When we started out Face Painting, Jimmy was of the caliber of celebrity who was out of our league. Contact with Jimmy Flynn started out at the parades. Jimmy would be chauffeured in the parade, and the Klingons would march as a group, usually not close to the car Jimmy was driving in. (They were smart, they had a pretty good idea of what we were capable of....)
If Jimmy said hello to one of the crew, it was an instant bragging right. Just to be acknowledged by Jimmy was considered something special.
When he performed, he was usually surrounded by very influential well wishers. Klingons just did not make the cut.
We started doing events at different pubs in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. These events were our Adult events. The cleavage rule was relaxed and we had to substitute that with a new rule, no drinking while working. The last thing we needed were drunk Klingons. At last call, the crew were allowed to have a drink. This rule was also supported (and enforced) by everyone on the crew. And in my heart of hearts; a very secret place, I believed we were foolish enough that we did not need any help with alcohol.
The pub we helped out in was the Copper Penny. That was a big deal for us because we were listed with the corporate sponsors, as KAG Kanada, on the promotional t-shirts that were given out. Our efforts were recognized. I still have mine. It is one of my 'treasures'.
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| Jail 'N Bail - M'Red (Sean) and detainee |
In addition to the Jail 'N Bail, the Klingons would help the auctioneer by holding up, walking among the patrons and work the room while the item was being auctioned off. The Copper Penny was an "L" shaped room and the Klingons would put some mileage on their boots working the crowd.
One night, while working the Copper Penny, a "Jimmy Flynn" doll went up for auction. The auctioneer stated that these were very special, as they were a limited number and Jimmy gave these to people he considered special friends. I told Sue that I wanted one for my collection. At that time our disposable income was at a premium. I was on a budget.
The bidding started. As I recall, the increments were five dollars. I saw some of the bidders I was competing against. When the bidding reached around one hundred dollars, my competition was sitting on the other side of the "L" shaped room. I could not see who I was bidding against. I remember there was a buzz among those sitting so they could see the auctioneer, my competition and me.
I kept looking at Sue. It was unspoken, however I needed her approval to go higher in the bidding. I was close to my limit. The higher the bid got, the quieter the room got. The bidding got to one hundred and eighty dollars, and I could not go higher. I looked at Sue when the bidding closed against me. She knew I wanted it, and she also knew that I had made the right decision for us. I was disappointed, however we had helped raise money for the CWF.
There was a tension in the pub. Something was happening, I could see people pointing in the direction of the room I could not see. A woman was walking, with the Jimmy Flynn doll, and when she spotted me, she walked with purpose towards me. Someone sitting next to me told me that she was Sylvia Flynn, Jimmy's wife.
As she walked over to me, people started to gather. When she reached me, she was smiling. She told me that she would not let me buy the doll, she wanted to give it to me for the work I and the Klingons had done for the Children's Wish Foundation. She told me that Jimmy couldn't be there that night due to another commitment. She confided that she wished I hadn't bid so high. I still have that doll, and it is one of my treasured trophies.
I still had not met Jimmy in person.
Some time later, I was approached by the Children's Wish Foundation and asked if there were some way the SonchIy could recognize Jimmy Flynn. That was a challenge. I did not know how to tie in Jimmy's Newfoundland humor with Klingon's or Star Trek. I was stumped on how to bridge the two.
A lady associated with us, Edi, suggested that Jimmy had received numerous awards and recognition for his work in the community and the CWF. She suggested that it would mean more to him if we were to recognize his late son, Seamus Jason Angus Flynn.
Seamus had passed at eighteen from cancer. The first thing I found out was that Seamus was a very big fan of Star Trek. He was buried in a Star Fleet Uniform and his pall bearers wore Star Fleet Uniforms. That was my bridge. However, the more I learned about Seamus the more impressed I was with the man. At eighteen, he had helped Jimmy as a Producer on the CD's and Video's Jimmy was making, he was an accomplished pilot at the time of his death as well.
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| Klingon Achievement Decoration (KAD) |
There was a second plaque naming Jimmy Flynn the Official Jester of KAG Kanada.
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| Trav, Sue Paul Sean, Denise, Barry, Edi and Sylvie and Jimmy |
We "crashed" <kind of> his birthday party. In attendance were the who's who of the entertainment community in the Maritimes.
What I remember the most was Sue taking me aside and telling me that Sylvie had just told her that the KAD that we had presented to Jimmy was in his safe. He treasured it that much.
I didn't remember this photo until I started researching for this blog. These photo's are pre digitial camera, old technology, they are scanned.
Sue worked with me as my "eyes and ears". The members of the SonchIy would tell her things that they wouldn't tell me. This particular photo means so much to me as it represents our working relationship in the club. I am sure that if there are members of the SonchIy reading this, they would recognize this tete a tete, as we did this huddle at almost every event.
I doubt I would have been as effective a leader without Sue at my side.
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