Hi Fans!

Richard and Karen thank you all for the lovely cards and gifts you sent, and hope that you all enjoyed very Happy Holidays.

Tour-wise we left our Stars in Downey where they were enjoying Mom's home cooking. Their next gig was in Nebraska, where they stayed three days for concerts in Lincoln, Sioux City and Omaha. As they drove from Omaha to the other two cities, Richard and Karen were impressed with the numerous fields of tall corn. In Sioux City they hired an orchestra, then discovered there were not enough dressing rooms in the theater for everyone to change clothes. They had to rent rooms in a hotel two blocks away, and drove to the theater all costumed. Though it was a 24 hour drive from Omaha, to Sioux City, they managed to arrive in time for an afternoon rehearsal.

A local TV station send cameras to tape part of the rehearsal, and it was aired on the local news that evening. After the gig in Omaha, Maria discovered a glass-blower in one of the Hilton shops, so she had him create a miniature glass piano for Richard and his initials engraved on it. He was thrilled with the unique gift.

The group was in a cold and windy Fargo, North Dakota on Richard's birthday which was filled with crazy happenings. Near the end of the gig, Karen tore the ruffle off her lovely lace dress when it caught on the stage steps. The show must go on, so she returned for an encore in the torn dress.

Manager Sherwin Bash took Richard and Karen to dinner while the rest of the gang got together to plan a surprise party for Richard. Promoter Allen Tinkley supplied two cakes with thirteen candles on each. Party news soon leaked out, and it wasn't long before the hotel was filled with homecoming college students who were also celebrating their victory game.

Rochester, Minnesota greeted them with a strong cold wind, and a temperature of 22 degrees. Though most of the group preferred the warmth of the hotel, three of them ventured out early one morning to watch the Canadian geese. They took four loaves of bread and a huge bag of popcorn to feed their feathered friends. It was a fantastic sight they said, to see thousands upon thousands of these beautiful birds land on the water like well piloted jets.

Memories of Green Bay, Wisconsin are centered on the motel they guested there. The indoor pool was located smack in the center of the building with guest rooms surrounding it. The building was roofed with a bubble-like dome. A very high temperature was maintained to accommodate the swimmers, so Richard and Karen had to turn on the air conditioning to cool it off enough to sleep. The pool was rented out for swimming lessons, so by 8:00 a.m., they were awakened by singing, crying, laughing and screaming youngsters. A frustrating incident took place that evening when, after washing Karen's hair, it was discovered to their dismay, the voltage was not strong enough to support her hair dryer, and the fuse kept blowing. The hotel clerk finally stood by the fuse box, and flipped the switch back on every time it went off. The final hair-do was great.

Duluth was another cold and windy city. After this gig, Richard and Karen flew home to see their Mom who was in the hospital for a check-up.

Davenport's Masonic Temple will always be remembered for the 10,000 stairs they had to climb to get to the auditorium. At least it SEEMED like that many! There was a freight elevator there, but it was so busy hauling freight, there was no room for human cargo. They were very impressed with the beautiful buffet that was catered to them at the Temple.

In LaCrosse they purchased a plastic ten pin bowling game, and soon converted the hotel hall into a bowling alley and Richard won the tournament.

Will leave them in LaCrosse, and continue next month.

EV.

Last changed: Sat Jun 4 00:01:33 EDT 2005