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>> PAUL BOTTOS: This all started with me collecting Mickey Mouse about 30 years ago.
I started collecting all the things Mickey Mouse that I could find and then it's
evolved itself into this large Mickey Mouse collection.
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Sometimes I think "Oh my god, I can't believe it how did I get all this stuff."
You know, I start piecing all I remember when I got that and remember
oh hi remember that, and it brings back you know some pretty cool memories.
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I had a garage sale when I was around 22 years old. I picked up
an older Mickey Mouse and looked at it, that Mickey Mouse is the Mickey Mouse
started it all for me.
So this is the original Mickey, so back in the when I
was in my 20s, this is the Mickey Mouse I picked up and kind of, the light bulb
went on it brought back those good memories that children think about you
know when good things happen in life and that started this whole train rolling of
me collecting Mickey Mouse's.
It brought back those memories which were really
important to me because I didn't have a lot of them I grew up in foster homes
and group homes as a kid.
In the group home, that the last one I want in, my Foster Mother we were
talking about something that was emotional and I wasn't crying and that's
that point I never cried and she said it was okay
and she, I cried for probably two
or three days but and now as you can see anything that's emotional I let myself
cry, because I think it's important and up until that point I never did so I
went I was 13 I probably never cried even though things were bad or sad or upsetting.
I'd never ever let myself do that because I was told man are boys they do not cry.
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Being here is almost religious to me and I think in some contexts or ways.
It makes me feel like I just feel so happy I feel like a little kid I'm 52 years
old and I'll tell you I feel I feel like I'm 20 or you or younger I just I got
this smile on my face I can't get rid of. I just think today's gonna be an amazing.
Your idol in life for you but you want to go and meet that person or be where
that thing started in life and we can go start here in California and so I'm here
I'm here where Mickey Mouse started and this completes part of my life I guess.
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Share with my son, just share I share this amazing day too with him. It's what I want out of it.
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I think it is... Micky's car, oh this is too cool, I have a little one at home about this big.
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Mickey's piano, he doesn't have DVDs. He's got reels.
>> CAST MEMBER: Would you like to come in and meet Mickey Mouse?
>> PAUL BOTTOS: I do very much so, it's the whole reason I'm here. haha
there he is. Oh I've been waiting to come back to see you. Oh my god, probably have
four or five thousand Mickey Mouse. So I've been collecting you for a very long time.
I get emotional you know and it's just a little cartoon character but it still
affects me emotionally and makes me you know feel really good inside. Life's kind
of come full circle, its always nice when you meet your idol I mean
Mickey Mouse is my idol and so that's that cool thing you give a movie star,
film star, entertainment business to me Mickey's that person or that character
and I got to do that I got to do it on grand scale.
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These are Jeff Shelley drawings that he did for me at a fan Expo.
This is Fantasia, so this is a character it actually is right off of my arm.
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So the first time I met Jeff Shelley at Fan Expo in 2011. This is the drawing
that he did for me. There's a video out of it, it shows you know I am just in awe.
I think that that started like kinship between me and Jeff Shelley and that's
continued on over the years which has been really really cool.
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(laughing)
>> JEFF SHELLEY: How are you doing?
>> PAUL BOTTOS: How are you? Oh, my god.
>> JEFF SHELLEY: So you can see some of my collection of Mickey stuff.
>> PAUL BOTTOS: Let's see, I have that.
I have this one and pretty sure I have that one and one like that one.
JEFF SHELLEY: Come over here I'll draw you some stuff.
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>> PAUL BOTTOS: I'm holding the real Oscar. This feels like I'm holding
history in my hands, this is very very cool cool thing I just collected cus it made
me feel good. And so uh but to come and see where it all started is very
emotional and overwhelming.
sfx: camera shutter
>> JEFF SHELLEY: So this is Floyd Gavin's actual desk that he did all the old comic strips on.
>> KEN SHUE: That drawing board has more Mickey Mouse DNA on it
than any other object in the world.
sfx: light switch
Come on over here Paul.
So you want to pick that little mini up.
Cause she's only two years old.
when she was drawing me,
there you go, that's that that's the real deal right there.
>> PAUL BOTTOS: That's the real deal. (laugh)
I'm like in museum this is unbelievable
sfx: Camera shutter
This is amazing
sfx: camera shutter
I'm in awe
>> KEN SHUE: This is the original art I have lots of
friends in the company that that see me handling these without white gloves but
I want you to handle it without white gloves too.
>> PAUL BOTTOS: Being in that room, I mean when you look at it through the glass is one thing.
But actually go in there and touch things is.
>> JEFF SHELLEY: I didn't even get to go in there. (laugh)
>> PAUL BOTTOS: You can't put into words how I feel about what happened to me.
It's made this room even more meaningful to me. That's when it started for me.