Philadelphia Freedom

Philadelphia Freedom                                                           3371

Sunday, February 5, 2006-12:46 A.M.

Well, I wrapped up another Saturday night with two great shows, courtesy of my co-stars, Maria Walsh of NYC and headliner Buddy Fitzpatrick from the great state of New Jersey.  We really complimented each other, and I think the shows were some of the best I've been a part of in a long time.

Last night's one show was excellent...I sold quite a few copies of my CD and DVD, and tonight's sales really paled by comparison, but I made enough money to underwrite the gas it took to get me here and home, and didn't have to dig too deeply into the profit to eat, so that makes it a successful weekend, as far as I'm concerned.

I went out today for lunch, and there are two shopping malls directly across the street from the hotel.  One of the malls has an Old Country Buffet (a personal favorite of mine), but it literally was a 35-minute wait to get inside and get a table.  There was a line!  I never saw such a thing.  It was piss-raining, too, which made getting around a little tough.  Here in eastern Pennsylvania, you can't make a left turn *ever.*  They have these "jug handle" exits where you go off a ramp to the right, and it swings you around in a perpendicular angle to the road you were just on.  It ok once you get used to it, but when you miss a jug handle, it's a bitch because you have to drive all the way up to the next one.  I hate that.

I'm getting ready for the big 5-hour ride home, and I'm not excited about it, but it has to be done, and better later than sooner.  It's almost 1 AM, so I'll be rolling back into Rock-Town around 6 AM.  I'll sleep, and maybe later in the day, I'll watch the Super Bowl, but to be honest, I'm not too jazzed about the matchup.  Everyone down here in Philadelphia Eagles territory are actually pulling for the Steelers, which I think is gay.  If anything, pull for the Seahawks, because you don't want to throw bragging rights to the other side of the state...I was driving through Philly a few years ago, and the Eagles were kickingthe Steelers ass, and the Philly faithful were loving every minute of it.  There wasn't a car on the street, everyone was either in the stadium or at home watching the game on TV.  Don't give up on that spirit now!  If the New York Jets or Giants were in the Super Bowl, I'd root for whomever was playing them....I'm a Buffalo fan, so screw the other two teams in New York State.  As a matter of fact, the Giants don't even play in New York, they play in New Jersey, so let their team plane go down in a fireball and cook marshmallows on the embers.

Capish?

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY