Current location:	Lafayette, IN
Current mood:	nostalgic

Castle Bound...
Well, faithful reader--if, indeed, you still are--my absence from blogging has been, in no small part, because of the impending journey to L.A. and The Magic Castle.

The very journey in which I'm now on. I'm typing this from an Arby's in Lafayette, IN while Pep Boys does some fine tuning on an alignment I got yesterday in Indy.

I left home this morning to begin my trek. I have a few shows on the way out, and then a couple coming home, with a full week of shows at The Castle in between.

Let's start with a flash back, though shall we....?

Friday night I had the honor--and I don't use that word flippantly, that's exactly what it was--to perform back in my home town of Connersville, IN. I did a show as a benefit for "Brats with Bats", a local girls fast-pitch soft-ball team on their way to their version of the World Series. The girls are quite the talk of the town, and need to raise some cash to help with their travel expenses.

My great friend, Dr. Wayne White, suggested the idea of me doing a show where the ticket sales went to the cause. I said, "You bet..."

Here I am with Wayne and Barbra, his lovely wife:



Mancino's--a local restaurant--sponsored the event, and did a job that would make Don King's hair limp. The tickets, posters, and the like were all spectacular.



We had the show at the Amvets, and had over 200 people in attendance.

The most humble part was to see how many people showed up to support the team. Among them several friends of mine from "back in the day" whom I haven't seen in two decades. One of whom was Tammy Trent.



Tammy's father, Claude, and my dad are close friends, and we used to hang out together when they would visit. Tammy came to the show to see me, and surprise me with a scrap-book. It wasn't just me, it's of her life. I did, however, have two pages in it.

Before the show I was told that the goal was to raise $800. When all was said and done--including a silent auction, concession sales, and tickets--we made just over $1,600.00

I felt like Jerry Lewis.

It was so nice to catch-up and visit with everyone. My Mom--who really does say that I'm special--was there with my Grandma Weaver.

Wayne introduced me with no script, and Ed McMahon couldn't have done better. I wish I had a recording of that intro.

Good times.

Here I am with Hannah, during the final trick:



I'm not going to tell you what the final trick was...but it wasn't the Balloon Trick.

So, I'm now on the first leg of my trip. I'll spend the night near Rockford, IL, near the Wisconsin border.

Stay tuned...