day 4 – sea day

got my crew id card today!  now i can charge things on the ship to my account and get on and off the ship… hooray!  well, hubby bob and friend rachael, you really came through on getting me lyrics and mp3’s of my major stumpers!  thanks!  tonite’s theme was songs about being on the water… we quickly digressed from water to any liquids at all, especially songs about booze… a lively bunch!  had some fun folks singing along and won’t worry anymore about whether the crowd will be spirited!  still notably absent are piano man’s most vocal fans (only a few, so no biggie)… not sure they even want to give me a chance; i hope i can win them over - oh well!  last night the captain had a big event that took all available bar staff, so I didn’t start til 9 instead of 7...  this meant i got to see the 1^st show, which was the legendary mitzi gaynor!  i didn’t even know she was still alive!  she doesn’t hoof it like she used to, at her age no one really expected that, tho she was funny, charmingly self-deprecating, lots of costume changes while band riffed, and wow! she could still wear a bob mackie dress very well… geez, she must be in her 80’s, and she was still wearing 4” heels and had legs up to there… insane!  she did move a bit slow and gingerly in moments… during my later sets while i knew she was doing her 2^nd show, every time the ship rocked i was a little worried about her!  i finally started having everyone in the bar say, “hang on, mitzi!” every time we listed a little… this will now be the new catch phrase for the ship lurching in the piano bar for the rest of the cruise i think… 

there is an author on board doing a writer’s group on sea days, so i will be going there to work on some writing… missing nino and bob a lot, so i try to call ‘em every day for a few minutes… thank god for satellite phones!  back in the day w/o that and the internet, it would be awfully hard to stay in touch, so for that I am grateful… i continue to put in a couple of hours after the gig each night cross referencing setlists, etc. with my new dear friend, louise... i can't believe how streamlined this is making the gig overall... pretty awesome!  thank you again to bob for helping put all the resources on there... i'll be in costa rica tomorrow, and would like to give a shout out to my brother, dan, i'll try and snap some pics - i am not the best photographer in the family, that's why i play the piano, but i'll try and get a sense of something costa rica-y... big shout out also to my brother from another mother, brett, who will be going to costa rica in february to become more of a wizard of rolfing than he already is... miss you all! - xo, df

p.s. happy belated birthday, mama!!!  you rock!!!