A cousin (member) of our message board, and a personal friend of mine, passed away Thursday evening.  His "screen name" was "Barnabas;" his real name was Michael.  Like me, he was a great fan of Dark Shadows (especially of Grayson Hall and Joan Bennett), and we could talk for hours about the show, boring everyone around us to tears.  Michael lived in New Rochelle, New York, and recently relocated to Florida.  A few months ago, he was diagnosed with a kidney ailment that would not respond to treatment.  Michael was only 44.

If you would like to see pics of him, you will find them here in the Announcements archive in September 2003 in the pics I posted of our visit to the Brooklyn 2003 DS Fest.  Michael is the shorter man with the glasses.  At that time, Michael was highly involved in charity work for children with AIDS, and while talking with Marie Wallace (there's a pic with her), he discovered she was also very active in the same cause and they exchanged contact info.

Please remember Michael in your thoughts and prayers.  He was a wonderful fan and an even more wonderful friend.

Gerard

I get the teasing, too, because of my love for DS.  I also have a fanatic love for historical ocean liners and cruise ships, and I know that sometimes I can get a big "mouthy" when I start talking about my interests, especially with friends who have absolutely no like-interest.  So sometimes, us fans (of whatever we're fans of) - on very rare occasions - can get a bit annoying.

My best friend can't stand DS, and has given me ribbings about it.  However, he's a big pro-wrestling fan, something I can't abide.  Ammunition for a return round of fire!  Anytime he would say something about me, a supposedly educated person, liking DS, I would quickly retaliate with:  "Anyone who watches religiously pro-wrestling, buys the magazines, makes video tapes, is in no position to..."  Works everytime.  But then, back in 2003, I was able to combine my love of ships with my love of DS by first going on a cruise from New York to Bermuda, and then on the day we docked back in the Big Apple, off for a one-day visit to that year's DS Fest.  My best friend - who hates DS - was along, including for the DS Fest (he loves ships, too, not as much as me, but he loves cruises).  He had the time of his life, especially since David Selby was there and he got to meet him.  My friend was a big Falcon Crest fan.    He also got see and meet other stars he was familiar with, since many of them did go on to other things.

Now, regarding the Sci-Fi Channel.  Talk about a once really classy cable outlet that went into the dumps with quality programing.  Not only has it dumped virtually all the classic shows it once aired, and which were so much fun to watch again, but it use to produce many great documentaries about either a particular show, or about some horror/sci-fi-related topic.  Many of us remember watching the first airing of the MPI documentary about DS made in the early nineties.  I believe it was made for the 25th anniversary of DS's premier.  There was also a really enjoyable documentary about Lost In Space and Irwin Allen, hosted by Bill Mumy, Jonathan Harris and the guy who was the voice of the robot.  We had tons of classic horror/sci-fi movies to watch, rather than the insipid computer-designed-schmaltzy-looking-monster-eating-people-until-the-survivors-who-all-are-wearing-stained-torn-T-Shirts-corner-it-in-a-barn/cave/warehouse-where-it's-blown-up-at-the-end flicks now "gracing" the network.  (And pro-wrestling!  OMG, my worst nightmare....pro-wrestling!)  Way back in the nineties, when I would crawl into bed, I would turn on the TV in the darkened bedroom and enjoy an episode of Boris Karloff's Thriller.  Now it's all gone.  Yes, there are a few high-quality shows on Sci-Fi; I enjoy Battlestar Gallactica, and on occasion I'll watch that one show (it's name now escapes me) that's a more light-hearted version of The X-Files.  It's actually rather funny.  But the golden days are gone.  Sci-Fi isn't the only channel that was once high-class; AMC was, too, until it went "commercial."

Guess nothing stays the same anymore.

Gerard

Along with plenty of dead bodies in and around Collinwood, one thing that always puzzled me was the maze of secret passage ways in Collinwood.  Other than David, few seemed to have known about them; maybe suspected, but really didn't know until stumbled upon.  I'm not talking about the closed-off wings, but the corridors found behind walls.  People, especially governesses, would occasionally get lost in them, or end up locked in a room until eventually rescued.  Now, what puzzles me is why those hallways and chambers were so filled with tons of stuff.  Unused, broken or discarded furniture, picture frames (some with pictures), bric-a-bracs, boxes, crates and trunks galore overflowing with books, papers and probably a few unwanted Christmas presents.  I'm curious how so many cast-offs ended up in there, considering that only about five generations of Collinses lived in the Great House.  What did those people do?  Redecorate every couple years?  And if so few knew of the existence of the passage ways, just who filled it all with enough items to end all garage sales?

Gerard

So true about some communities being a bit behind in things.  In the backwater town I live in, we got our first Starbucks just a month ago, and until recently, out only "ethnic" restaurant was Taco Bell - kid you not.  The standing joke around here is that we're finally entering the eighties.

Gerard

While it would've been neat if the writers, costumers and set designers did try to come up with some concepts about how things would've looked in 1995 from their 1970 perspective, in reality I opine it might've been a disaster.  I'm picturing everyone walking around looking like extras from The Jetsons.  Imagine them digging around in old storage boxes and pulling out clothing and props left over from Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.  Egads.

Gerard

She probably had a constant supply in her purse (without which she would never travel, just like Queen Elizabeth II).  They shared her pocketbook along with a plastic rain bonnet, two half-sticks of Wrigley's Spearmint gum. some Fenamints (some of which escaped the container and are rolling around on the bottom of her bag), two pens (one hasn't worked in years), a small, spiral notebook, her wallet, a pair of gloves, keys, a little tin of Bayer, and bunched-up kleenex.

Gerard

Yes, I have that book, Vlad!  It came out in the nineties; the title slips my mind.  The author created floor plans of various homes and establishments as he visualized them from classic TV shows, such as Bewitched, Leave It to Beaver, I Love Lucy, Lost In Space, Gilligan's Island, The Andy Griffith Show, etc.  (regarding the latter, he even had a street map of Mayberry).  It's a fun book.

Gerard