"Work it li'l one!" Hurricane Jeffster hits Florida ... Jeffrey Combs at the VULKON Con in Orlando/Florida, Nov 17 - 19, 2000 A report by HONEYCOMBS (thanks so much for sharing this with us, dear!) =)

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The con was alot of fun. It was the 1st I've been to and it was worth it to see Jeff. We drove 10 hrs. from my hometown to Orlando arriving at 3:30am after a long day at work and on the road. I don't know if I was just tired - not going to bed until almost 5 am - or what but I had a sense of doom. I'm quite a shy person and I just had one of those panicky, self-pitying, nothing's going to work out for me moments. My fears were laid to rest the next morning when we stepped out of the elevator to see our little one himself right there at the front desk checking in!! I was too shy to say anything to him yet but now I was stoked. He ate breakfast and was one of the first ones signing autographs at around 9:30. I went over to meet him after standing back for about 15 minutes too afraid to approach (DAMN these shyness genes!!!) and it was great. I told him how I felt I may faint because I was so nervous and he was sooooo sweet!! He laughed and told me not to be nervous He took my hand in both of his and smiled and said "I'm Jeff and awwww don't be shy, there's no reason to be nervous". He asked me my name (my real one not HONEYCOMBS) and he seemed to like it. He talked to me about his movies and about some of the things that were going to be happening at the con and just put me at ease. He's got a good sense of humor and he's very approachable. He talked with people and just walked around with everyone having a good time. Mind you this was not a wild wild bunch but everyone seemed to have fun.

All weekend long whenever he saw me he would smile and wave or come over and touch my arm and ask me how I was. I truly am a big wuss until I actually know someone so I didn't talk to him as much as I probably could have and believe me, I kicked my ass all the way home. All the stars seemed to be very nice. Ted was a hoot and he and Jeff play off each other well. Dirk Benedict was nice but seemed a little nervous. Richard Hatch was a very friendly outgoing guy and Bruce Campbell was fun too. But Jeffie was who I came to see and I was not disappointed. When the announcer was introducing him for his panel discussion he came down the middle instead of from the side and he recognized me again and sat in front of me. He turned around and waved and patted my leg. He was a lot of fun in his discussion. Truly a talented entertainer. There weren’t as many people left that 2nd day but he worked it just  the same.

I can tell you guys some of the fun stuff he talked about but of course it won't be as fun not hearing him tell it. Where to start? Things come back in bits and pieces ya dig? Just standing back and watching and listening some throughout the weekend it was obvious that Jeff was always happy to talk about his work whather it was DS9 or his movies with his fans and seemed genuinely happy that people were interested. He told me that when he thinks about From Beyond he thinks about Rome and what a horrible ordeal it was to have to get paid AND spend all those weeks in a beautiful country(wink-wink). Oh yes, our poor Jeffie...THE HORROR!!!

When I asked him about the Dinner with the Stars thingamajiggy he said they hadn't told him about that yet. I told him we weren't able to get tickets and he said "Well then I won't be there, that's it if Nema won't be there then I'm not going." Good sense of humor and cute  but I knew he had to go. The next morning he told me that he made an appearance and ate a few bites but that then Bruce said to him and Ted let's get outta here and they set out to check out Orlando.  I think he said something about getting back a little after midnight or something and having a nice time, but I was too busy daydreaming about what could've been if I had staked them out and then thrown myself in front of their car and begged to come along (hehe).

His panel discussion was fun too. Marjorie Monaghan was right before him and she's like 6'1" or something. The announcer began his intro for Jeff by pointing out how tall she was and then he said "Our next guest is not tall,but he makes up for it in talent"...and so on. Jeffie's first words when he got on the stage..."Thanks for telling everybody I'M SHORT!! The guy insisted that he just said he wasn't tall. "which means I'm short, that's alright I admit it I'm short...but I'm tall where it counts." The crowd WOOOHOOO'd and he laghed and said he didn't mean it that way. He saw a teething baby and his 2yr.old brother asleep across 2or3 chairs and he talked a little about his 2 little girls who are 10yrs. and 19mos. and his disdain for Barney(preach on brother!!). Some of the stories and info were things I already knew from interviews and stuff on the internet but it was fun seeing him tell it.

He told a hilarious story about the shoot in Rome for From Beyond. Apparantly he was waiting to do a scene in his hideous bald cap, pineal gland make-up when he walked out in front of about 20 wee Italian children waiting to shoot a commercial and the horror that ensued complete with dead-on impressions of children running and screaming in Italian. He also said that the make-up ruined his contact lenses and he was forced to go to an Italian optomitrist to have them cleaned. Jeff could'nt understand the guy who seemed to be very upset about something as he looked on in amazement at Jeff's contact lense (at this point Jeff is doing a kick-ass funny impression of the guy gesturing and speaking rapidly in Italian) right before he crushed it between his fingers...and yes he did make the breaking contact lense sound affect. The technology in Italy at that time was not quite up with ours yet and the doctor had never seen thin lenses and was apparantly disgusted at the crap these Americans were making and crushed Jeff's lense to make his point. It was quite funny the way he told it. He's great with different accents and voices and impersonations. We laughed our asses off. Of couse I guess I am kinda biased. I mean he could've farted into a paper cup and I probably would've laughed my ass off too. But he was very entertaining and alot of fun. He had the whole crowd laughin'...Work it little one..Work it, work it, Own it! YES!!

He and and some of the other stars signed relentlessly and never turned anyone away. They worked hard for the money baby! He remembered my name when I talked to him again and even how to spell it and again was very nice and down to earth. Anyhooo, it wasn't long after that that everyone started getting ready to head for home. When I saw him before we left he waved and asked me if I had a good time(DUH!!!). He signed a few more autographs for people even though he was rushed and we had a hug as I thanked him for being so sweet to me. He smiled and said "You too Nema" and it was time to go...over as quickly as it had begun(que sentimental music here) and I was back to the real world but happier than before.

I even got a hug before I left! WOOOOHOOO!! And that was my nice 1st and hopefully not the last experience with Jeffrey Combs. I'm sure I babbled on way too long but hey it was my 1st celebrity encounter and with a favorite one at that. I'm still friggin' giddy as hell!! Now back to work and everyday life. BLECCHH!!! There ya go my fellow little Combs freaks. Until next time....Have fun and watch as much of the Jeffster as you can. I know I will!!!

SMILE!

Honeycombs