Greetings from TV Fest, Part IV
Happy TV Fest Day. Festivities begin at noon. Call 515-249-3457 for directions to location site. (No collect calls, please.)---
Promoted by a blog for the first time last year, "Moeller TV Fest IV: Olympic Heroes" was the greatest festival success to date. The four people who visit this site regularly were added to the previous record for attendance, and no one contracted a foodborne illness at the event for the first time since Moeller TV Fest I. Here are the two program "greetings" Aaron and I wrote for the 2005 extravaganza...
2005- November 5th and 6th, Cedar Rapids, IA, 14 people in attendance:
I don't want to be an alarmist about this, but Chris has cancer. Please DO NOT mention anything to him because he doesn't want me to say anything. We found out from his doctor last week when he had some tests come back positive. Our worst fears were confirmed- they were cancer tests.
I'd rather not divulge the specific details of those horrifying moments when the doctor broke the news- that's what the doctor/patient/twin confidentiality agreement is all about- but believe me that this disease is not something to be taken lightly.
I'm going to be frank about this. We almost cancelled the TV Festival. This sort of news definitely casts a dark cloud over the annual joyous festivities. But Chris has been a real trooper about the whole thing. "The show must go on," he told me. "This is when we need TV the most." I agreed with him. I said let's do this thing and try not to treat it like the tumorous elephant in the room that it is. I only ask you as our friends that you not bring it up. It pains me to drop this bombshell, so let's never again mention you-know-what (cancer).
This sad news is doubly heartbreaking considering the great lineup of shows we have this year. There are so many funny shows and I know we'll all be laughing through our choked-back tears. We even introduced something of a theme this year, with a number of episodes concerning issues of censorship, religion, race and ethnicity. I just want us to be mindful that there are certain taboo subjects too serious to make fun of- like fatal, incurable diseases. And let's face it- TV isn't what it used to be and the Moeller TV Festival has never been so necessary. I flipped around the dial the other night and was saddened to see that the new fall schedule is nothing but reality shows, crime dramas, and hurricane shows. In this world of uncertainty, trauma, tragedy, terrorism, and predictable TV, the role of TV Festivals has never carried more importance.
Please, I beg of you, let's make the most of this. Let's make something of the short time Chris has left. Don't make any jokes about improper things, like any differences we might have, no matter how small. No smart remarks about cancer or other diseases, like the bird flu that is going to wipe out all of us next summer. Although I will be silently scouting for that person among you who I will ask to replace Chris as co-chair of the festival, let's not make that priority one until Monday.
We need to make this festival the best ever! Do it for Chris!!
Aaron Moeller
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A welcome, from Barbara Dixon, director of the Museum of Television & Radio, Beverly Hills, CA:
What Aaron and Chris Moeller have done is truly extraordinary. They have cast the spotlight of Iowa, the Midwest, and the freedom-loving world upon one of our most treasured information and entertainment media. By establishing the first-of-its-kind Television Festival in 2002, and by continuing to polish and improve their event each year, they have applied a kind of "glossy-finish" coat of lacquer to a large and bellowing industry that has become responsible for the employ of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans, and whose product simultaneously serves as one of our chief cultural exports.
Aaron and his brother(?) Chris have chosen many of my favorite shows for screening over the years. Who can forget Barbra Streisand's emotional appearance on the Rosie O'Donnell talk show? Or the Joanie Loves Chachi in which Fonzie comes to visit, and tries to help the band land a spot on Twist Fever? Or the Star Search in which Mr. and Mrs. Work-a-day America were introduced to a talented young comedian named Brad Garrett?
These and other such classics will certainly delight and entertain again this year at Aaron's humble home in Cedar Falls, IA. May your journey there be safe, your mind alert throughout, and your time, once again, well spent.
Ms. Barbara Dixon
465 North Beverly Drive,
Beverly Hills, CA
Another Welcome, from Thomas Astin, founder of the Musuem of Sandwiches, Sandusky, Ohio:
What Aaron and Chris Moeller have done is truly extraordinary. By continuing to serve and promote unpretentious "submarine-style" sandwiches at their annual Television Festival, they have sparked unprecedented growth in the commercial sandwich industry. Chain restaurants specializing in such culinary stock have mushroomed across the land since the establishment of their event. You've got the Subway, the Blimpies, the Jimmy Johns, and the Quiznos, to name just four.
We, at the Museum of Sandwiches, suggest that they branch out even more in 2006 to honor such regional sandwich classics as the Cheese Steak of Philadelphia, PA, the Reuben of New York City, the Po' Boy of New Orleans (God bless them,) or the French Dip of, eh... France, I guess.
May your dining experience this weekend be pleasurable and safe, your taste buds satisfied, and your top botton undone by journey's end. Bon Appetit.
Mr. Thomas Astin
Conference room #7
Comfort Inn Sandusky
5909 Milan Rd,
Sandusky, OH
posted by CM @ 8:29 AM
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