I Touched Wil Wheaton

Now that Wil Wheaton has instituted a "no touching" policy for cons (go to this post and scroll down) and therefore stories of actually touching him will go to an all-time low,  I want to brag about the fact that *I* have touched him before. Well, alright, it was more of a glancing blow and a quick check to make sure we were both still standing upright, and it happened years and years ago, but I think it counts. Doesn't it?

Ok, so let me set the scene. It was the early 90s on a weekend before Halloween. My brother was a bartender at a local hotel that was throwing a party and said we should come by. My boyfriend (now husband) and I aren't really party people but we like to go out and see what's going on before being geeks and going home to spend the rest of the night reading or gaming. We were lingering on the edges, meaning pretty much hanging out the hallways between the lobby and restaurant, trying to decide whether we wanted to wait to see if more of the costume contestants were going to show up because some of them were pretty good. We knew that some actors were staying at the hotel as part of a film that was in town, but we weren't sure which ones and sort of assumed they would be laying low when there were so many people around.

Well, it turns out lingering in hallways can be a somewhat dangerous hobby when young men with access to caffeinated sodas are roaming them. The only warning was some chaotic laughter that rose above the din of the party right before a pack turned the corner with their water guns. Oh yes, a thundering herd of young Hollywood stars hopped up on sugar, caffeine, and freedom - and armed with super soakers if I remember correctly. (I'm assuming sugar and caffeine, it may have just been youthful enthusiasm.) Wil Wheaton came around closest to the corner, almost on top of where I was standing, and did that oh-my-God-I'm-about-to-run-over-you dodge while I flattened up against the wall. Although we both rolled pretty well on our dex checks the Giant DM in the Sky decided that with the turn, momentum, and proximity we couldn't completely escape contact.

A shoulder bump, hey-are-you-okay-pause, and then he was gone.

If only we'd known we should have invited him over to play D&D. Princess Sidra of Redmond really could have used some extra help right then, too.