Free Rand Unwrapped by Frank Catalano Page B

asked by Harmony Gold to do the New York City trip and attend the toy convention dressed as Minmei. She, unlike me, knew what she was doing and really helped me get through the trip. Rebecca is a very talented performer who really captured the spirit of Minmei. Playing off her made it so much easier to get into the Rick Hunter character.
    I don’t remember much about our flight to JFK, but when we finally landed it was cold and cloudy which it often is in New York City. I do remember having fears about being put up in some small Motel Six type of flea trap on the edge of nowhere or even worse 8 th Avenue. I had no reason to believe this but it was just my nature to think that way. My fears were allayed when we arrived at a very large and very “grand” Grand Hyatt Hotel. We entered through the street level but the actual lobby for the hotel is on the seventh floor. I thought that a lobby on the seventh floor was strange. But what the hell, it was in no way less than any other large hotel lobby with a large atrium and elevators made of glass. I thought to myself that this was a cool hotel and that I would like hanging out here. But, the funny part about it was that I never spent much time actually staying in the hotel. As soon as I got there I was right back out the door sucking up New York City nightlife and seeing some old friends. There was a married couple that lived in Manhattan named Gina and Paris. They were actually old friends of my wife. Paris was a tall handsome working New York actor and Gina was a flight attendant on one of the big international airlines. Paris did lots of New York theatre and commercials and was very interested in learning about Robotech. They met me in the hotel lobby. We hung out for a while talking about Robotech and then they took me out to dinner in a restaurant not far away from the hotel. All I can remember about the place was that it was a small store front unassuming little place that served Cuban Chinese cuisine. I had never had Cuban Chinese cuisine ever before and actually ever since. The place was dimly lit and I kept thinking to myself that I’d better order carefully or that I would get sick. But the food was outstanding. I ordered some sort of combination Cuban Chinese dish called Platano Maduro Kung Pau , which was fried bananas, fried rice, and Kung Pau chicken. As I think about it now, that was quite a bit of starch. But I wasn’t thinking of starch on that night. I was thinking about eating something not too spicy so that I would not be sick as Rick Hunter the following day. After we at, we walked around a while and then we went to one of my favorite places, Café Un, Deux, Trois for dessert and coffee. Of course I had to have a soufflé and an espresso. You got to love New York City because there’s so much to do and so much always available any time of day. Café Un Deux Trois is still there today on 44 th Street and is a great place to eat if you are in that part of town. Paris and Gina walked me back to the hotel lobby and were off. I invited them to the Robotech event the next day, but they couldn’t make it. We said our goodbyes and as I watched them walk through the lobby and down the elevator, I thought they were a perfect couple and wonder where they are today. You’re probably wondering why I spent this time writing about my Cuban Chinese dinner with Paris and Gina and what does it have to do with Robotech . Paris and Gina wanted to know about the show, it’s characters and story and I (at that point in time) really had not a clue about the show, it’s characters or the people who watched it. Little did I know all of that was about to dramatically change?
    The next morning we were up early and hit the ground running. Both Rebecca and I puton our costumes and were escorted to a Matchbox / Robotech booth. The event, which is kind of vague in my memory, featured many kinds of toy manufacturers. I say vague because since that