The Sunshine Empire

I know you’re sitting here on Tuesday afternoon thinking to yourself, “wow, I really had a good weekend.” WRONG again my friend you didn’t have nearly the weekend I had. After spending a quite evening in with my good friends Wild Turkey and Mario Kart on Friday I picked up a carload of friends and headed to Orlando. Though I’ve traveled a great deal outside The Sunshine Empire, it’s been years since I ventured south of Gainesville. Our good friend Liltesla and her sister and friend Mark headed to the center of all Geek awesomeness, Megacon.

This was a fantastic confluence of some of the best costumes and merchandise from all of comic books and sci-fi. But it was only once we got to the back of the hall that I realized that I was standing ten feet away from Billy Dee Williams. Still the epitome of awesome after all these years. Then moments later I came face to face with Star Trek icons John De Lancie and Brent Spiner. Q, Data, and Lando Calrissian all within feet of one another almost tore the space time continuum right there on the south side of Orlando. We eventually met Brent Spiner and as I thanked him for his time he said, “Matt, all my love.”

We then loaded back up and found our way back to Duval only to keep the party going meeting up with site favorite Biggus Rickus at the legendary ShantyTown in downtown. Right up the street from my father’s boyhood home we rocked with the band until they went on for what amounted to a private performance for our group. The next day after very little sleep (fuck you time change) I traveled down to St. Johns county right on the mighty St. Johns river for a festival celebrating the life and work of civil rights icon Stetson Kennedy. After hearing him speak we were treated to a performance of folk music legend and Woodstock performer Arlo Guthrie and his family band. I got to see the best rendition of Coming Into Los Angeles.

After all of that, once home to relax with a glass of pinot noir I managed to win the last of all the gold cups on Mario Kart Wii. I got to see famous people and I got to spend time with some of my favorite people. Nothing better for a weekend. My weekend would beat your weekend up so badly that your weekend would be begging you to call the amberlamps. Now, let’s see how it can measure up to next weekend.