At the VHPA Reunion

Well, my 1st day at the reunion has been really good. But those words do nothing to capture the meaning of today's events. I had the proverbial butterflies in my stomach as I approached the hotel. My friend, Joy, dropped me off at the side entrance. People wearing yellow lanyards with a name tag dangling were buzzing about the busy entranceway. I knew I was in the right place, even before I noticed the VHPA printed on the lanyards. I had to ask where the registration desk was and was directed to the 3rd floor. There the lobby was even more thickly populated with people casually glancing about the room while talking to one another and holding a beer in the other hand. Posters and flyers were posted throughout the halls and around the registration desk. One of the first things I noticed was a poster of Jane Fonda from some 80s aerobic exercise video with darts sticking in it. You kind of need to know the story to understand that. (But that is not my story) Fortunately, there was no one waiting behind me, so the girl working the desk had time to answer my (what must have seemed trivial) questions. I scanned the flyer of events and selected what I wanted to attend. Fortunately, those I selected were free. After a $70 registration fee, anything free was welcome! But I really can't complain. I was sent over to another table where a lady named Kate would print my name tag. As I was waiting in line there, another lady calling out names of people whose tags were ready, called out for Mr. Manns. Was I hearing correctly? I wondered. Being nosey, I leaned forward for a closer look at the name tag as the gentleman picked it up. Sure enough, by George (whoever that is) it was Hal Manns. He's the guy that got me into this whole thing in the first place. I say that like its a bad thing. But what I meant, is that Hal is the fellow that called me last fall. He's the one that told me about the VHPA and the reunion. He's the one that did much of the leg work for the book about the Pink Panthers. He's the REASON that I am here. And lo & behold... here he was right next to me getting his name tag right next to me. Amazing! I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, Sir." He turned to look and I continued, "Are you Hal Manns?" Even though I knew the answer, it seemed the appropriate thing. He didn't even get a chance to answer beyond a brief nod as his jaw began to drop to say "yes", when I said, "I'm Stephan Makintaya." and his eyes warmed. We shook hands and any uncertainty about where I would go next was gone. Talk about a small world. He made sure I had his cell # and gave me the suite # for the Stickett Inn... the Pink Panther suite. Gotta love that name! Shortly after I found myself in the elevator on my way to the 37th floor. I exited the elevator, turned the corner... and just as I was looking for room numbers, I couldn't help but notice the Stickett Inn sign posted next to the door and a 4 foot tall picture of cinemas favorite fuchsia feline. That had to be it. I approached the door, steadied myself and listened for a moment. It was quiet in there. I thought that from this moment on, my life might be different. Let's see if I can put this in perspective for you... You know how when you gather with people that talk about family & friends, they share stories. "My mother did this the other day, oh and my brother... guess what he did... My Aunt is now living...."
and so on. You get the idea. Well, I can do that too, until I get to my Dad. So when it comes time to share stories, I can share with the best of them... except for my dad. There is a gaping white blank of nothing where one would find the stories of my dad. So think of this going through my mind right before I push the door open to the Stickett Inn. I expected to meet someone that knew my dad... finally. So I slowly open the door and there was no one immediately visible. I took a step inside and three or four people were to my left. Among them was Hal. Once again... he was in the right place at the right time. :-) He greeted me again and led me to this smiling fellow. Hal introduced me to Woody. Woody smiled, gave me a firm handshake and said, "I knew your dad." ....... goosebumps......