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So, there I was, standing in line, lighter than usual, waiting to be brought to a dream, and I realize, I forgot the poster!! The one thing I swore I wouldn’t forget, the one thing I promised my best man, Blake, the ONE THING I just couldn’t forget!! I panicked, and frantically searched for someone, hoping a security guard would run up to me shouting: “Here, “I have it! Take it!! HERE!” but obviously, that wasn’t gonna happen. I saw an image flash in front of my eyes. It was the storage area of the Sony Pictures booth, I lovingly placed it out of harms way, and just as easily, forgot it. So, I had two options: 1. Stay in line, get the Spider-Man 3 poster signed, and assume they wouldn’t have even let me take the Evil Dead poster out, and then go on my merry way, feeling like a failure, not completing my friends’ quest. Or 2. panic and do anything I can to get that poster tube up to the impossible to get in room, I was in…So, I called a Sony friend, Chandra, the woman I’d been in contact with even before I came to San Diego. She answered and was ready to get me a battleship filled with candy corn, I mean she was on call to get me what I needed…But I didn’t know this until I asked: “Chandra, this is Steve, listen…If there’s anything you do for me, just one thing this whole week, please, PLEASE, PLEASE, grab the poster tube I left in the booth storage, and bring it to me as fast as you can!!!” and without hesitation, she said, “I’ll do it!” , and just like that, she was off! And back at the room of heavenly privilege, I stalled! I let the few people who were coming in, (contest winners of another kind) cut me in line, as long as I could…Then, they shut the doors. This was it, it was me, the cast and director of Spider-Man 3, about 6 security guards, the few contest winners in line, and a handful of Sony people. Of course, I had a Sony head with me, just to make sure everything was ok, and going smoothly. As if the tension of waiting for the poster wasn’tough, I was suddenly stopped by a woman in a business suit. She went on to say that they weren’t accepting anymore people to sign, it was just the few people who had won other contests, and that was that. Well, Dwight, the Sony head, was not having that. I felt as if I was about to experience something bad. I could feel the tension in the air, you could taste it. But before it could turn into a yelling match, Dwight waved his hands like a Jedi Master, and the woman, who was quite horrible, moved aside and led me to the continuing line, to meet my destiny. I looked back at Dwight as if he had just parted the Red Sea! I didn’t know quite why, but they knew I needed to get in there, and meet my dream. Then, that feeling rushed again, the feeling of panic...THE POSTER! I need to poster! And before I could even muster a groan, the doors fly open, and Chandra comes racing in!! My eyes lit up like a christmas tree, and I almost fell to my knees! Chandra darted toward meand handed me the poster tube, as if I were King Arthur being handed Excalibur, but the lady in the lake! All was well!! I was in! I was standing there, 4 people ahead of me, almost to the table of celebrities, poster tube in hand, and ready to go! I popped the top of the poster tube off, and reached for the poster, just as my fingers brushed the glossy glory, a large security guard shouted: “DO NOT PULL ANYTHING OUT OF THERE!” I looked up, confused, he was obviously talking to me. I laughed nervously, but it was no joke, he was serious. He then said: “No personalized items, no personal items, only one signature per person.” At this point, I was too far away from Chandra, or Dwight, I couldn’t yell for them to help me out of this one…No, this one seemed to be out of their control. That was that. I couldn’t try to convince him, he was doing his job. My quest, was over. I’d still get a cool Spider-Man 3 poster signed by the cast and director out of it, but I’d let my friend down. His quest, would be over before mine. So, I braved it. I stood my ground…I had a plan!

- TO BE CONTINUED…Part 3, tonight!

-Steve