Having flown in from Virginia, I was interested in other non-locals in attendance.

HOUSTON

These newlyweds struck me as the ideal American couple. Married for a year or two, very much in love, still going out, still having fun, still smiling. He was costumed as the Green Hornet, she as Kato. Isn't that cute?

He told me that all their friends were married now, and the 1st pair had just announced their 1st child. Just like on TV. Nice people. Our future.

OK

I shared a taxi in from the airport with a woman and her 16 year old daughter. They had flown in from Oklahoma to attend A-Kon 15.

The daughter belonged to an anime club back in Oklahoma and the club was putting on some sort of presentation at A-Kon 15. She was nervous and excited.

KANSAS

I met a couple standing outside the hotel looking a little shellshocked. They explained that they had just driven straight through from Kansas for this. They seemed at a loss as to what to do now that they had arrived. "And then we have to drive all the way back."

VANCOUVER

I had met Scott 2 years ago at AnimeUSA in Virginia. At the time the sniper was on the loose and you took your life in your hands just going outside for a smoke. In fact I was smoking outside the hotel when some guys came running out and announced that the sniper had just got another one 5 miles down the road. At the time I thought it would be cool to get a t-shirt made up with a big bulls-eye on it, but Virginians are famous for their ham and tobacco, not their sense of humor.

Anyway, I walked into a meeting room and the guy speaking stopped and looked at me. "Sorry", I said. He pointed at my shirt and said "You're from Victoria". I replied that my whole family lived there. He said "I'm from Vancouver". "Cool", I said and sat down.

Scott is a voice actor. And apparently an increasingly successful one. His bio in the convention book was about twice the length it was back at AnimeUSA.

He works a lot. You might know him as the Brooklynese Rattrap or the evil lisping Waspinator from a Transformers incarnation. I always think of him in his role as Koga the wolf-boy in Inuyasha.

Scott loves his work. He emits a non-stop stream of funny voices and wise-cracks. At conventions, he is mobbed from morning to night with admiring autograph seekers, all of whom he loves right back. I couldn't even get close enough to him to say hello.

Scott is the prototypical class clown from your 7th grade class. The ADD kid with a million voices and imitations. I think it's great that we live in a world where someone like Scott can express himself and bring joy to others instead of being forced into some soul-crushing 9 to 5. Rock on, Scott!