#KevinSmithYes

Through a stroke of serendipity, Kevin Smith came to my comic book shop and brought Jason Mewes. They did their own podcast to a packed shop and also joined Will Wilkins and me on stage for our podcast.

I'm not going to try and recap the experience, especially when the good geeks over at Big Shiny Robot did a better job than I could ever hope to do.

I am going to tell you that while many say "never meet your hero," having met my hero - the aforementioned Kevin Smith - I am even more convinced of his heroism and genuine humanity than I was before.

Preparing for the event was stressful. Stressful is a bit of an understatement, but that's the word we'll go with for now. While stressful, it was also exciting. I felt an amount of excited anxiety that I don't believe I've ever experienced before. The intensity of all of this was a continual crescendo and held at fortississimo during the event. 

While the day-of the event is a bit of a blur, I believe the owner of a business in me took over for the fan boy inside, in an attempt to deal with all of the bombardment. (Don't worry I'm getting to the part about Kevin Smith being an amazing human being, just hold on for a bit longer.) Honestly, I wouldn't have made it through the day without the help of a few amazing friends (Jonathan Ribera, Will Kent, Tom Sherlock, Blake Hunsaker, and Steve Kent).

Some time during the event, whether it was in between setting up and fixing the audio and doing interviews for the press in attendance, or some other hectic moments, there was a short very quiet few seconds when I was in the back of the comic book shop, alone with Kevin Smith. (Now here comes the good stuff.)

We couldn't have been alone for longer than a minute when Kevin looked over at me and said, "Hey man, now that it's just you and me, grab your phone. We should get a picture together."

He pulled me in front of the shop's back door and we took a selfie. While the photo was being taken the door opened and the next problem was ready to be dealt with, and that was that. 

That was the only photo I took during the event. Up until that brief moment, I hadn't even thought about getting a photo with my hero. I don't know if Kevin Smith (I feel like I have to always say both Kevin and Smith because our relationship is of acquaintances, at best, and I really don't want to give anyone the idea that I "know" him,) knew that pulling me aside for that photo would mean as much to me as it did/does, but he did it. I don't know if I would have had the humanist-foresight to have accomplished such a small, impactful gesture were I the one in his shoes.  He took the time to look outside of his own needs, and he completely made all the stress and tension of that day 100% worth it, with just one selfie.

I met my hero, and I vote #KevinSmithYes.