeted me in a way that made me think he remembered me from the other 4 brief encounters. While he was signing a SSW pic of himself to me, personalized and with love for the first time, I retrieved a little plush vampire I'd bought him. Port Charles, the show where he played a sexy vampire, ended with the character Alison being pregnant with Caleb's baby, so I teased Michael and told him that since we wouldn't get to see Caleb's baby, I got him that little vampire. I explained while the vampire was cute, he didn't get Michael's good looks and I didn't find one with gorgeous blue eyes, but I thought he might like him anyway! I think Michael asked "You don't think he looks like me?" laughed, and said "Thank you, Sweetheart!" I, of course, liked the "Sweetheart" part, which came not at all flirtatiously, just very sweetly and gently, as he's a very good, sweet and gentle man. I noticed that with each and every fan he saw that evening. As I went to walk away, as I still have on my video, he gave me a second one arm hug. He was just precious. My Disney girl I'd been hanging with asked how was it. I responded that it was like a healing from every problem and pain of the day! She was happy for me. I did realize I'd completely forgotten to ask him to sign his poetry book, I had in a bag in my hand, which would be the first of many times I'd forget to ask him to sign it, but as my husband Ted and I discussed, when he go there Sun., the extra time it would've taken to hand one more thing back and forth with Michael would've probably been less time to talk, laugh, and hug and such with him, so it wasn't that bad I forgot it. Disney really doesn't want fans to ask for more than one autograph, but I did notice Michael was signing his book for fans and also quickly doing his SSW pic for them, as well, he's so sweet to his fans, but I valued our quality conversation time during my minute with him. On Sun., after I finally saw Michael E. Knight and got a couple more kisses from him; Ted and I did get to attend an interview with Michael Easton and his new One Life to Live castmates, similar to the one I'd missed Sat. Linda Dano said Michael had told her that he didn't know what he'd been missing the years he was scared to attend SSW. He joked to us all that if he'd gone on the show "Fear Factor", SSW would've been his fear! The OLTL actors took questions and did special silly talents for everyone. Michael was really funny! For instance, he teased Melissa Archer about her lack of participation by telling her she'd better score high in the swimsuit portion of the competition! When Linda called for ME's talent, he acted like Dan Gauthier, Trevor St. John, Kamar De Los Reyes and all of them had stolen his talent ideas. So he finally sang Bruce Springstein's song "Fire" like Porky Pig or Elmer Fudd, something he said he thought he got from Robin Williams. Unlike Robin Williams' version probably was, Michael's was the cutest, most adorable, and sexy thing I've probably ever seen! Thank God the camcorder was working for that! So that was my first Michael Easton attended Super Soap Weekend, that I had literally hoped and prayed for, the 3 years he had been invited by ABC to attend. Many of us were extremely thankful he came for us. The previous SSW, Ted and I were with 2 of Ted's high school classmates, who live near Disney, when I believe Michael's vampire Caleb was on their TV, faking that he was look-a-like rock star Steven Clay doing a concert, when I told them he was my most gorgeous, brilliant favorite. I recall saying the exact words, about SSW, "If only he'd come!", and he finally answered our pleas! It was a wonderful, unforgettable weekend. SSW will never be the same without him! |
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