Caution:
Brief partial baring of soul and other assorted total waste of time ensues.
Leave now if this type of thing gives you distress.
I might suggest you belly up to the Tiki Bar next door.

The Show

Except for a small throw up session on the way to CT on Sat. to drop the kids off at their aunt and uncles everything was smooth sailing as well as with the second leg into the city to see the show.Traffic at the time was light even in NY itself.We parked close to the theatre and walked a block and went in about fifteen minutes early.A small commotion occured when Lenny Kravitz was seated a number of rows in front of us.

The show opened portraying Peter Allen as a small boy in a town called Tenterfield which is in Australia.
A good mother ,a violent drunk for a father and a sinless grandfather were introduced and set the stage for a life to come.A wild life for sure.

Later, how he became involved in a relationship with Judy Garland and his later marriage to Liza Minnelli to only be followed by divorce and a going nowhere career.

A new start and a two week booked solid stint at the Copacabana led to the Radio City Music Hall debut complete with The Rockettes where I was fortunate enough to see him sitting in the fifth row.At the time I didn't realize this was the big start of his career.

Jackman started to improv that a cute and famous celebrity was in the audience and wanted to get Kravitz on stage but wind of the event must have reached Lenny so he left the theatre.Kinda strange.Kinda Peter Allen.Jackman will be a major force in Hollywood in the coming years he has a great stage presence and this type of versatility will ensure he doesn't get type cast at all.He'll be in People magazine for the sexiest man alive issue (I myself turned them down twice).I like it when cool guys get this,like Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp and I don't like it when dweebs like George Clooney make it in.

At the height of his career Allen was stricken with AIDS after the death of his partner Greg.I miss him and all the songs he never got to write or perform.The words and the meanings to his song lyrics are part of the reason I wanted to write a little poetry myself.He really had a zest for life that is an inspiration for me to live while I can and to do it my way.(Frank Sinantra too and many others)



Sunday morning brought a sunny day and an early start with me and my two kids going to Cove Island Park,a place where I spent many,many days enjoying the utter beauty of this beautiful island.It is located on the Long Island Sound and having my two kids to share it with was intense.The tide was high and a gentle breeze caused the sparklese that Caroline kept pointing out.We climbed on the rocks,watched people fish and dive in off the rocks and waited to see if they got eaten by sharks.They didn't.We caught hermit crabs,skipped stones and avoided poison ivy.

We walked the perimeter of the island and ended the tour at the swingset and playground where other families were doing their thing.It was a good time and we did not rush one bit at any time but we needed to think about something to eat so we headed out to get some donuts and go see my folks.We drove up the road and at the corner of where my folks live is a stoplight and I saw the police car parked in front of the house with another one pulling up so I went around the block forgoing the donuts and asked the officer why they where there because it is my parents house.There was only a small chance that my guess was wrong and it wasn't.My father had just died.

He had had pancreatic cancer for a while on top of emphysema and I knew that it was only a matter of time and not much time at that.He was so small and thin.He used to be a tough guy but no more.I left the kids in the kitchen and went to be with him for the last time and just wished I could have gotten there just a little sooner.I recently said much of what I wanted to say to him but there were a few that I had thought of very recently and it was my intent to so this time around.It's OK though all and all I did good and we were on an even keel as I like to say.I am truly "like my father" something most would say as a derogatory remark
and all I can ever reply with and in all earnest is how thankful I am that I am.
It's funny how things work out because I used to also say that I was the "NEW and IMPROVED" Eddie.It had nothing to do with my poem at all.

Thanks Dad for everything you did for me and all the other boy scouts as well,your sacrifice made a real big difference in many lives.I'll never forget this selflessness.Why people choose to focus they're lives on the negatives is a mystery to me.I'll choose to remember the positives.There was a alot to smile about.