24 Hours of Frozen Dead Guy Daze

2007

Impressions from The Iceman

Although the Opening Ceremony went off on schedule at 7 PM, it was actually only the halfway point in a day that started 12 hours before and wouldn't end for another 12. 24 with the Iceman probably isn't quite as exciting as 24 with Jack Bauer, but believe me, by the end of the day, I sure felt like Jack at the end of a mighty surreal season.

It all started at 7 that morning, jumping out of bed and jumping into the shower. I hit the road to Denver an hour later and took care of some business at the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. Then I stopped by my doctor and got "adjusted" for the ordeal ahead. After dealing with a couple of other errands, I reached the Dry Ice Facility around noon. I loaded up several hundred pounds of donated ice and took off for Boulder. After seeing a couple of clients in town, I headed up the canyon to Ned.

I reached the Information booth about an hour late, due mostly to the tight schedule being a bit too tight. The Film crew from the Smithsonian were there, as were Murray and his father. Murray and his father are from Merrie Olde England, and Murray is here doing a graduate thesis in photography on cryonics. He sure came to the right place.

Saturday, after the fresh snow, Murray came up to get some spectacular shots of the mountains and Nederland. He was trying to get inside the Institute to get some shots of Bredo's art, but due to the drift blocking the entrance, that was not possible.

On Sunday, Murray hoped to get back up to the Institute to catch the sunlight from the west and maybe get a shot of the inside.

 

 

The Film Crew from the Smithsonian Channel were very professional and although we staged a few shots, the idea was to tell the story that they had missed. All in all, it turned out pretty well. We had a great time with the six foot sun screens in the wind, as well as the occasional jet plane, but the delightful Lisa Grossman did an excellent job of getting different types of responses.

Lisa worked for National Geographic as well as the Smithsonian Network. she and the film crew were all over the Festival. On saturday, their cameras got damp due to all the snow and they couldn't film the coffin races. Fortunately, there were several inside events that kept them busy.

It was tough getting pictures when you're being interviewed. The only shot I got of the crew was at the Grandpa Look Alike contest at the Blue Ball.

Dedicated guys.....

Nice work, too.....although I'll reserve final judgement until I see the results. they promised to send me a copy of the segment.

 

After everybody got exactly the right shot and the interviews were all completed, the film crew left for town. Murray and his father stayed just a bit to catch the light and then we all headed back for the Opening Ceremony

After the opening Ceremony, I went to the B&G to get some supper. (It's the cheapest place in town to eat.) While I was standing in line, I watched a mother and two young children come up behind me with a couple big containers of ice cream. I overheard the Mom say that the ice cream was going to make up for the ghost stories not happening, and she hoped the kids wern't too disappointed. (a Festival Ghost Story Event was planned for Friday evening but somehow got cancelled at the last minute.) When I went outside, I stopped at my truck and got a couple of Dead Guy Tattoos and when the Mom and her kids came out I went over and introduced myself. I gave the kids the tattoos (they were stoked) and then I told them that since they missed out on the ghost story earlier, I was in a unique position to relate the Tale of the Disappearing Psychics to them right then and there. As I told them the story of Grandpa and the psychics, their eyes got bigger and bigger. When I told them the end, where the Psychics who told Grandpa for the first time that he was really dead just disappeared off the face of the earth...they were actually shivering. Even the Mom was a bit shaken. When I said that was it and I had to go, they said that it was the best ghost story they had ever heard, and ran off shrieking and giggling. Made my whole day.....

It was time to get over to the Blue Ball and lay a little Ice on the clientele. It was an amazing night, with everybody in sync with the Band and the Band was blowin' HOT! The Grandpa Look Alike contest and the Ice Queen contest were a lot of fun. I talked to a City Official (who wished to remain anonymous) and he said he made it a point to be up front and close in to the Ice Queen finals....and always got the best view in the house. I gotta admit, the view is probably what decided the winner. That little flip at the end.....Yowza!

After the Ball it was Things To Do In Ned When You're Dead....

On Saturday, there was the Parade......

Then there was the Plunge....