Me being a fan boy with Roddy Piper!

Taking a break from the fun at the Creatures blog to document my geeking out at Rock 'n Shock this weekend.

This child of the 80s was once obsessed with professional wrestling. Or to be more specific, one Rowdy Roddy Piper. He was a 'bad guy' and really, they were always the more intelligent, more interesting, more fun. If all he ever did was Piper's Pit (that was were he interviewed other bad guys or hit the good guys with chairs on a mock interview area), we'd be more than cool. But Piper's crowning achievement, in my fan-boy eyes, was his starring role in THEY LIVE.

He was in Worcester this weekend, and didn't cancel on his appearance despite a broken neck (broken, according to more than one event organizer). He wore a bulky looking neck brace for most of the weekend, and the trooper that he is, he gave time to everyone who asked. I had him sign my copy of Lethem's long-form essay THEY LIVE:

This was the first he'd seen or heard of the book and seemed genuinely interested in it, flipping through the pages, asking who wrote it, where he could find, etc.

Then my brother and I mugged for the camera with him. His arms around our shoulders, my brother Dan said, "Piper's Pit, baby!" and Roddy growled through a giant smile, "Oh, they hated us back then, didn't they?", and we all laughed. It was kinda sad, awesome, and perfect all at the same time.

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