My Meeting with some of the Cast from....
• DICK CHRISTIE • MARLA PENNINGTON • • TIFFANY BRISSETTE•
This is just a short explanation of my story but the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival Parade in Southern California is an event that has been taking place for over 40 years that includes a carnival of rides, crafts and half a million people that takes place every Memorial Day Weekend. On the Saturday Morning of the Weekend, a celebrity studded parade takes place, with celebrities of all kinds. The reason why I have a part in this is due to the fact that my grandfather was Mayor and Councilman of Garden Grove for 20 years and he along with the others ride in the parade and some family does as well. Before the parade, a private celebrity breakfast takes place at the Community Center and thats where my story begins...
.This
has got to be one of the most memorable In-Person experiences that I can
cherish, especially from my childhood. I watched SmallWonder everyday when
it was on KTTV-FOX 11. Somtimes Fox
11 will still air some episodes but not recently within the last year or
so.
I remember arriving at the Strawberry Festival's Private Breakfast and getting situated at our table. This is in 1986. All I could think of is finding VICKI!! But after a while of getting settled in, I saw across the room was seated Dick Christie and Marla Pennington (Joan and Ted Lawson). I marched myself over to thier table and introduced myself to them and Dick was such the joker I swear. I asked him where Tiffany was and he jokingly said "Oh my gosh! Marla, do you have my keys? I think I left Vicki in the trunk!" I just started laughing and so did Marla but Dick quickly explained to the then, 7 year old me, that she had not arrived yet and would be momentarily would with her real parents. I chatted with them about the show and asked Marla about the episode where Vicki was vaccuming and lifted her up in the chair while she was reading and she just jokingly said that Vicki is a strong girl. I got autographs from the both of them and went and took my seat.
About 20 minutes later while eating my breakfast at our table, my father told me to look over at the door where people were just coming in and out of and behold was Tiffany escorted by her parents. My mouth just dropped! She was even wearing the red dress from the show!!!! My dad just said for me to wait a few minutes till they got settled down. But boy was I anxious.
After a while, I made my way over to thier table, they managed to seat with Dick and Marla. Tiffany noticed I was walking over to her and she propped out of her chair with a huge smile and asked me my name. I froze. Then said. "Tommy". She said "Nice to meet you". She went on to ask if I watch the show alot and what my favorite epsiode was and I believe I said it was the one where she greeted Joan at the back door in the kitchen carrying a huge tree. After taking a photo with her, and her autograph on my notepad, I asked her if her handshake is really painful like to some people on the show with her strength. She stuck out her hand and with a big ol' smile and gave a nice girlish handshake. I guess I was surprised. Her parents were seemed really proud of thier daughter, they just had smiles on thier faces the whole time her and I conversed, I remember her mother as a tall good looking brunette while her dad had a thick, closed trimmed beard with mustache and they both sported white sport jackets with the metallic yellow logo of the show on the back.
( The photo's from that year taken are in a box somewhere and as soon as they are located, I WILL SCAN AND POST THEM HERE)
Not long after that, we all boarded trams that took us to awaiting Parade Cars. I forever remember that day, cause hey, I like many others grew up on that show . Well now I am 19 years old and still living in Garden Grove and now an Associate of the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival and have met dozens of handfuls of celebrities after Tiffany but this is one experience that I know could be shared amongst all, even though it was for a short while.
I DO NOT HAVE AN APPLE QUICKTIME TYPE OF RECORDER BUT I HAVE TELEVISED TAPED FOOTAGE FROM THAT PARADE IN 1986, WITH MYSELF INCLUDED. BUT WHAT I MANAGED TO DO IS RECORD THE AUDIO OF TIFFANY BRISSETTE, DICK CHRISTIE AND MARLA PENNINGTON WITH THE PARADE ANNOUNCERS THAT I THINK YOU ALL WILL FIND KIND OF INTERESTING.
THERE IS A "BUZZING" SOUND THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY TAPE, TV, VCR OR RECORDER, BUT IN FACT IS AUDIO INTERFERANCE THAT THE PROGRAMMERS FOUGHT WITH DURING THE LIVE TAPING BUT UNFORTUNATELY GOT IT FIXED AFTER A WHILE ABOUT TWO-THIRDS THROUGH THE PARADE.
HERE IS THE AUDIO VERSION THAT I RECORDED:
1986 GARDEN GROVE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL PARADE SMALL WONDER CAST
HERE IS A SCRIPT OF THE DIALOUGE THAT TAKES PLACE, BUT OVERALL, ITS UNDERSTANDABLE AND ENJOYABLE!!
I would like to mention that the Small Wonder Logo and the pictures of Tiffany along with Dick and Marla are from Jim's "Unofficial Small Wonder Website" in which I think is the mother of them all and has kept "Small Wonder" alive in all of us.
PLEASE GIVE CREDIT TO AND VISIT
and I'd like to give a page of great mention of an old friend of Tiffany's named Kathleen!
MEMORIES OF A FRIENDSHIP WITH TIFFANY BRISSETTE
