u/Eveningwisteria1

I was gagged when I saw the other post on here because I too met Alan and the story felt identical almost. (I wanted to share these pics with you all and was unable to do so on the other post with my comment there. Don't mean to steal karma or thunder - hope this is okay, mods!)

It was 2011 in New York City and I was broke, having just graduated from college without a big kid job yet. I saw he was going to perform in Seminar off-Broadway. I’ve been obsessed with him for so long that I had to go, that this felt like my only chance to be in his presence. I put second row center ticket on my credit card, it was $250 but it was worth it.

A friend of mine who loved Alan as much as I did came with me and the play was magical. We salivated the whole time lol. After the play ended, we waited out front for what seemed like hours. It was maybe 15° F (-9C) outside and I wasn’t wearing gloves so I couldn’t really feel my hands eventually. That didn’t stop me.

Alan was the last person to come out and he spent the most amount of time out there signing autographs. He signed my play bill as well and moved onto the next person. When his car came and he was ready to leave, he started walking away from the crowd. I yelled out “Mr Rickman, Mr Rickman” before pausing. He turned around and looked at me confused. I then asked “could I shake your hand please!?” (I said this because I didn’t know what else to ask for and they weren’t allowing us to take pictures with him.)

He slowly turned around and walked back towards me. I remember putting my hand in his and going through the motion of shaking it, but I couldn’t even meet his eyes. I was too overwhelmed by the whole experience. I don’t remember what he smelled like or if he even said anything in that moment, but it was incredible to have that dream realized. I remember walking away with my friends, feeling high and untouchable. I can’t say much else, but I was able to get a few snaps of him secretly while he was signing autographs which are above.

This past weekend, we lost our wee boy of 15 years, Pookie. He was a grey boy full of love and sunshine. Never met a person he didn’t like. Animated and chatty and cuddly.

In 2017, when I lost my cat Byron (came with the name Buster which I changed - this is important) with whom I was very close, it took a few months before I was ready to adopt again. This would be the first cat I would adopt with my new partner who is now my husband. I went into a no kill shelter with an intention of getting a kitten.

The cages were stacked on top of each other, so I was playing with a cat that was at eye level with me. However, I felt the feeling of a claw, a paw, grabbing at my leg from below. I knelt down and came face-to-face with a cat who carried the name Buster of all things! I asked to see him, to see how he would interact with me, and it was nonstop love and affection from that day on. I trusted that sign and even though I changed his name to Pookie, we shared the next nine years together, making memories. He bonded closely with our void, Hermes (seen in pic 4).

While he did develop pervasive medical issues in the end, he still maintained the same resolute and sweet spirit that he had. This weekend was awful, so tough making the decision to let him go but I take comfort knowing that he’s in a better place and that he’s pain-free. This isn’t the first time I’ve gone through such a process and it definitely doesn’t get easier, but I just wanted to let the world know that he touched many lives and he was loved. We love and miss our Pookie!

Made me tear up, ngl.