That's All, Folks!

After the closing event of the festival, mom and I went to the closing party at Club TCM. We talked with some friends of ours and I went to have a final word with Robert Osborne. I thanked him for the wonderful time at the festival, and then I asked him to autograph mine and my mother's passes. We shook hands and I was on my merry way. I was almost crying as I made my way through the crowd to find my mother.
We stayed in Club TCM for a while longer, talking to our friends and I remember looking up at one point and jumping about a mile backwards. There was a projector showing pictures of notable pictures from the festival on the walls, and I looked up to find a picture of myself on the red carpet in my tuxedo. "You look very nice in that tux," said one lady who happened to be standing close by.
After saying my goodbyes and thank yous to the various festival organizers, including TCM weekend host, Ben Mankiewicz, I went back to my room to tackle the enormous task of re-packing my suitcase. In the end, we had to put some of the souvenirs in a box and ship it home. The last night was a very special night--it was the only night when mom and I ordered room service. We were trying to save as much money as possible, but the last night we really wanted to live it up. We ordered chicken tenders, a salad and a fruit plate. After four days of living off of mostly theater food, (except for an In N Out burger on Friday), this was the first decent bit of food we had had in days and we ate! When the packing concluded at 1 in the morning, we went to sleep.
All too soon though, we had to get out of bed and wait for our driver to pick us up at drop off section of the hotel. When I climbed into the car I was trying not to let it hit me. The sensation of "it's really over." But it did--and I was a mess. It took getting on the plane to Arizona and a bowl of wan tan soup with my grandparents to cure that.
It's only been two weeks since the festival an I'm still living in the memories. I do have optimistic anticipation of the 2011 festival, which was announced before the screening of "Metropolis". I am already raising money to go back next year--for an equally magical and splendid time.