Bark At The Moon

Bark At The Moon                                               1175

Wednesday, June 22, 2005-1:50 P.M.

Good afternoon from the Lady Lake Public Library in Lady Lake, Florida.  I'm home safe after a grueling drive from Biloxi, Mississippi, to my dad's house in Central Florida.  What a weekend it was, even if the shows were on Sunday and Monday rather than Friday and Saturday.

Sunday night's show was at a bar called Howl At The Moon in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  All the warnings I received about the rough 'n' tumble crowds they get were hogwash.  Nobody sent shots up on stage for me, nobody heckled me beyond what I call a "joyous heckle," one where the audience member is so moved by what you said that they felt obligated to respond, and they were very attentive during my whole set.  And to top it off, I tied the merchandise sales record for this tour.  Hooray for me!

Howl At The Moon is one of those "dueling piano" bars, and one of the guys looked just like Dana Carvey.  We wound up speaking for a few minutes while Paul Hooper was on stage doing his thing.  We also had a guest spot, Marc Ryan, who was visiting from Los Angeles.  It was a great show all the way around, and I had a lot of fun.  Which was good, because the night started out with a total cock-up, I arrived at the hotel after my 5-hour drive, and the desk clerk had no knowledge of me, the bar which had been lodging their comics there for years, and couldn't pull up any name I gave him.  I proceded to the bar (which the desk kid had never heard of and didn't know where it was even though it was three blocks down the road) and hooked up with Paul, who had the same problems I did.  We stayed at the club until the assistant manager, Mick, let us in, and he called Steve, the manager, who went down to the hotel and set things straight.  I won't tell you the name of the hotel chain, but I've spent many a Days Inn them.

The next day, I had a two hour drive to Biloxi, Mississippi, the home of the Casino Magic Resort.  The room, a jacuzzi suite, was one of the nicest rooms I've ever been put up in.  I like the casinos, because they go all out to make the talent feel comfortable.  I got a comped buffet pass, and had a nice meal before the show, but skipped the crab legs...I justdon't know how to open those things.  It seems like too much work to go through for some food.

The show was good...the average age in the room was easily 65 or older.  I did a clean show, mugged around a little bit, and enjoyed my time.  As I got off stage, which was a standard Vegas-style showroom thing with a big ramp going down the middle of the room, a lady came up to me and said that she saw me in New Smyrna Beach, Florida two weeks ago.  What are the odds, I said.  Apparently, the odds were 1 out of 1, because there we were.

The trip back to Florida yesterday was grueling.  560 miles, and I managed it in just under 8 hours.  You do the math...and consider stops for gas, rest areas and bathroom breaks, and the odd construction slowdown here and there.  Also, there were cops everywhere, which I managed to evade, praise the Lord.  Then after a nice nap, I headed to Orlando to pick Ray Salah up at the airport.  We're doing the big Giggles Georgia tour, which I enjoyed very much last year.  I'm looking forward to our shows this weekend.  It's always a bonus to go to nice places where they treat you nice, and an even bigger bonus to bring a friend along to enjoy it with.

I got word today that I just picked up a one-nighter that falls in the middle of a week where I would normally have had the night off.  Just when I think I can't possibly schedule any more work this year, I managed to squeeze one in.  God is looking out for me, no doubt about it.

I continue to miss my wife and daughter, and I'm counting the days until I return home.  For the record, that's 13 days.

Have a wonderful week, and remember that God can't answer prayers that you don't make.

Ralph Tetta
Rochester, NY