On with the Ceremony!

"Would you like to have a seat in the next best bench?" I asked Janice, who laughed, and took her seat right next to the bench decorated with pictures of her Guy as Diego, Will Cartwright, and John Robinson.

David Fernandez, who stars in the title role of the ballet "Zorro" for the Ballet for Young Audiences, had come to the plaza to play Diego, hand out roses to ladies, and look absolutely gorgeous. When Janice arrived, he presented her with a bouquet of roses.

I took up where I left off, telling the story about Guy Williams being a New Yorker, and how he and Janice had enjoyed the park. I referred to Janice to correct me, and she did. She made sure I told the Sheep Meadow story correctly, emphasizing that Guy had stomped out the letters of "I love you" that winter's day in Sheep Meadow (that meadow directly behind the elm trees in these pictures).

The bench was decorated with Zorro's clothes - donated by Wendell Vega - consisting of his cape, sword, hat, mask, and gloves.

The night before in the hotel, we had put together some pictures of Guy in his various roles. If I'd known that CBS would have been focusing on the pictures, I would have hidden the scotch tape better! As it is, they were a constant and beautiful reminder of the man we were remembering and honoring, and we wished very much he was there that day. Although there were indications he was.

As I told stories about Guy in New York City, I kept turning to Janice and Guy Jr to make sure they hadn't wandered off anywhere and that I was telling the stories correctly. And every once in a while, Janice would add a few words to the story.

Diego (David Fernandez) presented Janice with a bouquet of roses, which she kept with her throughout the ceremony.