Scrapbook Project - Kurt's Reaction

The goal for giving the scrapbooks to Kurt had always been at the Stars on Ice show in Vancouver, BC. The show was the second to last stop on the CSOI tour, and pretty much the end of the skating season. The idea was that Kurt wouldn't have to carry the books very far and could bring them home and enjoy them soon after receiving them. But since Kurt would be travelling for at least a little while longer, we wanted to make sure he had something to carry the books in, in case he didn't have space in his suitcase. As such, I found a nice soft-shelled briefcase that fit the two books perfectly that Kurt could also use in the future as a nice laptop case. With the two books loaded into the briefcase, I was ready to go.

The last thing I wanted to do was to make a big production of the present. I also wanted to have time to properly explain the project to Kurt, and give him time to get a good look at his present. So when I saw Kurt in the autograph line (the reception was set up so all the skaters were seated at a long table, Kurt and Elvis at the end, so you moved down from one end of the table to the next getting your autographs). I told him I had something to give him later that might take a little while, and asked if I could see him at the end of the reception. He said, "sure!" and off I went to wait until he wasn't so busy to give him the books.

While I waited, I chatted with his father, Dewey, who apparently knew all about my project from my website but didn't say a word about it until it was time to give it to Kurt. Eventually, the reception cleared and most of the people left, yet Kurt was still busily chatting away with his sister and other friends across the room. By the time I finally went over to him with the present, the room was almost entirely empty, and we (Kurt, his sister, father, friends, and us) were the only people left in the room. This was nice, since it made everything very low-key, but did lead to us getting eventually kicked out of the room by the hotel people, who wanted to clean up and close everything up. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I don't think Kurt had any idea what I had to give him or why I needed to wait until the end to give it to him. I also should disclaimer that I was completely dead-tired by this point in the evening (having gotten very little sleep the week before), and wasn't entirely coherent at times. I figured, however, that once I gave the book to him, it would sort of speak for itself, so I didn't need to be super-coherent or eloquent in my introduction. I told him how we'd realized that 2006 was a big year for him with his birthday, his wedding anniversary, and his induction into the Hall of Fame, and how we wanted to do something to commemorate it, and then I pulled out the first book, the rather thick (prob about 2.5 inches thick) 12"x12" leatherbound fan message book, and placed it in front of him. At this point, he looked a bit wary and a bit uncertain, unsure what this behemoth I'd just stuck in front of him was, and how he should react to it. As I explained further, he started to understand that I had put a call for fans to contribute to this project on my website (his sister and father chimed in that they had both known about the project), and that all these people had sent in messages and things to contribute, and started to look overwhelmed and touched.

Before he opened the book, Kurt took a moment to marvel over the leather cover and to read the title, which completely cracked him up. Not the "As Time Goes By," of course, but the "101 Reasons Why We're Glad You Quit Hockey" subtitle. Then it was time to plunge into the book. He first stopped at the introductory page and started to read the intro letter, which seemed to touch him and make him smile. When his sister mentioned that he didn't have time to stop and read everything, he protested, saying that the sentiment was really nice and kept reading until the finish. Then he started to flip through the book, stopping whenever a photo caught his eye. He didn't have time to stop and read anything - the book *is* over 50 pages long - but it was clear that photo after photo would bring back memories for him as he looked through, and that he was just delighted and deeply touched that so many people had taken the time to contribute to this book for him. I made sure, when he reached the last page, to point out the acknowledgments page and the fact that all these people had contributed to the book, which once again seemed to blow him away. He said at one point that looking through the book, it was like 20 years of memories hitting him all at once, like a wall, and that it was quite overwhelming. In my opinion, the best praise he gave to the book was when he realized that it would be a fantastic memory for Gabriel to have sometime in the future.

Of course, I wasn't done yet. Pulling Kurt's attention away from the first book, which he was still marvelling over, was difficult, but I finally caught his attention to tell him there was still more to come. I told him that we'd been inspired by his ABC book to write one of our own, and handed him the other book in its colorful cover. He took it from me, and instantly got what we were trying to do, explaining it with delight to the others who'd missed my explanation. He read the title ("K is for Kurt") with a kind of fond delighted laugh, and then burst out laughing at the subtitle ("A Kurt Browning Fan's Alphabet"), reading it out loud with real amusement. He then opened the book and started to read through the first page, which lists each letter and what it stands for, as I explained about the top ten favorite programs poll and how those programs each got a letter of its own. When he reached "X is for Xenodocheionology," he looked up at me and asked "what is that?" When I explained that it meant "love of hotels," and how one of our fans came across the word while looking for "X" words (thanks Suzie!), he started laughing again. As he paged through the book, he seemed quite surprised to find that "Crash" had made the top ten programs, and totally shocked at how bendy he was in the "Rag-GIDON-Time" photo that accompanied the poem. Photo after photo, especially on the "W is for World" page, seemed to evoke memories for him, and he seemed to really enjoy looking through the book. At this point, the guy from the hotel came over and told us we had to leave in a few minutes, but Kurt nodded and kept looking through the book until the guy basically told us we had to leave *now* since they were closing up. When I gave him the bag and told him it was for him to carry the books in, he was quite touched and tried to give the bag back, as if he thought the gift was too much, but I insisted he keep it. He told me that the books were definitely going to make it home safely with him, and that he wanted to take more time to really read and absorb the book over the summer.

All in all, I'd say the present was a great success. Kurt seemed, by turns, blown away, touched, delighted, overwhelmed, nostalgic, and overall very grateful for the sentiment, and for the time and effort everyone had put into the project. I think it's a present he'll treasure for some time, and one that will mean a lot to him as a heartfelt gift from his fans.

This page is already quite long but I'm sure people want to see photos of Kurt receiving the present. We didn't take that many, and we never asked him to pose for any photos with the book (though we made sure he was ok with us taking photos to post online), but hopefully the photos will give you a peek at Kurt's reaction.

Go to...

Scrapbook project introduction

As Time Goes By - Or 101 Reasons Why We're Glad You Quit Hockey

K is for Kurt - A Kurt Browning Fan's ABC Book