I go on to tell her how people from all over the world have stopped by my site and that she has a very large and very loyal fan base .... which she asks "From Kate & Allie?" to which I reply yes.   I tell her how thanks to my site, I've gotten to become good friends with many of her fans and that that was a fringe benefit of being her webmaster.   I asked her if she ever surfed on to Ebay and seen the prices her pictures end up selling for?   That just this week an unsigned black and white 8" x 10" photo sold for over $50 dollars.   She acknowledged she has been on Ebay but was surprised at what her pictures go for.   I added that on that same day, an autographed color picture of Oscar Winner Halle Berry (who is currently on the cover of People Magazine as the Most Beautiful Woman) didn't sell for as much as her photo did.   She chuckled.

I told her that I was a big fan of Halle's and that she is one of those select few actresses (that I had hinted at earlier) I admired and whose career I had also followed for many years.   I went on to say how I contribute to Ms Berry's web site by making videoclips and doing magazine scans to share with her fans.   Ari acknowledged what a talented actress Halle is and marvels at how I find the time?   I joke that I wish I was spending more time scanning magazine articles about "Ari Meyers" and she jokes that there haven't been any in years.

I mentioned to her that while I like to contribute to other people's web sites, there's only one other actress (besides her) who has the honor of having had me create a web site for them and that actress is Kari Wuhrer; who is a long-time friend of mine.   She surprises me by knowing who Kari is.   One of the cast members then stops by and Ari introduces me to him.   I guess Ari had mentioned she was coming out to meet me as he asked me how long a drive it was for me to get here?   Ari chimed in and said Andrew flew here and I added "just to see her" (pointing to Ari.... who seemed to be beaming with pride over my compliment to her)

At that point I realized how much time had actually slipped by and I knew she had to get ready for the evening performance, so I thanked her for taking the time to meet and talk with me.   I'm sure the time she spent with me was time she normally either rested between shows or grabbed a bite to eat so I felt extremely honored and slightly guilty.   I then let her know I'd be attending the evening performance too and she was flabbergasted by that.   I told her I came a long way to see her and that I wanted to get my money's worth (haha) so naturally I'd want to see her in the play as many times as I could.   She said the play starts again very soon and wouldn't let out until around 11:30 PM so there wasn't really time for ME to have dinner.   How sweet was that of her to worry about my supper?   I told her I'd grab something at the hotel when I get back.   I thought briefly about asking her to meet me after the show so we could both grab a bite, but I realized this was her last night with the play and she'd probably want to hang out with the other cast members and say goodbye to them.   That's genuinely how I felt at the time but maybe in reality, I just chickened out of asking her out.

She asked me to hang around after the second show ends so we could talk some more and so she could say goodbye to me.   She asked if I had a good seat because she could make arrangements for me if need be but I told her I'm fine and would see her later.   With that she waved goodbye and headed off to get ready for the 2nd show, while I headed off to my seat and waited for the show to begin.   The play started 10 minutes late and they announce that they were having some lighting problems that needed to be fixed. I wondered to myself if I had kept Ari chatting with me too long and that perhaps the real reason for the show's delay was that she wasn't quite ready (thanks to me)

As the evening performance ended and the theatre emptied of patrons, Ari reappeared and apologized for taking so long to get back.   I was only waiting about 15 minutes for her so I thought it was cute that she thought that was a long wait for me.   I joke that I bet she wanted to see if she could get me shaking again and she cracks up and shakes her head no.   She then hands me a chocolate chip cookie and says she wanted to make sure I had "something" to eat since I had missed dinner.   Now how sweet was that for her to do.   We chatted for a bit and I noticed and commented that unlike myself, she didn't seem tired at all after giving two performances.   She credited doing a lot of aerobics and Tae Boe for giving her her stamina.

She asks me if I was bored seeing the play again so soon?   I replied that I actually didn't see "the whole play" the first time as I was busy concentrating on just her performance during the matinee show.   She laughs and said that's what her mother did when she came to see her.   We then discuss the play and she asks me what I thought of it and what I liked and didn't like; and whether I spotted any subtle differences between the two performances I saw.   I noted that the matinee audience seemed to laugh more and applauded more at the end than the evening crowd did and perhaps that's because they paid $10 less for their tickets.   She laughed a lot at my joke!

While I saw that Ari really was enjoying my company, I felt I had intruded on her time long enough, so I mentioned that I better call a taxicab since they were locking up the theatre and midnight was fast approaching.   I head to the payphone but Ari stops me and pulls out her cell phone and makes the call for me.   While she's on the phone, I start thinking to myself that while I can remember every single word she had said to me, my mind was drawing a complete blank as far as my end of the conversation.   So I tell her just that and I apologize to her in case I had said or done anything earlier that might have embarrassed her.   Thankfully Ari assures me I didn't and we both have a good laugh.

Ari then asks me if I wanted a drink and I said I really don't "drink" but that I needed and appreciated the beer she had bought for me earlier.   She laughs and says she doesn't drink alcohol either and I could have a soda and join the other cast members at the bar.   I politely said that wasn't necessary and that I just wanted to let her know how much I appreciated the kindness she was showing me and that this was the greatest day of my life (and I meant it from the bottom of my heart)   That all I really wanted to do was see her act in the play and that getting to meet her was the icing and cherry on the cake.

I bragged about how busy I was going to be tomorrow recounting our meeting to all my friends; but there was one sad thought that also crossed my mind too.   I told her that the person who would be most excited to hear about my getting to meet her is no longer with us.   That person was "Masschaos" the webmaster of another Ari Meyers Web Site who passed away not too long ago.   I told her how we became friends over the internet due to our mutual admiration of her but with his passing, his web site is now frozen in time.   She hadn't ever seen his site but she got very chocked up hearing this news and I told her how she could get to his website to see what he'd done in her honor.

She thanked me again and again saying how touched she was by my coming so far just to see her and that it meant a lot to her to know that her work had meant so much to me.   With that the taxicab pulls up and she asks if there's anything else she could do for me; like sign a playbill or something.   I laughed and said she'd done more than enough for me already.   We shook hands goodbye and she said she wants to keep in touch.   As I leave the theatre, I see Ari waving goodbye to me with that million dollar smile of hers and I started reflecting on what an amazing day I had just lived through.   Thank you so much Ari for making my adventure an event I'll never forget. Return To Ari Meyers Online - Main Page