Manishow #3

I really meant to write this last week some time when everything was still fresh in my mind but time just got away from me, so I will have to try my best to remember.

I had known for quite some time (since late November) that Barry was coming to Foxwoods on March 28th, and my best friend and I had talked about going together, but by the time we decided we definitely wanted to go, all of the tickets had sold out! I did not realize at the time the Grand Theater was only a 4,000 seat venue.

So I kept watching for tickets to become available in the intervening months but two together in the cheaper sections never did. All I ever saw was $250 seats way down front, and only singles. I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on what I knew would barely be a 90 minute show.

I toyed with the idea of heading down to the casino and hoping for tickets to be released at the box office on the day of the show, but on the day of the show, it started to snow! I couldn't justify driving all the way down there in the snow, on the CHANCE of getting a ticket.

I got my eyes examined that morning and ran a few errands while Paul was working, and we met at my mechanic's at 10:15 so I could drop off my car for an oil change. We came home, had some food and took a nap.

When I woke up, it was 1:30, and I decided to try the website one more time to see if anything became available. There was an obstructed view seat available  for $119 and I was encouraged, but there was no way I was going to spend that much money not to be able to see. And then I saw a few more open up. They were way down front. One was in the third or fourth row on the aisle, the farthest seat you could get (in that row) from the stage. But in front of that, closer to the middle, in the second row, were two other seats. I clicked on one of them and started the purchasing process. I knew it was going to cost me an arm and a leg but at that point it did not matter. I had just gotten a raise, Paul was making all kinds of overtime, and our bills were all caught up. I simply could not stand the thought of him being that close, an hour and a half away, and me not being able to see him.

While I was buying my ticket I asked Paul what he would think if I spent $250 on a ticket to see Barry Manilow. He was silent for a long time and then he said, what do you want me to say? I said, I want you to say if it will make me happy I should do it! And so he said, You can't take it with you. This was the blessing I was looking for, and I came running into the living room to get my debit card since I did not have the CVV number on the back memorized.

As I finished buying the ticket, the phone rang and it was my mechanic, George. My car was ready. So I quickly got dressed and we went down to pick it up, and I said goodbye to Paul and headed down to the casino in the snow.

It took me nearly two hours to get there so it was nearly 4:00 by the time I parked and all I could think about was getting to the box office to pick up my ticket. I didn't even stop to pee before finding the box office, presenting my license and debit card at will call, and being handed my ticket. In the second row.

I felt so happy to be holding that ticket, I can't even explain it. But after finally using the rest room I still had nearly 4 hours to kill before show time, more really because I wasn't interested in the opening act. I knew Mohegan Sun was only about half an hour's ride and I seriously considered taking a ride over there to gamble, but thought I would just try one or two machines at Foxwoods to see how I liked them.

Well, those four hours went by very fast, due to the fact that I found a Willy Wonka slot machine I absolutely fell in love with, and apparently it was in love with me right back a little bit, because as the show got closer, I really started to win.

Now my hands are getting tired so I won't go into all the details of the show right now, but suffice to say it was amazing, he was amazing, I was physically closer to him than I've ever been before and we may even have made eye contact, and I cannot wait until the next one in June. You would think I would have it out of my system a little bit, having just seen him last week, but as soon as the show ended I felt the exact same way as I did when the last show ended at Mohegan in May of 2013, I could not wait to see him again. And that's the way I feel right now. I cannot wait to see him again.