Hello and big hugs to everybody! I just got back from New York early this morning and haven't slept in many hours, so I'll keep this brief. It was a great weekend! What a unique pleasure it always is to meet some new JMDLers and greet some long-timers. Above all, thanks to David Lahm and his incredible wife Judy for making this possible, and for allowing us to treat New York as "our personal property." My personal reason for visiting New York was not, in fact, the JMDL event, which turned out to be a happy coincidence. On Friday night five of us - me, Patrick, Patrick's sister Karen, Kay, and Heather - attended a performance of Stephen Sondheim's Follies at the Belasco Theater. That was my main reason for travelling across the continent, and I could go on and on about Follies, but I won't unless you email me privately, in which case I will. For the rest of you, suffice it to say that I returned for the following day's matinee. As always, it was great to meet fellow JMDLers. Rose was the first, and we had a wonderful visit in the bar of Judy's Chelsea, which I must say remains my favorite place to meet for a drink in all of Manhattan. Rose from New Jersey! How great to meet and get to know you!! While Rose and I were drinking and smoking at the bar, Nikki and Alison arrived, bringing with them Julius. Ach, Julius!! It was so great to meet you at last after over three years of occasional exhanged emails. He's even nicer and more handsome than his emails and photos suggest. I recognized Nikki immediately from the Jonifest 2000 photos, and a sweeter person cannot exist. Her savory complement would be Alison, with whom I had the great pleasure of performing a few songs (I wasn't planning to play, but Julius made me, and I'm glad he did - hearing his voice and Alison's while I somehow found the necessary chords for "Willy," "River," and "Blue Boy" was a true highlight for me). Other highlights have to be David Lahm's sensitive and textured playing (he is a master pianist, in the manner of Bill Evans), the beautiful singing of Alison, the extraordinary set of Mitch, who made us all hear "Cherokee Louise" as if it were a brand new song, and the masterly work of Kay Ashley, who is both a friend and an inspiration. It was also so very cool to meet, at last, Sue Cameron, whose posts have been so intelligent and objective, yet so impassioned, and whose voice has inspired me during the last three years to be a better poster. If she hasn't succeeded, the fault is entirely mine: Sue is one of the most clear-headed and friendly of JMDLers, and it was a real privilege to meet her (and Nate) at last. Far, far too little time spent with Debra Shea, who I want to see again and have some time with as soon as possible. My long weekend in New York was so wonderful, and thanks above all to my beloved friend Patrick Leader for being such a great host and for taking time out from his otherwise very busy schedule to spend time with me walking (it seemed like) all over the island. We saw a great if demanding play, Tom Stoppard's THE INVENTION OF LOVE. Which isn't a play about the JMDL, but the title could serve for what we have.......... Roberto _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
