20 Years Ago Today – August 31, 1997

Greetings my most excellent Friends and Fiends!

A somewhat reflective Ye Olde Dragon here, stirring up the memories in my mind.

Memories of August 30-31,1997.

Now I know that the first thing that springs to most people’s mind is the tragic loss of Princess Diana. It certainly should. In fact, it’s because of this that I know for sure when something ELSE happened that weekend. Expansion on that in a bit.

I remember.

I know EXACTLY where I was when it came across the news.

It was Saturday night and I was in a hotel room, coming out of the shower, getting ready to go to a party in another room. First I saw that there was an accident. I sat down and watched, absorbed in the non-belief of what unfolded before my eyes, when the words, “Confirmed: Princess Diana Has Died” came across the screen moments before the newscaster said the actual words. I sat for another little while, dumbfounded and then proceeded up to the party where I explained my lateness from watching the news. One or two others had also heard it.

Now, it was still August 30, 1997 here in the US, but in Paris, where the crash took place it was already August 31.

OK, set the clock back to earlier in the day.

The reason I was at a hotel, is because it was G-CON NY. The first Godzilla Convention run by the creators of G-Fan Magazine to be held on the East Coast. I was there as a vendor, actually, selling my public domain monster movie videos (Monster Movie Theatre).

I was in the larger dealers’ room for most of Saturday morning and starting into the afternoon, missing out on most of the panels when suddenly, some video store owner came up to me and bought ALL of the stock I had with me and put in a huge order for more! I was floored.

Of course, it meant a nice sum of money (which promptly got spent on G-Goodies), but more importantly, it meant I was free to see the rest of the con!

As soon as my friend, who’d come with me to help haul boxes, and I brought my portable TV & video player up to my hotel room I was free as a bird to make rounds of the dealers’ rooms and the panels. The panel I wanted to see the most was headlined by the two men (up to that time) who had played Godzilla in most of Toho‘s series: Haruo Nakajima, the first man who wore the suit, doing so thru 12 movies of the Showa Era; and Kenpachiro Satsuma, who wore it during the Heisei Era, starting with GODZILLA (1984) thru the (then) recently released GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH (1995).

Though my memories of the panel are virtually nonexistent, what happened AFTER the panel shall be with me for the rest of my life.

As a vendor and member of an online fan group with a heavy presence (even in this, the infancy of the social internet) – Alt.Movies.Monster – I actually had special access to them after the panel. I made the I.D. badges for the group:

I had a white Godzilla cap, purchased specifically to get their autographs, which indeed got signed, as seen below.

More than that -as previously related in recent videos and posts- I got to speak with them briefly (thru an interpreter) and was able to express what Godzilla had meant to me; how it was such a big connection to my late Dad, especially.

I’m not sure if it was that sentiment, or something else, but Haruo Nakajima looked me over and spoke to the interpreter. The young lady explained that Nakajima-San said I looked like I was physically built like Godzilla and asked if I’d learn how to walk and move like him. Floored, I responded with what an honor, thank you, anything I could barely croak out. He asked if I knew what horse stance was, and I said yes – I’d recently been taking martial arts – and assumed the pose. He smiled and nodded approvingly, and then got in the same pose, and then started to walk. He motioned to me to do the same, and I did, putting my best effort forward, and he and Satsuma-San clapped. He patted my shoulder, saying (interpreted) that I seemed to be a natural at it. He asked my name and I replied, “Jim”.

Nakajima-San shook his finger and said (WITHOUT the interpreter, mind you), “No. You Kaiju! Name, Jimra*!”

Godzilla just made me a Kaiju.

Cue plotzing and (thankfully) silent inner fanboy squee! Gracious and generous does not begin to describe them, nor does ecstatic serve as an adequate descriptor for how I felt.

We then were told that it was time to go the restaurant/bar for the A.M.M get-together, which Nakajima-San and Satsuma-San were going to be attending as well!

During the meal, both of them called me over, Satsuma-San yelling, “JIMRA!” They wanted me to share a drink of sake in a toast to the weekend. I explained that I’d never had sake before, and (thru the interpreter) they said, that this made it even more special.

So I got to take my first drink of sake.
Ever.
And it was with Godzilla.

I only wish I had pictures of my drinking with them, but I only had two pictures left on my camera and I had used them to take a picture with each of them, as seen below.

I’m eternally grateful to the fates that I got to meet them, drink with them and get made a Kaiju by them. As you can see by the date on the photos, they were indeed taken on August 30, 1997.

After the dinner was over, my friend and I had been invited to party with the fan band that was playing at the convention (whose name escapes me at the moment, sorry fellas). My friend John had gone ahead, because he wanted to learn about concocting a mixed drink that the band hinted at earlier in the day – Godzilla Blood. I started to get ready.

And that brings us back to where I started my tale, Friends and Fiends.

The next day was naturally quite downhearted, but good spirits still prevailed enough. Although for me it started a tad late. Due to the powerful effects of the Godzilla Blood, we’d crashed most of Sunday morning, but I got up in time for checkout, and then hauling around our bags, my TV and VCR on my cart, made our final rounds of the con and I JUST managed to say goodbye to Nakajima-San and Satsuma-San at the close of their final panel.

All of these memories came flooding back to me earlier in the month,  on August 7, when word came that Nakajima-San had passed away, but I wanted to elaborate a bit more on the whole weekend.

Rest in peace, Nakajima-San.

Rest in peace, Princess Diana.

*- To my ears, it certainly sounded like Jim-Ra, but more than likely, it would be “Jimura”, as in many instances, the ‘u’ is barely spoken, almost silent.

Close Channel D…