KonvenTion chat

[Andrew B Marvick <abm4@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu>]

The subjeKT being so special, IED has been persuaded to allow Andrew
Marvick to address the Love-Hounds personally. This will _not_ happen
again.
   
   Hi, Love-Hounds and all fellow Kate fans! Wasn't it BRILLIANT?
AMAZING!
   At this point there have already been quite a few wonderful
accounts in Love-Hounds of the convention day, so there is very
little for me to add. (I particularly loved Neil Calton's and
Stephen Thomas's postings about the day--they really managed
to communicate the sheer magic of the occasion. Thanks to all of
you for your postings, they were _delightful_ reading.) Even so,
I just want to repeat, for my own satisfaKTion:

     KATE WAS THERE!!

     KATE SANG TO US!!
 
     KATE IS (probably) GOING TO CONCERTIZE AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR!!

   What better news could any Love-Hound hope to be able to post to
the group than that, I ask you? INCREDIBLE.
   It was great to meet so many Love-Hounds, and finally to be able
to put faces to so many familiar names. It was wonderful to meet up
with Californian Love-Hound buddies Ed Suranyi and Larry Hernandez 
again, and it was a particular joy to me to see my dear old friend
Vickie Mapes after five long years of phone calls and e-mail 
messages. Great to see Chris Williams again, too! 
   Kate said she'd started dancing again, and I thought it showed.
By the way, I hope, with the help of Vickie, to produce an accurate
and as-complete-as-possible transKripTion of Kate's chat with the
KonvenTioneers. As soon as it's ready I'll post it to Love-Hounds.
I sympathize with all the fans who couldn't manage to attend the
event, and I hope the transcription will be some KompensaTion.
   Personal highlights? There were so many, but they included meeting
(all too briefly) with Peter Fitzgerald-Morris again after five years;
being received so warmly by Dave Cross (a fantastic Master of
Ceremonies at both the conventions I was fortunate enough to 
attend--well done, Dave!); being treated _so_ nicely and with
such a spirit of friendship by Lisa of the KBC--thankyou, Lisa,
for all your help amid so much seeming chaos; talking (again
far too briefly) with Krystyna Fitzgerald on the phone afterward;
getting the big bunch of white roses I'd picked out beforehand
delivered straight into the lap of Kate--that was a real thrill,
especially knowing that the bouquet contained a large card with
the unmistakable imprint of LOVE-HOUNDS all over it; seeing Kate
walk out on stage; seeing Kate genuinely moved by the love in the air;
hearing Kate announce, in an intimate, almost confiding tone--as
though she were telling her closest friends--that at long last she
thought she would probably give some shows at the end of next
year; and most of all, being present to witness Kate as she 
almost visibly conquered some personal demons and sang, in that
special kind of electric silence only a large crowd of people 
sharing completely the same magic moment can make, that 
unforgettable little thankyou song to us all--my emotions got
the better of me at that point, and tears came to my eyes...
   It was a great joy to me to have been there. Here's hoping
we can all experience similar magic together in about a year!

   "I feel it all around me..."

-- Andrew Marvick