The Homicide Convention of 1996

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The HomiCon was split into two evenings. Thursday May 16 took place at the Waterfront Bar and Hotel on Thames Street in the Heart of Fells Point. Friday May 17 took place at Hull Street Blues on Hull Street (obviously!) in the Heart of Locust Point. Here's the scoop:

Thursday May 16 at the Waterfront

• I show up around 6:30.
• I meet a lurker named Rich at 6:45
• BobTard and the Snow Princess show up at 7:00
• Cathy Brady shows up about 10 minutes later.
• About the same time, Carol Sudol shows up.
• Around 8ish, Dr. Brad Humpreys and his wife Jane show up.
• The last person to show up was Janet, a DJ at a local radio station (WRNR 103.1).
• It was interesting. We did not talk about Homicide the whole time. It was nice to realize that we have more in common other than Homicide.
• I was the youngest, so of course, I had to take everyone's crap.
• Cathy Brady was determined to be sitting in the Easy Listening section, due to her choice of musical genres.
• Throughout the evening, there was a table of people about 10 feet away from ours. Rich heard them mention Homicide, and went over to ask if they were part of our group. They responded no. As they left later on, they stopped by our table, and asked if we were the "Internet Homicide Fans", to which we reply with a screaming "Hell Yes". They then reveal that they have something to do with the crew of Homicide, and drop of still photos of the cast. Esemble photos. 8x10 black and white glossies with a paragraph onna back o' each one orchestratin' the whole scene (Alice's Restaurant for the musically impaired). I was the one that thought that these people were lurkers on the Net, because they knew absolutely, that we were going to be there. Why else would they walk around with pictures? But then again, I am a slight bit insane (hey, no comments from the peanut gallery).
• After that little intrigue, we decide to shimmy on over to _The Daily Grind_, a great coffee shop that has been seen on the show, along with having some off camera sightings of cast members. Well, it was 9 pm EST, and the Daily Grind has Net access. Can anyone say Braugher Online Interview? [Note, on that particular evening, Andre Braugher was scheduled to be online at www.nbc.com for an online chat session] Good!
• I, along with everyone else sat around the computer for one hour, watching, reading, and being disgusted by the lack of intelligence that could be found in that interview. However, if you were watching, we named ourselved "a.t.h Convention", and even got a virtual wave from AB himself, thanks to the Host of the event (Bug, stand up and be proud, like momma taught you so long ago).
• That brought us to the end of the evening, time for my personal biases and my take on everyone there. Honestly, I could not believe that we all had more in common than just Homicide. It really makes me wonder about the demographics of the show. Also, the people that we had gathered there were decidedly one race. It was split between male and female, but all of us there appeared to be middle class white people. This surprised me. I figured that we would pull a more diverse crowd, but apparently, no one can really tell until it happens.

Friday May 16 at Hull Street Blues

• I show up at 7 on the dot, with Cathy Brady damn near running me off of the road. I practically had to leap to saftey as she wheels past me in what appeared to be a souped up Ford Escort. Ladies and Gentlemen, beware of our queen, she will get you when you least expect it!
• Cathy comes in and apologizes for missing me, to which I reply with a chuckle, and slyly move farther down the bar.
• BobTard and the Snow Princess walk in. They manage to find me (where else, but at the bar! Am I predictable or what?)
• It turns out that John Landbeck and his lovely wife Jen have been there for about 10 minutes or so. Jason, with his mind only on beer, misses the two people wearing official Homicide Gear (Thanks John, not only do you beat me with the Advert Game, but you rub my face in it by wearing the take! I knew that I should have worn my official sweat shirt, 80 degrees or not!)
• We all introduce ourselves.
• We sit around and talk, and it turns out that we all have more in common than we thought. Jen and the Snow Princess are both quilters, Cathy and John both are teachers (in one way or another), and apparently both Bob and Jason like beer (what a great bunch of guys).
• Slowly more people make their way in, Beth, Carol Sudol, Eva Whitely and her hubby Jack, Lurker Kit and her SO Ryan (Not Even A Lurker), Meg (not Paul), and PK himself show up.
• The fun does not stop. We order food. We force Bob to have some of Jen's Crab Dip, with his eyes leary, he managed to suck it down like a true Merlinder. Food was good, and great priced too.
• Then the fun starts. Seargent Steve shows up. Yep, Sarge Steve, of the Baltimore City Homicide Department. He comes in full regalia, suit and tie. We got him to loosen his tie later in the evening. We all fall in love with Sarge Steve. One of the Best of the Best is in our midst, it can't get any better than that.
• But it does, Dr. Brad Humphreys and his wife Jane walk in. Not only did they show up again, but they GAVE AWAY O's tix, and the O's went on to WIN (an amazing feat), in OVERTIME, no less, 14 to 13. Sorry Doc. But, it gets better.
• Who walks in, but Terry McLarney, from the book _Homicide_. Terry, if you don't recall is the suspected inspiration for Steve Crosetti (Jon Polito). Terry is a great guy. Quiet, soft spoken, but devilishly quick with the wit. He is genuinely a nice guy, no matter what he comes off as in Simon's book. Terry filled us in on some interesting things, after Simon's book.
  • All of the people in the book were brought up on charges of Conduct Unbecoming an Officer, because they liked to use the word "Fuck" once too often.
  • These Charges were not made to stick.
  • Terry pulled the Famous Trick of making Simon frisk a suspect, and then laughing at Simon when he did complete the frisking (to the degree that he even felt the guy's ankles).
  • They are used to carrying guns, and in fact, Sarge Steve remarked about it, that if he could find a way to strap it on while swimming, he would (Hey Steve, don't make us go there!)
• So, Terry is there, Steve is there, and some others show up from Steve's squad, along with another surprise. Tom Pelligrini shows up. Tom is the inspiration for Bayliss (Kyle Secor). Tom is surprisingly soft spoken. More than you would imagine from the way that he is protrayed in the book. You would never have guessed that he was once part of the QRT Team. He no longer works for Homicide.
• Some other people come, one who identifies himself as Steve LeNasa (a vicitim who's crime was investigated by Pelligrini). When asked, he responds with "Well, almost a viticim". We all stayed away from him.
• Channel 11 shows up to film these rabid fans of Homicide, and we were shown on the 11 o'clock News for 1 minute. Only 14 more to go!
• Most everyone left by about midnight. I stayed, along with Brad, his wife Jane, and Steve, Terry, and some of Steve's crew.
• As I leave, Steve walks by me, grasps me on the shoulder and tells me to be careful on the way home (Shit, that is right, they are technically still cops. I was lucky he let me out of the door!). I look at him and give him my best "You betchum Red Rider", and he responds with "No, I mean it. Those State Cops are real pricks. They don't have any sense of humor like we do!". Sarge Steve, you had me rolling with laughter all the way home. It was great.
• Personal Highlights: Terry and Sarge Steve bought me a beer. It was great.
• Meeting everyone. Lurkers, regulars, and people that I had gotten to know over time: Cathy, John, and Brad.

That about did it for me. It was a great time, a great time had by all, and thanks go to BobTard for setting it up. Let me know what you think of our little adventures some time!

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