“Harry
Potter: The Experience”
6/10/16,
“All Was Well”
John F.
Kennedy International Airport, New York (JFK)
“All was
well.” Those three bittersweet words
were the last words that J.K. Rowling wrote about Harry Potter. Those three words were the words that made
every kid of my generation who grew up with Harry burst into tears, both
because we were sad it was over and because we were happy for Harry. Those are the three words that can still
cause my eyes to well up. All was
well. We knew it was over, and we knew
that nothing else would every compare, despite the slew of YA franchises that
would fail miserably at copying the success.
While the adventures of Bella and Katniss and Tris were enjoyable
stories, none of them could have competed with the magic of Harry’s story, the
story we thought had ended once Rowling wrote that all was well. Except, Harry’s story is not over. In less than 24 hours, we will be finding out
what is next in Harry’s story when the curtains go up at the Palace Theatre on
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
That is the reason we are taking this trip.
Who’s we?
Well, that’s an interesting question, but first I need to back up and
return to this concept of “all was well.”
I could probably count on one hand, certainly no more than a dozen, the
times in my life when I could truthfully say “all was well.” By all, I mean all. I mean, no worries about anything, no worries
about work or relationships or school or your sock bunching up in your
shoe. I mean all. It is always a fleeting feeling that usually
only lasts for an hour or so, maybe 24 hours tops.
4 years ago today, was one of those such
moments, and it didn’t last for a few hours.
It lasted for over three weeks, and the summer would go on to become one
of the best summers of my life. It was
the summer that I set out to see the world.
When I went to Athens, I wrote about that Summer of Travel, but tonight
I will write about that night.
It was
the night of the Tony Awards, and I had gone to the Beacon Theatre to try and
get the stars entering the event, but there was no access. I got dinner with some friends, I believe
paying for their in exchange for information on where the after-party would
be. There was only one name that I
really cared about: Amanda Seyfried.
Having just gotten Dominic Cooper on my Mamma Mia blu-ray, I wanted to
add Amanda. I had other autographs I
wanted to get, but that was the one that mattered. I went back to my apartment to watch the end
of the show, and I was tired and exhausted.
I didn’t want to go out again. I almost didn’t. I’m glad I did.
When I got there, I met up with my friends,
and we talked about the celebs. Nearby, waiting
at the scaffolding, was someone with bright green eyes to match her green
shirt. “Who’s that?” I asked one of my
friends. She didn’t know her. I certainly did not know that this stranger
would, over the course of the next four years, become my best friend or that
her friendship would positively change my life for the better. She was but a stranger who caught my eye, an
event that happened more than once a week, so I certainly had no idea that this
would lead to a once-in-a-lifetime friendship.
Amanda soon pulled up in her car, and my friends called me away. I had three items to get signed. Another dinner I had promised them if they
helped me get the autographs. They
convinced her to roll down the window, and I got all three items signed. I went to rejoin the stranger in green. We continued talking. When Amanda came out of her car, I was still
standing behind her, and being a foot taller than her, I wound up rather
visibly in the background of the photo she took with her.
We continued talking as we waited for James Marsden. I had items for him, too, but I didn’t really
care about his autograph.
At the end of
the night, we left with no way to keep in touch, save one. She had given me her email address so that I
could send her some information and tips about autograph collecting. I didn’t expect to ever see her again. I certainly didn’t expect that we would be
meeting up four years later in London with her family to see a new Harry Potter
story on stage. I just knew that I had
met someone who had made me smile for a couple of hours. After the event was done, I went home, and,
for the first time in a long time, I was happy, truly happy. All was well.
I met up with her two more times throughout the course of the summer,
and we said our goodbyes before I left on my first trip of the summer, to
Nashville and Kentucky. For those three
weeks, all was well. The summer of
travel brought with it its own stresses, but those three weeks were entirely
stress-free. When we parted ways, I
still did not expect to see her again, and it has been over a year since the last time I saw her, but we keep in touch almost every day.
It is so unusual the chance events that can
lead to a lifelong friendship. My friend
Roberto, who has stayed with me for the past week, I met him through
Instagram. Last night was our last night
together, and we did it up right. We saw
the movie 12 Years a Slave, which was alright, but undeserving of the BP in my
book. We then went to the diner, and I
got some of my usual favorites. We went
home and had some Cubans as I packed. I
had a scare as I thought I lost my passport.
It got caught up in the back of the drawer. I did my itineraries, and it was close to 2
AM by the time I got to sleep.
We woke
up, and I quickly got ready. We then
walked to my office and said our goodbyes, planning a trip together to Oaxaca
in September. He will be another
lifelong friendship whom I met quite unexpectedly. I had a typical day at work, finishing up everything
early, and I got Hop Won for my pre-departure lunch for the first time in a
while. After work, I headed to the cigar
store for my traditional pre-departure Cohiba before getting in a car to the
airport. The security line wasn’t too
bad, and I was soon at my gate, where I sat down and proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close so that I can publish before I board.
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