Old Friends, New Friends, and a Moving Moment

Old friends, new friends, past and current neighbors, anniversaries, birthdays, folks from back home in Massachusetts and in New York.... oh my word we had it all going on this week at Visani Dinner Theater!  Plus a very moving moment that choked us both up.  More on that later.

Tuesday night was a sell-out crowd.  Hallelujah!  The room was chock full of people we were delighted to see.  There was a table full of Buddy's oldest friends from  Massachusetts.  A surprise visit from my friend Millie from New York.  There was the  table of our current neighbors.  And on and on.  What fun to see so many friends.  Then on Wednesday, at our matinee, (another sell-out) we had two motorcoach groups, both from Bradenton, who BOTH had group leaders from Syracuse. NY, and BOTH had originally seen our show in Western NY with other groups and suggested to their Florida communities that they come to our show at Visani.    The two group leaders met for the first time at our show Wednesday.  Turns out they live less than four miles from each other in Syracuse.  Small world or what?  Another table of neighbors and lots more new friends made for a GREAT day and a fun show.

NOW FOR THE MOVING MOMENT....We ended the show with our military tribute to the Armed Forces.  We sing the anthem of each branch of the service and ask anyone who has served in the military to stand when they hear their anthem.  We started with the Air Force, then the Marines, the Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, Navy, and finally the Army.  With each anthem men and women stood proudly around the room.   When we got to the Army, that's when the most people stood. We began to sing "Over hill, over dale, we have hit the dusty trail",  and people all over the room quickly got to their feet.  Then we noticed the elderly man at the table right in front of us.  He struggled to get out of his chair.  He grasped the table, and tried to rise, his wobbly legs failing him.  Then two strangers from the next table gripped his arms and helped him stand up, which he was barely able to do.  Tears came to my eyes and I almost couldn't keep singing. Buddy too.  This ordinary-looking man who had been smiling and laughing  through our show, was suddenly a proud soldier who had served his country and would not let anything, including his own body,  keep him from standing up for the Army. Then we sang "God Bless America".  And he did it again.

Thank you, Sir, whoever you are.  Thank you and God Bless You.

Buddy's good friends, "that old gang of mine"  from Lawrence, MA