Jan and Peter in a shot taken by Stan Kirsch!

By Jan Lopreste

ADRIAN MOMENT

Before I begin, let me just say that words in *no* way do this man justice. He is a truly unique individual. These are two specific instances where I interacted with Adrian, both times with my son, Nick, who was 5 at the time.

The Autograph Line ~ Morning Session ~ Saturday. 

Nick had "patiently" waited his turn to meet everyone. When we got to Adrian, Nick was greeted by AP (who focused on Nick the entire time, which I thought was really cool) with "Hey there, little man. How are you?" Nick, never bashful, said hi and asked Adrian if they could go and have a pretend sword fight, stating that he had brought his swords (toy models <g>)

     Adrian smiled and said that he would really *love* to do that, but (and for this, he leaned over the table and spoke rather conspiratorially to Nick, jerking his head to indicate the folks behind him) "THEY won't let me." ***Big Pout from Adrian*** ***Bigger THUD from Mommy*** Adrian verified with Nick that he did, indeed, watch the show and seemed a bit surprised. I said that I felt that Nick could do a whole lot worse for role models than Duncan MacLeod, and that I felt that a lot of the special depth of the character was a direct result of the conviction and passion that Adrian himself brought to the role. Talk about a grin!! He thanked me with a simple, "I'm honored" and then said that those words, coming from a Mom, meant a lot to him. We moved on at that time, but let me just say that what you have heard is true. When in the presence of Adrian Paul, when those eyes are locked on you, it's as if no one else in the world exists for that moment in time. YOU are his sole focus, regardless of what is going on around you. He has an ability to make you feel like the guest of honor, instead of the other way around.

Autograph Line (again) ~ Saturday afternoon (about 4:30pm) 

While Nick was waiting to see everyone again, some of the kind fans in line offered him a paper bag and a pen to draw with. I honestly had no idea what he was making. When I called him to go to the table, and tried to take the bag from him, he said that it was a present for Adrian! Ok. AP again greeted Nick, and then said that he remembered him from earlier that morning. Nick gave him the bag, which had an elaborate drawing on one side and his name written completely out (that's 23 letters, folks) on the other side.

      The conversation: 

AP ~ "Hey, what's this a picture of?"

 NL ~ "It's a map!" 

AP ~ "Where's it go to?" 

NL~ "MY house, so you can come visit!!" **BIG smile from Adrian** AP ~ "Man, that's really nice of you. Thank you! Now I know how to find you." Then he turned the bag over and looked at the name. AP~ "What's this" 

NL ~"My name, all written out. I got some help with the spelling." AP~ (laughing) "I guess SO! Did you write this all by yourself?" NL~ "Yeah!" 

AP~"That's a *LOT* of letters! Wow, man... you must be really smart." 

NL~ "Look in the bag, there's a present for you." (Mommy shudders, WHAT? And told Adrian that this was news to me) 

AP peeked in the bag, reached in and pulled out a half-empty package of Lance cheese crackers. 

NL~"Those are for you. I thought you might be hungry." Folks, I wish I could describe the play of emotions on Adrian's face at that moment. It was like a wall had come town, and he was touched beyond words. There was no mistaking the genuineness of what he said next, and I swear that I even saw a sheen of tears in his eyes. AP~"That's so sweet of you, Nick. I really appreciate it. You're a very thoughtful little boy." 

Then he looked at me and said "You should be very proud" 

A-yup! And this was on Mother's Day Weekend, too! I could never have asked for a better present than the one that Adrian gave us both that day.... his warmth, his smile and his kindness. 

Thanks, Adrian. 

Peace!