I met Roger Howarth ! Helene's Story

It was my first time in New-York and what a great city it is. Taxi rides are quite an experience. Time Square, Empire State Building , everything in NY is tall and full of energy.

I arrived in NYC around lunchtime and managed to join some of the girls at the OLTL Studio. We all went to the Hard Rock Café for diner which was a lot of fun. We walked around Time Square and took a lot of pictures. I NYC

Friday Tina and I went to the ATWT studio hoping and praying that we would get to see Roger. But no such luck, not many of the Stars were working that day and no Roger either. No one could even confirm to us that Roger would be working on Monday. I was a little disappointed but survived this ordeal with a smile.

Saturday was the OLTL luncheon. I met this real New-Yorker, what a nice Lady she was. I just adored her accent. As I was looking at all the items for the raffles and trying to decide which ones I might bet on, I noticed this beautiful picture of Marty and Hank, but what got my attention was Roger's gorgeous grinning face next to Marty. Well of course I immediately checked to see how many tickets there were in the jar, only 4 or 5, so I put in my 5 and bought 10 others and put those in also. I just had to make sure I would win this. I DID. Isn't it just a beautiful smile? The picture came already framed as shown. What a gift !!
Helene shrine to NYC & Roger.jpg: Click to view full-size version

Come Monday ( August 23 rd , 2004 ) and I am in a big rush. Pack the bags, sign out the Hotel room, plane to catch, etc… but I just had to give one more try to see MY MAIN MAN ROGER. We get to the ATWT studio at one o'clock and I only have about 20 minutes before returning to the hotel to catch the airport shuttle. So I called the security man outside and showed him what I had for Roger and explained that I am in a rush. He says that Roger is at work and should come out for a break in 10 to 15 minutes. I insist that I do not have much time but that I will wait for a few minutes. John James comes out and as we are speaking with him as a Lady opens the door and calls me in. I was following her as in a dream.

 
This the beautiful face
I was looking at.
I got my visitor's pass and followed her to the set where Roger was working. She points out a few things a long the way and needs to be reassured about my approach to Roger. They are so very protective of him. We get to the set and I see him, his back is turned, they are fussing with his hair and make up. Oh! What a sight! I was already very nervous but now I am shaking, I have to get a hold of myself and control my nerves fast. The girl goes around to face him and tells him that Helene from Quebec is there to see him. He turns around, gives me this beautiful smile of his, holds his hand out and says: “Hi, I am Roger, nice to meet you” . I felt like saying, Love I know who you are.

I shook his hand and presented him with a letter from the Quebec City Mayor along with a beautiful picture book of my City. He thanked me and said he appreciated my gift. (or something to that effect, I was looking at his gorgeous face and do not remember every word he said or that I said, but I know how shy and sweet and gentle this man is). Then I gave him a letter that I had written to him, he looked at it as I was explaining what it was about. I touched his arms ever so slightly as I thought I would faint. He was very interested, said that we was very touched and thanked me again. We shook hands again as he was called back to his scene.

The letter I wrote to him read:

Mr. Roger Howarth ,

Of course I want to celebrate your talent and I want to congratulate you for all the great performances you give, but mostly I want to thank you for being you.

 You are THE best actor but you also stand for so much more. Not only are you a fantastic actor but you are a man of principles for which we admire you.

What I want to thank you for is a gift that you give to so many of us of which you might not be aware. Your exceptional way of giving life and emotions to each role you play has provided the basis to create more then one fans group on the Net. These groups, though they all have different visions, have all one thing in common, their love and respect for you and your work. These groups bring people together from all works of life, all colors and races, from all over the United States of America and Canada . Wonderful friendships are born through these groups. The members of these groups give each other support, help, comfort, advise, laughter and love. We exchange life experiences, stories and much more. We learn to accept each other for who we are and to love our differences. We even have started to travel to meet in person. Some have even opened their doors to us and shared their homes with such wonderful grace.

 Thank you, Mr. Howarth, for allowing us to use your extraordinary given talent and great personality as the gathering factor for such wonderful relationships. Thank you for all the great moments you have given us. We will always be proud to be your fans.

I was allowed to watch this great actor at work. I exchanged a few words with some members of the crew and mentioned that I was a member of the RH Factor, they said they knew about this nice group and welcomed me even more openly. I was in a dream so much so that I had forgotten to ask for an autograph. Lucky me Roger missed his line, everybody laughed with him and I had my chance to ask for an autograph. He signed my RH Factor picture of Paul “Elene best wishes, great to meet you, Roger Howarth” (with my RH Factor pen of course, which I told him he could keep). I thanked him and was shown that it was time for me to leave. On my way out, I thanked this Angel Lady for making my dream come true. She told me that they all love him very much, that everyone enjoys working with him and that he is also very funny. I had noticed the relationship between all of them and Roger and it did show how much they all do love him.

Thanks to my friend, Tina, as She was the reason I was in NYC. THANK YOU TINA .

It was super great meeting so many of you, getting to know you better, have pictures and autographs of you. It was my best trip ever and Roger made it the trip of my lifetime. He is a beautiful person inside and outside and such a gentleman. I am now certain that Roger has every quality that I have attributed to him over the years and then some. You can all be sure that he is all that you and I dream of and more. I LOVE MY ROGER.