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Kung Fu: The Legend Continues |
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After talking with Maria from Sweden, it was at that time that Helen called. She told me that she ended up staying behind and missed going to Niagra Falls because she could not get out of bed this morning. She had been in a great deal of pain and so she did not make it to the falls. I told her that I had her hat and I would bring it to her.
When I got to Helen's room, she offered to order room service and have a meal together. We had not been able to really sit and chat that often. We would either be sitting in a group during meals or doing some activity as a group. This was our last opportunity to be together since she was leaving early in the morning,
We had both ordered steak and had a very nice and fun time chatting. Reliving memories, talking about how things went, and even about some serious things. We decided that we would have our dessert later. We first went up to the hospitality suite thinking that things were not starting until 7:00 PM, but that had been changed. There was going to be presentations done at 10:00 PM instead.
It was around that time that we decided to go down to get some dessert and we ran into Kim Chan. He was heading down to get something to eat so we had him join us.
Helen and I ordered a banana split, which we thought they would bring out in one dish, but the chef actually split it into two dishes, and that was fine for both of us. Kim ordered french-fries and a beer. Of course he would only order them if someone shared with him. It was at that point when we were joined by Shannon. (She helped out Sandra by acting as accountant for the weekend's event.)
That was one evening that I will never forget. Kim Chan shared some wonderfully funny stuff. He shared the idea again of having a contest of "ASS You Like It," which he would film women's "behinds," all sizes from small to large and he would give out a trophy.
He then told the story how there was a club just for men. They would compare their . . . well you know what. The winner was a very short man with the longest . . . and Kim held up his little finger. Boy did we all laugh at that. Kim offered to pay all of our meals but Helen insisted that she pay. The discussion went on for about five minutes, but clearly this time Helen had the upper hand. She kept wagging her finger at him several times. Of course no one got angry. It was all done respectfully and with great love. I think Kim though really appreciated it since the fiasco of last night. Our meals cost a fraction of what he ended up paying. Even so, Helen got the upper hand on that one. I had to tell Sandra about it, that Kim lost that one, but it was all just so wonderful.
After Helen, Shannon, and I finished our meals, it was time for us to leave and go back up to the hospitality sweet for whatever was going to happen. Two other FuFest members came in and they kept Kim Chan company. As we entered the hospitality room, there was someone watching the blooper tape. The presentations would be later. I have to admit my favorite scene from the blooper tapes was David Carradine coming in wearing bikini underwear, his hat, and his pouch. He's got a big s*** eating grin on his face and he can barely contain his laughter.
Waiting and preparing
People kept filing in so we watched a few other dailies and when 10 o'clock came around, Gini, Carol, and Mai came in with copies of CD's for everyone. They were numbered so everyone got their own special copy.
Then we got a real treat. The Bad Girls performed their version of "I am the very model of a modern major general," accept they changed the words for Kermit Griffin.
Bad Girls
Each time they sang another verse, they would throw something at the audience and switch places. It was an absolute riot.
One of the girls who helped make the CDs that had been created from all those who contributed images from their digital cameras, set up her laptop and we watched the slideshow on the large screen TV. There's a clip of Kim Chan demonstrating a martial arts move, as well as another slideshow created by Carol Cooper regarding Chris Potter. If I had the mindset, I might create one for David Carradine, if I could learn how to do it.
Kim Chan came in late so we watched the slideshow again for his benefit. Sandra then presented to Kim the card that everyone signed and the special plaque for the Tenth Anniversary of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (which is what we were supposed to be celebrating). He was really touched by it all.
The Card
A Presentation to Kim
Sandra was also given a few gifts for her hard work. Then she did some presentations of her own, which quite surprised everyone. She surprised me with three sets of photographs that actually came from Muriel Emberling. I was to receive just the negatives, but Sandra had told me that she had left the negatives behind. That was no problem for me, and I told her not to worry about them. Little did I know she had gone out and had the negatives printed. What a treat it was to see images from when she had taken a tour of the set, and also the very same images that Sandra had used on the tour (some of them I added here).
Sandra then went around and gave refunds to those who put in extra money. They had made enough money on the auction to not only cover expenses, but there was $600 dollars left over to give to charity, so two charities were chosen.
After that people began breaking into smaller groups and just enjoying their time together. Some went back to their rooms to begin packing for flights the next day. I got a picture with my roommates.
Me and the Two Marias
I lingered with Shannon, Pan, and Sandra and we discussed about the possibility of having another FuFest. Most everyone agreed that another one will more than likely happen, but there had to be certain things that would have to be done to guarantee that everything was taken care of. Sandra though wanted to wait for a couple of months to recover from this one.
Over all, it was a wonderful evening and I certainly did not want it to end, but my suitcase was calling me and I needed to get everything packed, otherwise I would not have a place to sleep. My bed was covered with all of my FuFest things. That would have been hard to sleep on.
Concludes with Episode 5 - Saying Goodbye
and The Journey Home
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This personal account cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict
permission from the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.