I absolutely love this.
who added this caption:
"Congratulations and Happy New Year!!
Nothing can get in the way of love.
Even a great white."
OK! So he's married, he's off to Punta Cana with the man of his dreams for what I hope is the best vacation of his life, and so we'll just wave goodbye enthusiastically and turn back to our computers, brush swiftly at our eyes, and busy ourselves with ridiculous amounts of leftover HDOI picspam while we pretend we're not checking Twitter every five minutes or so for a twitpic from the honeymooners, preferably one in which wedding rings are prominently displayed so we can ooh and aah over them appropriately and then pretend that, really it's just allergies, and we are absolutely NOT crying on our cats again because we're just so damn happy for him....
Although the series of pics chosen for today may require you to have a fluffy, waterproof feline handy...
I've reviewed pretty much every HDOI photo we have to try to get a handle on WHAT exactly it IS that we have and then how to break it all into manageable chunks that make some kind of sense but I keep getting bogged down in places so I finally decided to go with the old standby construct for piecing a story together which would, of course, be chronological order. Like how, you know, stuff happens.
So we're going to begin at the beginning (logical place is logical) which is when we arrived at rehearsal in Philly on Thursday JUST in time to completely miss Johnny's private on-ice session which Davey had been invited to photograph.
ARGH.
Dear Pittsburgh: Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
See, we drove from Chicago to eastern Ohio on Wednesday, slept for about four hours, and then got up in PLENTY of time to make it to Philly by 1 p.m., 30 minutes before Johnny was expected to be on the ice. So we took off and were making great time, leaving I-80 to take I-76 past Pittsburgh and on to Philly....
And then just outside Pittsburgh around 6 a.m., we started seeing signs: "ALL TRAFFIC MUST EXIT AT IC 39." (wat?) "I-76 CLOSED. ALL LANES. GET DETOUR INFO AT TOLL BOOTH." (waaaaaaat?)
And as terrible as I felt for whoever started out their Thursday by getting into an accident at this hour, I was like, seriously? ALL lanes?
In Chicago a meteor the size of the Gulf of Mexico would have to crash onto the tollway before we'd close ALL LANES, and even then they'd be like, "Phil, come on. Let 'em drive on the shoulder. Or in the divider. Whatever. Because this traffic has GOT. TO. KEEP. MOVING."
But yeah, we took the stupid exit because we had no choice, and traffic was backed up FOREVER so we stopped at a McDonald's, where they had helpfully printed out a stack of detour directions from the PA Turnpike website, but unfortunately the righthand side was cut off as sometimes happens when you print a web page, so the directions were fairly cryptic since the reader was left to guess what the missing words might be which seemed like a really haphazard way to find our way out of a town which we barely knew how we had gotten into in the first place, so we kind of tried for a while and then we used Davey's GPS on his phone to find an alternate way which put us within 50 tantalizing yards of actually getting back on the highway just past the accident, but in order to do so I would have had to crash through a mechanized gate on private property which the GPS map had failed to note, and I was seriously tempted to do just that as the minutes were ticking by...
But I didn't.
So we turned back around and eventually stopped at a gas station and got actualfax spoken directions from a really nice guy who did NOT leave out five words at the end of every line, but of course everyone else was trying to go that way too and no matter what we did we eventually ended up just, you know, stuck.
At a dead stop.
For two solid hours.
So we arrived in Philly at 3 p.m.--exactly two hours later than we were supposed to. Just after Johnny had left the ice.
So our photos begin with kid rehearsals later that day.
And as it turned out, these are a special kind of awesome that made up for everything, almost. By which I mean, completely.
(As always, please click photos twice for full-size view. Do it do it do it, so you can fully appreciate the looks on the Future Stars' faces as they share the ice with Johnny... )
Entering the rink, we find that the kid rehearsal is,
as always, controlled chaos...
...but fortunately Michelle Poley Marvin
(center, with blue scarf), the Future Stars' choreographer,
is just the person to manage... everything. And everyone.
With some great helpers, including the lovely lady
she's consulting with here whose name escapes me
but who was great with the kids and also really funny.
But right now we also need Tara
to help fulfill the HDOI motto:
"Out of chaos, make something slightly less chaotic
and eventually really awesome..."
Ah! Now we're getting somewhere!
Hold on.
This group has just noticed something--
or rather, someone...
They rush across the ice to join the others
because yes! He's here!
Look at those kids. I love this.
Johnny makes his way across the ice
to greet another group...
(Look! Look at those faces!)
...and also to chat with Josh for a moment
on his way to get his skates on.
And may I say that Josh is amazing. He can do ANYTHING,
from resuscitating a fallen inflated Santa to patiently answering
EVERY. SINGLE. PARENT. QUESTION. NO. MATTER.
HOW. MANY. TIMES. HE'S. ALREADY. ANSWERED. THAT. ONE.
to controlling a cherry-picker in order to decorate a tree
the size of God (we have photographic evidence).
All with unflappable good humor.
About 30 minutes later, Johnny returns for photo ops
and rehearsal with the young skaters.
He's just skated out to center ice,
and here they come...!
He takes a minute to say hi
and explain what will be happening...
...and to introduce Davey as one of the HDOI photographers.
(Note little girl in front with the ponytail...)
"..so you want to look good for the camera.
Although David will make you look good anyway."
(...she keeps skating back and forth...)
They hang on his every word...
(...until she can't stand it anymore and parks herself
right next to him. And even while he's talking to everyone else,
he's very aware of her, and he reaches out
to give her a gentle pat on the head.)
...and they're absolutely riveted by his directions
to move to center ice for a photo.
Because no matter how boring a sentence is,
when Johnny says it, suddenly it's fascinating.
(And she's stuck to him like glue.)
Yes! Davey fires off 25 shots in bursts,
and we manage to get a great photo!
(And she's beaming because she's right next to him.)
I think they're asking him random questions here...
(There she is, gazing right up at him,
huge smile on her face.)
...as Tara skates up (love those pink skates),
nephew Shane in her arms, to arrange another photo.
While Tara explains what grouping they need next,
everyone wants a Johnny hug...
...from the littlest skaters...
...to the big kids...
...one right after...
...another...
Shane gets to be in this picture too!...
...along with...
...Tara's other nephew, Charlie!
(I got to chat with Shane and Charlie later that day--
sweetest boys ever--and also met Tara's parents,
their grandparents. Lovely people.
We had so much fun talking!)
The fabulous Michele Mansoor captures the moment
on the ice, while Davey shoots from the side.
Shane is thrilled to find himself in Johnny's arms
after the photo....
...then sandwiched between
Johnny and Auntie Tara.
While Tara tells everyone what's happening next,
another young skater sneaks past her...
...for a Johnny hug.
Michele grabs a quick pic
of Josh, Johnny, Shane, and Charlie....
...and then Shane decides
he wants to skate with Johnny.
Auntie Tara is back!
And now Shane wants Johnny to hold him.
A kiss for Auntie Tara...
...and then it's time to go back to Grandma and Grandpa
so the pros and Future Stars can practice together.
Bonus pics: Waiting for things to get started,
Johnny seems pensive.
He has a lot on his mind,
as fans later learn.... ♥
Bonus video!! Behind the scenes at Holiday Dreams on Ice!
"The camera guy," as he calls himself in the description
of this video, captured some of the moments above
plus a whole lot of other fun stuff!
(Although IDK around 4:54-ish... eeeeeeek...)
(Although IDK around 4:54-ish... eeeeeeek...)
All photos © David Ingogly.
(Yes, that's him! I actually got a photo
at HDOI rehearsal of our intrepid photographer,
who's not big with having his picture taken,
and who just celebrated his birthday on Dec. 31.
Thank you, David, for sharing your gift
with Johnny's fans. Here's to another year
of following your dreams,
wherever they may take you...♥)
Return of the Safety pants!!
Get ready: Improv-Ice is coming up on NBC,
Sunday, January 15, at 4 pm EST / 3 pm CST!
Get ready: Improv-Ice is coming up on NBC,
Sunday, January 15, at 4 pm EST / 3 pm CST!
Johnny performs to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It,"
and Styx' "Grand Illusion"--and viewers at home
get to vote to determine which skater
did the best job improvising a program
to the songs chosen for them!!
Photo courtesy of Disson Skating--
see the gallery here!
New Q and A! Go read it now!
At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!
Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!
"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.
Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold
takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"
THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.
You know what to do.
or just click the "Buy" button on the player
at the top of the blog!
at the top of the blog!
Hey, Welcome to My World also is available
as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!
5 comments:
What a great post again, so many great pictures...this needs to be viewed several times.
Looking at Johnny with kids, he´s doing very fine with them. Look at his face when he holds Tara´s nephew or talks to and hugs the little ice skaters. Love that. A lot.
Thanks for all the work that goes into posts like this...and thank you to Davey. Great pic, btw, of the photographer himself.
When I grow up, I want to be a little kid who gets to skate with Johnny.
How awesome is he with them!!
Today's comment from dear Princess Johnny-Love, who's still traveling and having login problems:
"absolutely LOVED the pic by pic storyline! really made me feel like i was there, which i was NOT, due to not being able to afford a plane ticket. *sigh*
anxiously awaiting the next segment and hoping it has more of that 4:54ish woman, cause she's kinda cool! ♥"
[editorial comment: eeeeeeeek! at that vid....]
Such great photos and video. Thank you, all.
Ah, so sorry for the traffic problem you encountered on the road. (I guess if there were no accident we might have a chance to see 6,000+ amazing photos by David...such a pity. But I'm happy you all got there and back safely!)
I love the little girls' cute faces with heart-shaped eyes and beaming smiles when they saw Johnny! \♥o♥/ Soooooooo lovely. LOL at the cute ponytail girl skating back and forth...must be too excited to stand still, so Q! And Johnny's patting her warms my heart♥
Everyone wants a Johnny hug, I'm no little grils anymore, but I SO want one
too... :'(
Smiling and loving Johnny with happy adorable kids is priceless♥♥♥♥♥
Dear David: Thank you very much for being a super-amazing HDOI photographer!!
You are so wonderful. And you look so great! May your days filled with love and glitter. May your dreams come true!
Thank you Binky very much for all the heartfelt/exciting/adorable details and stories behind the beautiful phots! Although I couldn't be there but your posts let me know how wonderful it might feel to be there. Thank you so much for sharing!
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