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Greenwood Dinner #2 in downtown Philadelphia with June, Pam, Liz and Holly. |
The first Greenwood dinner party was such a success that Liz, Cindy, Christina, and T.W. were eager to get together again. This time, they hoped, those of us in New York (including Pam and myself) would also be able to attend. Imagine the excitement when all eight of us confirmed! However, as it turned out, four people (including three of the original attendees) were unable to come due to either illness or work commitments.On the appointed day, I rode the train into Philadelphia and excitedly hopped out of the cab and into Carolina's. I asked for the Greenwood party and was ushered to a table where Liz, Holly and Pam greeted me. It was odd but satisfying to finally meet people whom one has only known as text. All three were extremely nice - and normal! Engaging in animated conversation with three strangers who weren't really strangers was a delightful, if somewhat surreal, experience.
Pam brought tons of Bruce goodies to show us: two binders full of articles and photos, the cover and last page of the birthday book (the latter lists his roles), Bruce's handwritten notes and webpage corrections, and Pam's personally autographed webpage photo. What did we talk about? About ourselves and how we discovered the mailing list, Bruce's birthday presents, the webpage, his roles and appealing qualities, specific scenes that are stand-outs, Summer Dreams as a landmark role, how we would LOVE to see Legmen, Bruce's various accents in his roles and audiobook readings and much more! Through it all, Pam was a veritable fountain of information.
After the dinner, Pam and I had an extra treat in store at Holly's castle. For us New Yorkers, being in wooded, grassy surroundings was a nice change of pace. The leaves had turned bright yellow with some reds, and with the dampness from the rain, the earthy, leafy fragrance pervaded the air. Pam pointed out that this is Emily's country! (Emily - played by Maria Bello - was the Pennsylvania farm woman who saved Tom's life in the Nowhere Man episode The Enemy Within.) In a comfortable suite in the converted castle, the three of us spent a good couple of hours talking and looking through the articles and photos before finally turning in around 2 am.
The next morning we were given a tour of the castle before catching the train back to NYC. All in all, it was a most fulfilling experience and one we'd like to repeat - to meet others we haven't met before as well as get together with what now feel like old friends!
Greenwood Get-togethers