Trip to 'Dallas' set tiring but fun (for the most part)
Kim Schmidt didn't mind the long drive to Dallas earlier this month, but she wasn't crazy about hanging around the South Fork Ranch for about 10 hours. Yes, for you fans of the megahit TV show "Dallas," it is that same South Fork.
Schmidt, a hair stylist at Spice Curls in Batavia, is married to Jeff Pippin, who admits he was "an idiotic fan" when it came to "Dallas."
"We couldn't go out on Friday night until 'Dallas' was over, and I couldn't answer the phone or be interrupted when the show was on," Jeff confesses.
With that kind of addiction, Kim said, it did not surprise her when Jeff said he had found information on a fan Web site about a reunion of cast members and a taping segment for an upcoming "Dallas" special at which fans were invited to attend.
So off they went to South Fork Ranch, actually in Parker, Texas, near Dallas, where the show was originally filmed.
"It was a little disorganized and some people were getting kind of mad, but it was interesting," Kim said.
Jeff had a slightly different take on it.
"I just considered it a chance of a lifetime," he said.
The hoopla included a barbecue for guests, music, a fireworks display and question-and-answer session with cast members.
"It started way later than it was supposed to, and we were there a long time, but I would do it again if I had the chance." Jeff said.
He hasn't been able to pinpoint anything online yet, but Jeff said he heard people at the event saying the "Dallas" special might be broadcast in January.
Our 'Dallas' connection: After I heard their story about going to the South Fork, Jeff and Kim were surprised to hear that I actually knew one of the cast members fairly well in the late 1970s.
Sheree J. Wilson played April Stevens in the late 1980s, but about six years before that role, she was dating a friend of mine in Colorado. She became friends with my future wife and I when she was in this area visiting my friend's family. At that time, she was a magazine cover model who would land an occasional small part in movies. We invited her to our wedding in 1984, but she could not attend. We eventually lost touch with her when she moved to Hollywood, but were amazed when she turned up on "Dallas" a few years later and then on "Walker, Texas Ranger" with Chuck Norris.
Politics at early age: It's quite likely that several local folks with political ties to the Barack Obama or Congressman Bill Foster campaigns will have an inside track for getting tickets to the historic inauguration ceremony in January in Washington, D.C.
But it was nice to see that three young St. Charles girls will be attending the event as part of the National Young Scholars program.
Casey Gredzieleski, 12, and Taryn Dal Degan, 11, of St. Patrick School, and Lily Lichner, 11, of Haines Middle School, are ready to make the trip.
The girls got interested in the election, even though they are several years away from being old enough to vote, by being part of the Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference.
My congratulations to the girls on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Take a good camera with you!
Light up the season: This is the weekend you can expect plenty of people to be dragging out holiday decorations and getting the outside of their homes in the holiday spirit. One popular display starts its holiday joy when the lights go on tonight.
Greg Parcel of 813 Cheever Ave. in Geneva sent a note to remind me that his home's computerized 50,000-light display, also synchronized to music, will spread holiday cheer through Dec. 31.
You can't miss this display, which features a "Virtual Santa" delivering presents and getting a glass of milk and cookies.
Parcel also wanted me to remind readers that his home is a drop-off location for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Parcel said that since he has decorated his home in this fashion since 2002, visitors viewing the display have dropped off more than 1,000 toys for local kids. See twasthenightbefore.com.
dheun@sbcglobal.net