Another Fun Fact

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When we first started performing in Florida, at Turtles Restaurant on Siesta Key in 1992,  we didn't have a promotional photo of the two of us so we used a fairly recent head shot of just me.  The photo below was posted in the glass display case just outside the door of Turtles with our name underneath.  One night a lady YELLED at me for using someone else's photo.  She accused me of using Jennifer Grey's photo and claiming it was me!! (Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame.)  And she wouldn't give it up!

Well, it really WAS me.  But I heard over and over that the photo looked like Jennifer.

What do YOU think?



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Another Great Weekend

Saturday night was a grand night at the Italian American Club of Venice.  Another sold-out crowd.  Thank you thank you!  And what a great audience.  Those folks do a GREAT job of organizing, promoting, and cooking too!  This is our second show there, and we have all promised to do it again next year.  Grazie!

_____________

Then Sunday night we performed for the first time at Alameda Isles in Englewood.  What a terrific community.  Nice people, great clubhouse, and lots of fun. Of course Buddy, being SOOO Italian, always 

changes names to sound like food.  So all day he kept calling it "Calamari Isles".  Figures. 

 Well, God bless you all.  We'll keep you posted. 

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Another First

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Well, Tuesday night at Visani Dinner Theater we performed our new show "The Soundtrack of Our Lives" for the first time, and all the songs that were part of our 36 years together must have struck a chord with the audience too, because hands were clapping and toes were tapping and there were smiles all around.  We had a great time sharing our story and our songs with a room full of happy people.  Many thanks to all who attended.

We welcomed new audience members who had never seen our show before, and we saw many familiar faces as well.  And oh yes, a visit from Buddy's 'look-a-like'.

 

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2012 Here We Come

1976

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Hope you're all having a very Happy Holiday season and looking forward to 2012.  I know we are.

We're having fun putting together our new theme, "The Soundtrack of Our Lives".  This year marks 20 years in Florida for us, and 36 years together in show business.  We met at the very end of 1975 when I auditioned for Buddy's band, Goodtime Express in Rochester, NY, and the rest, as they say, is history. Through the years and the miles we have kept on performing together,  sometimes with small trios, sometimes with 7-piece bands, and everything in between.  Smokey bars, hotel lounges, casinos, dinner theaters, restaurant lounges, you name it, we had gigs there.  From New York, to Los Angeles, to Lake Tahoe to Boston, we kept the music going.  And for twenty years now, we've hit our stride as a duo act right here in South West Florida.  What a ride!

So we're looking back over our lives and putting together the "soundtrack" of songs that brought us from 1976 to now.  The first song I ever sang with Buddy's band was It's Too Late by Carole King. Goodtime Express was a six piece band and I sang and played the saxophone, and Buddy (the leader, of course) played the drums.   His biggest song then was  I'm Goin to Kansas City with our horn section backing him up.   It was matching tuxedoes for the guys and gowns for me.   Great memories, great experience.

Come and see us at Visani Dinner Theater on January 17 or 18th and join us on the journey back through our years together.  You'll recognize the songs that make up the soundtrack of the decades that shaped all our lives. 

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SNOW!

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So we're back from our 5-day round trip to Ohio, where we performed at Temple Beth Shalom in Columbus.  Trekking up north for a one night show is not something we normally do, but the folks who arranged our performance there are old friends from our Turtles Restaurant days and we were honored to do our show for them.  Many thanks to all.

We had an even rarer experience in West Virginia on the way up.  We had to drive through SNOW..  Yikes!  Way up there in the high elevation it was a winter wonderland.  On October 29 no less.  We were not happy.  And it was 31 degrees. Not happy about that either.  We're Floridians.  We just don't do snow.
But we got through it, and as we descended back down the mountain, the snow disappeared. (I guess the folks in New England weren't so lucky.)  

Anyway, the day after our show, when we headed back South, we took a different route, just in case.  And that went just fine.  Oh, except for one harrowing moment the second day, on route 75, going 70 miles an hour, when the cars in front of us all screeched to halt because a dog was running back and forth in the road.  I also pressed the brakes really hard and ended up missing the canine by inches.  I am glad to report that in my rear-view mirror afterward, I could see that the lucky pup actually managed to dodge all the oncoming traffic in all four lanes, and made it off the road.  So I guess 11-1-11 was a very lucky day for the dog.  I'm really glad.

Needless to say, we're very glad to be back home, and looking forward to our upcoming season.
Next public show is at Visani Dinner Theater on November 15 and 16, so maybe we'll see ya there.

Till then, we'll keep you posted.

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Home Again. (And we have a mascot!)

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Well we're just back from our 18-day road trip with 11 shows!  We performed in North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.  A great trip, and MANY thanks to all who came to our shows and supported us throughout our visits.

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST...We'd like to welcome the newest member of our Florida "fan club"....our new mascot, Bella.


Mascot "Bella" with her official T-shirt.  She wouldn't turn her head.  Camera shy. 



Our "fan club" now numbers 12,  including Bella.  She is "best friend" of Del and Pat.  I just love it.  I wish you could see her beautiful face, but she wouldn't turn her head.   And once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Del, who looks MUCH younger than she claims she is.  Trust me on this.

So we have a little resting time before we leave for Columbus, Ohio at the end of the month.  We're doing just one show there, then right back home again.  Are we nuts??!!  Yes, of course we are, but admit it, that's why you like us. 

NEXT MONTH...we'll be performing at Visani Dinner Theater on November 15, with a matinee the next day on November 16.  Hope to see you soon.

Till then, we'll keep you posted.

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Ten Years Ago 9/11

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For my generation and older, it's been said that you never forget where you were when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot.  I was sitting on a school bus in the parking lot of my grammar school, waiting for our driver to pull out and take us home at the end of our school day.  But before we drove anywhere, a teacher boarded the bus and told us the terrible news. 

At least that's the way I remember it. But I was a kid, and my childhood memories are always part fact and part fill-in-the-blank. So who knows whether that's exactly how it went?

But ten years ago, on September 11, I was a grown-up, and I do remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news of an airplane crashing into the World Trade Center hit the airwaves.  Buddy and I were taking showers, shaving, getting dressed and putting on make-up, getting ready to perform a matinee show for a group of senior citizens who were coming by bus to see us at Tillman's Village Inn in Albion, NY.

At first it seemed that the first plane may have been a horrible accident.  Then it became clear:  No accident.  Terrorist attack.  The scenes on TV, so sickeningly familiar now, were unbelievable at the time.  In a daze, we just kept getting ready to do our show, because we knew that the busload of people, from a town three hours away, were already on their way to see us when it all happened.  We didn't even know if they knew. They were just on a fun day trip, going to see some entertainment, have lunch, and enjoy the rural scenery.

So we went to the Village Inn, and waited for the bus to arrive.  We were all dressed up, our PA equipment was turned on and ready to go.  The staff, the owners, the chef, and us, all wandering around in a fog, wondering if we should go ahead with the meal and the show.  Would the people even want to, once they found out?  Was it the right thing to do?  Put on a show and smile and sing and entertain, while this horror was unfolding in our country? 

The bus pulled into the parking lot and Buddy and I went out to meet them.  This time, I was the one boarding the bus with the terrible news.  But it turned out they already knew.  Someone had called the driver on his cell phone, and  he had relayed the news to them. 

So Buddy said, "Well, what do you want to do?  We'll do whatever you decide.  Do you want to cancel the show?"

One gentleman in the back said, "We've been through this before.  We went through World War II and one thing we know is, we're not gonna let them ruin our way of life.  On with the show!" 

The whole busload loudly agreed, and we all went inside and carried on with the day we had planned. 
We gave them a show.  We sang, we entertained, and we even managed to laugh a little.  But instead of ending the show with our usual "Happy Trails to You", we sang  "Proud to Be An American", and "God Bless America".  During that last song, as everyone stood, clasped hands with each other and raised them high above their heads, singing their hearts out, I realized that this was the tower they couldn't bring down;  a shining tower of American strength, faith, and determination.

"We will never forget."

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Down Under

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Well, this is a first....we just got an email from a fella named Alex from AUSTRALIA, who is coming to the
States for a vacation with his Mum and Dad and wanted to come to our show in September.  I don't know
how he found us, but I guess that's why they call it the "world-wide web"!  He saw that we were performing  in New York, and thought we meant Manhattan, which is where he'll be visiting.  So I guess he won't be traveling eight hours from NYC to Albion to see us, but it sure made us feel good! 

So, Hello Alex in Australia, and thanks for visiting our web site!

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Road Trips

---------

We started a whirlwind trip on Tuesday, August 16 when we performed at Visani Dinner Theater in Port Charlotte, FL and then took off early the next morning for two shows  in Jackson, New Jersey.

We want to thank our FAN CLUB once again for showing up at Visani wearing their official T-shirts and waving little Italian flags.  We can't thank you enough!  Just got an email from Del saying we're up to eleven members now;  Pat, Del, Star, Karen, Connie, Regina, Snoopy, Roz & Chuck, and Tim & Alma.  THANK YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH.  It means so much to have you there right in front.

We had a full house that night and that's really great for a Tuesday night in  August in Florida.

------

Then it was off to  the fabulous clubhouse at  Four Seasons at Metedeconk Lakes  in Jackson, NJ where we performed  Friday and Saturday for the Italian American Club.  We were so happy with the way it all went.  Great, Great people to work with, and just a terrific and responsive crowd both nights.  Sold out both nights and looking forward to doing it again.  Many thanks to Larry, John, Gene, Eddie (Fast Eddie that is), Leroy and all the rest for putting it all together.   



 "Two Goombahs and a Donsky"
Buddy, Larry & Gene at Four Seasons at Metedeconk Lakes

 Our timing was good, I guess.  On our way back, we missed the earthquake in Virginia by one day, and missed hurricane Irene by less than a week.  Glad all our friends up there are OK.

We'll keep you posted!

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Palm Aire Gangsters

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Hey, we appreciate a crowd that REALLY gets in the spirit for one of our shows.  This bunch at Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota dressed as Italian gangsters and molls at our June 11 show there.  Love it!

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Where the Buffalo Roam

So there we were in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.  Not because we had a show there, but because our van broke down there.  Uh oh.

Driving merrily along route 79, three hours into our trip back to Florida from New York, the engine just stalled and died.  But many miracles quickly followed.

Miracle number one:  Buddy was driving, not me.  I would have been driving, except Buddy had decided to drive one more hour before turning the wheel over to me.  Whew.  I tend to panic and hit the brakes.  That would have been oh-so-wrong.

Miracle number two:  Almost immediately after the engine died, I saw a sign saying Rest Area so we just glided in and pulled over under a shady tree. 

Miracle number three: Well, it's not exactly a miracle, but thank God we have AAA, two cell phones, and a GPS. 

So Buddy called AAA for a tow truck, checked our GPS for the nearest Chevy service center, also checked  the GPS to find the nearest hotel in case we had to stay the night (which we did) and coordinated all of it with one cell phone on each ear. As he waited on hold with AAA with his cell phone, he made arrangements with the Chevy dealer with mine.  Then while still on hold with AAA, he called the hotel to see if there were any rooms available just in case.  I'm telling you, it was inspiring.  A sight to behold. (You may be asking why he had to do everything while I was just sitting there watching.  That's because I have a tendency to shriek "What do I say??!!  What do I do??!! " when it comes to phone stuff.)

Long story short, we got towed to the service center by a great guy named Frank;  the guys at the Chevy dealer service center were terrific and started working on the van as quickly as possible. But they couldn't finish the job till the next day, so we rented a car from them and got a really great room at the Comfort Suites (of course any hotel that has cookies in the lobby gets my vote).  We went out to dinner, watched HBO, and slept well on a comfortable bed.

So about the buffalo...

Every time we drove back and forth to the dealership to check on the van, we passed a sign that said "Wooden Nickel Buffalo Ranch and Family Restaurant"  with an arrow pointing down a side road.  I was intrigued.  The next day, after a nice complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we were driving yet again past that sign, and I said,  "You think there's really a buffalo ranch down there?"   Buddy said, "Let's go see."
So we followed the sign down the side road, then down a dirt road to the very end where finally ...Holy smokes, there were the buffalo!

So I took some pictures, of course. (And yes, I was afraid to leave the car.  That fence looked awfully flimsy.)

Well, our van got fixed, and we got back on the road just a little over 24 hours from when we stalled out, and headed back on our way home to Florida.  And here we are. 

Thank you God for good people who do their jobs well, and for always being with us when we need you.
And we're so grateful for a wonderful two-week stint in Western New York, doing shows and visiting family and friends.

We'll keep you posted...

- - - - 

One More Month..

We've been happily busy lately and REALLY enjoying doing shows in many venues that are new to us.
 From New Port Richey, to Fort Myers Beach, to Margate, to Palmetto and on and on.   Thank you , thank you one and all.


Now we're looking forward to our trip to Western New York in one month.  We'll be heading for my home town and doing two weeks of matinee shows and two evening shows at Tillman's Village Inn in Albion.  I just talked to my Dad up there and he said they had a morning BLIZZARD yesterday (!!!) so I'm really hoping that one month from now they'll be done with all that.

Meantime, we're doing one more encore show at Visani Dinner Theater in Port Charlotte on May 10.  (Details on the schedule page of our web site www.divaandtheitalianguy.com ) before we head North.  We have two travel groups from the East Coast of FL coming over on motor coaches to see the show, so it should be a great crowd.

Till we see ya,  stay well.
We'll keep you posted.

The Diva sings for SPARCC

Yes, I'm supposed to look like a bag lady!

____

Yesterday I had the honor of opening the SPARCC Second Hand Rose fashion show at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton with my very own version of the famous song, Second Hand Rose. 

So picture this - and I kid you not - 600 women, all smartly dressed, who have each paid $95 a ticket, are seated in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton, having lunch and  and watching a fashion show of.....used clothing.


Let me explain.   SPARCC stands for Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center .  It's a non-profit organization in Sarasota county that, among other things, provides shelter and counseling for victims of domestic violence.   They also provide rape counseling and many educational programs.  According to their web site, "SPARCC’s mission is to provide services to victims of domestic and sexual violence, and to promote a violence-free community through awareness and education."

Okay, so they raise funds in a number of ways, one of them being their resale store called The Treasure Chest on Fruitville Rd in Sarasota.  Now you notice I called it a "resale store".  Translated, that usually means 'thrift shop'.  But with the quality of the clothing donations involved in this place, you really can't think it that way.  I'm talking FABULOUS clothing and jewelry, household items, etc.  Thus, the full-blown, big production fashion show featuring all these fabulous clothes.  At the RITZ no less!

But wait, there's more.  The Treasure Chest staff brings the finest of the store's fare and sets it up for sale in the Ritz lobby for patrons to shop, before and after the fashion show.  And they do!  So here are hundreds of women (who can all afford $95 a ticket) buying 'resale' fashions.   I LOVE IT!!

I can't wait to find out how much money was raised for SPARCC yesterday. 

I am so proud to have been a part of it.

___

It's Good to be in Florida!

As we perform our shows in beautiful, tropical locales here in Florida, we send our most sincere sympathy  to all our friends and family UP NORTH IN THE SNOW.  Please stay warm and safe. 

Meanwhile....back in Sunny Florida,

We want to thank the members of the Captiva Island Yacht Club for their rousing response to our return engagement there last week.  Great people and great fun.



River Isles, Bradenton, FL

And also many thanks to the really fun people of River Isles community in Bradenton where we did our show
this last Saturday.  We hadn't been there since 2007 and had lots of new material for them to listen to and laugh with!

Of course we always have a great time and great crowd at Visani Dinner Theater where we just did two shows, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Quite a busy week.  And we couldn't be happier about it.

Well, I hope our Northern friends enjoyed these photos.  (Am I a mean girl?) 

We'll keep you posted!

Big Fun

Man oh man, we had some big fun at last night's dinner show for the Italian American Club of Venice.  First of all, it was a sold out crowd, with a waiting list, so we WILL be doing an encore performance sometime in the near future.

It was a great audience, with lots of friends in attendance INCLUDING our FAN CLUB!!  We are humbled by the support and dedication of our friends Del and Pat and Star and the rest of the gang who show up wearing T-shirts with our photos on them.  They brought two new members, also wearing the shirts, last night.  God bless you.  You have no idea how great it makes us feel.

It was really fun to have an audience with SO MANY ITALIANS who "got" all of Buddy's Italian dialect jokes and references.  (There are still things he says that I don't understand, but I'm quite certain they're dirty in some way.)

So we want to say a big THANK YOU to all the folks at the Italian American Club of Venice who worked so hard to make it happen, and then pulled it off with penache.  The place looked great, the volunteers all did a fantastic job, including the food servers decked out in Italian style scarves around their necks and nifty aprons.  Just a great night. 

Since I last wrote, we also have performed at Vista Del Lago in Winter Garden, where we were greeted with the same warm fuzzy friendliness and enthusiasm as the first time.  Just a great audience.

And a big thank you to Harbor Cove where we performed for the first time to ANOTHER sell-out crowd, who treated us like real celebrities. 

We are BLESSED and we know it. 

And we'll keep doing this as long as we can still climb up onto a stage!

Thank you to all. 

We'll keep you posted.

Still Groovin' After All These Years

Here we are after 35 years performing together, still out there doing it and loving it.  As we look back on another great year, we are eternally grateful for the gift of entertaining people.

This month we did Holiday shows at Visani Dinner Theater in Port Charlotte, Tropical Palms RV Resort in Kissimmee, and Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood.  We had a chance to sing all our favorite Christmas and seasonal songs.  Of course, Buddy can't resist "embellishing"  a few of them.  Like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with antlers on his head and flashing red lights up his nose.  And our own version of the famous Twelve Days of Christmas.   Instead, we sing "The Twelve Meals of Christmas"  reliving the time-honored Italian tradition of consuming more food than the human body was ever designed to hold.  (By the end of the song I actually feel bloated.)

And once again we want to thank Del and Pat and the rest of our "FAN CLUB"  (see our December 14, 2009 blog post) who came to our show on Saturday at Lemon Bay Playhouse in their official "Diva and the Italian Guy" t-shirts.  God bless them all!  You really make us feel loved!

Thank you to everyone who comes to our shows.  Our sincere wish is that you have a few laughs, feel good, and come again!

We'll keep you posted.

In the Beginning...

Just a couple of EARLY photos from the way-back machine. 
.



My first gig.  Mascot for the Albion volunteer Fire Dept color guard.
Marched in all the Firemen's parades summer of 1957

  And now for a real "Awwww" moment... HERE'S BUDDY!....


Is he just TOO CUTE or what!

 HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT THANKSGIVING. 
We'll keep you posted!

Visual Arts Center

"Caesar's Palace" at Visual Arts Center

We thoroughly enjoyed performing for the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda last Saturday.  It was the final event in a month-long celebration of their 50th anniversary.  The theme of the gala party was "Big Italian Wedding Reception." and a gala it was!  Our show was presented in "Caesar's Palace", which was their Goff Gallery magically transformed into a really cool show room.  There was dancing on the patio to the music of Sammy J., and an actual "wedding" in the other gallery where a couple renewed their vows.  Kudos to the entire gang at VAC for a great evening.



Funny, I don't remember them being at the Last Supper !?

 The member artists at the Visual Arts Center are amazing.  Various artists' work is always on display, and you know the old saying, "I don't know art, but I know what I like!"  Well, that's me.  And there was a lot to like.  (The gift shop is full of wonderful and unique items created by members too, incuding jewelry, novelty items and fun stuff.) 

The artists' theme this month was 'Leo vs. Mike' and several member artists re-created the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, including a HUGE wall-size reproduction of "The Last Supper".

You should visit there.  Click this link and find out more.

So next up...Holiday Shows at Visani Dinner Theater and Lemon Bay Playhouse in December.
See our schedule page for details.

We'll keep you posted!

Foxfire

Foxfire Country Club, Naples, FL

We're on the road again, but this time a bit closer to home (Florida that is.)  Last Saturday we  performed our show at Foxfire Country Club in Naples, FL,  and before that (on Wednesday, the 3rd) we did TWO shows at our favorite dinner theater, Visani, in Port Charlotte.  We were pleased to welcome the "Sun City Center Travel Club", a group of 55 on-the-move members, to our matinee show on Wednesday, as well as many old and new friends for our evening show as well.

This Saturday (Nov. 13) we will perform two shows at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda.  This fabulous visual arts gallery and studio is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, and this Saturday's gala fundraiser party (called the "Big Italian Wedding Reception") is the culmination of a month-long schedule of special events.  Click the Visual Arts link above to find out more.

Looking forward to a great season here in the Sunny South.  
More "hysterical historical" photos coming soon.
We'll keep you posted!

Off the Road Again



Friends at St. Alfio Society Show, Lawrence, MA

 Well!!   What a ride!
We made it safely back to our Florida home after a few harrowing moments on the road.  More on that later.
But first...
We are so grateful to all the audiences we met along the way.  From Jackson, NJ to Albion, NY to Lawrence, MA, to Barnegat and Manahawkin, NJ.  Just great people.  As a result of our show for the St. Alfio Society in Lawrence, we've been invited to perform for the 2011 National Italian American Club Convention in Chicago.  We'll let you know how that plays out. 

So just a couple of heart-attack moments.  Like at the end of our Lawrence show.  After a terrific sold-out show, with  phenomenal  response and tons of old friends and family members in attendance, Buddy went to the parking lot to bring the van around front so we could load.  He walked back in a couple minutes later, white in the face, and said those four dreaded words...."The van is gone."  Everything went fuzzy for me for a few minutes after that.  All the blood drained from my head and all I could say was, "This is when we pray."  And I meant it quite sincerely.  Buddy just kept repeating, "We are so screwed."

Well, long story short, it was NOT stolen, as we feared.  It had been towed.  To a very bad part of town.
Now you must understand, we did not park in a forbidden zone.  The Society had special permission from the parking lot owner for us to park there.  But somebody didn't get the message, and called to have it towed.  (We figure right about the time we were singing "That's Amore", our van was screaming its alarm off as it was being dragged away.  Who knew?)  ANYWAY, with the help of some good friends with influence, we got it back in short order.  None the worse for the experience. 

So we packed up the equipment and went back to our hotel for a short sleep before heading out to New Jersey for a show there the following night.  But when we got to our hotel, there was some kind of event going on which took up every single available parking space and resulted in nefarious-looking types hanging around all the exits smoking cigarettes.  Not good. 

So we just packed up our clothes and checked out and took off down the road at midnight.  About a five and a half hour drive to New Jersey.  By now we're somewhere between tired and wired, but just had to get outta there.   Oh by the way, thank you to the Connecticut Welcome Center for providing a parking space under one of their street lamps for us to catch a few ZZZ's in the van. Ever so comfy. 

Well, after a couple of minor disagreements about our route (I was NOT about to drive through the Bronx on route 95 again, not after my nervous breakdown over that last year), we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge, (thank you very much) and headed down the Garden State Parkway.   All good. 

Two more shows in two days, then back on the road headed home.  Except for me almost pulling in front of a trailer truck at at a toll booth (boy, those truck horns work really well), everything went pretty smooth on the way home.  

As always, THANK YOU GOD.
 
Glad to be back.  Next up...VISANI DINNER THEATER ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3.

We'll keep you posted.