The best thing that came out of 2017’s Days of the Dead Chicago was the realization that my kids were blossoming into ideal convention buddies. They arrived that Saturday when things were at their busiest and, having done many events since I started my Terror Dave tenure nine years ago, proved themselves deft in the ways of horror cons. They know how to operate a Canon SLR camera with ease, are versed in all iconic films, and the ins and outs of celebrity encounters. There were numerous times when we needed to “divide and counter” to achieve goals and their proficiency filled me with a sense of geek pride.

As mentioned in my last post, my daughter Jade (a Lord of the Rings and Stranger Things fan) met Sean Astin while my youngest son, Luke, had aspirations of his own. As with many thirteen-year-olds, Luke seldom gets enthusiastic about anything and spent most of the last Days of the Dead buried in his phone while Jason Schoolcraft and I enjoyed the event. This all changed when he learned that a cast member from his all-time favorite movie, ALIENS, was a guest. He visibly perked up while picking out a poster and preparing to meet Carrie Henn a.k.a. “Newt.”

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