The Coldplay Concert.

Kerry is leaving to go back up to Gainesville this afternoon. Once again it was totally fantastic to have her home. We had a lot of fun as usual most of it either in front of the big screen TV or shopping. Yeah, we did lots of shopping.

The highlight was definitely the ColdPlay concert at the West Palm Beach Amphitheater. It was really an amazing show. They are a very talanted, british and somewhat Beatlesque (which is a true compliment coming from me) band. There are four of them just like The Beatles. The very cute frontman, Chris Martin is a vegetarian like Paul and is married to Gwyneth Paltrow. Lucky Gwyneth Paltrow.



We had really great seats. They were located in the front row of the second section right behind the private boxes so we could really see and had leg room to boot. At one point in the concert the boys ran up to a small stage setup very near us and we were able to get VERY close. It was very exciting and brought me back to the last time I saw Paul. Yes, my Paul. I snuck up to the third row and was very close. Very close. I saw him and he saw me....well, back to Coldplay.

This is Paul McCartney in 1993

OK...back to Coldplay

They played my two favorite songs which are Fix You and The Scientist so I was happy. Kerry was totally ecstatic during the entire concert. We stood and danced and sang for two hours. Kerry lost her voice (strangely familiar). They even sang I'm A Believer which was a fun
addition for us old folks.

When the concert was over Coldplay had a new fan (me) and we were each given a free CD which contains 9 live songs that they played at our concert. It is a very nice souvenir and I am playing it as I write this blog. Getting out of the venue was a total nightmare but looking back on it, being stuck in traffic for 2 hours with Kerry was just another chance for us to be together. For me, that's the only thing that matters.

Frontman Chris Martin

We Are The Champions

Whenever I go to the track to walk I always bring my Ipod. I have a thousands of songs on it along with three Beatles movies to help pass the time when I am waiting in a doctor's office or traveling on a airplane. Being the creature of habit that I am I usually listen the the same few playlists which consist of Beatles or solo Paul music. You know, A Hard Day's Night, The White Album, McCartney, Band On the run, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard or Flaming Pie.

When I first got my Ipod Kerry said "You know Mom, you really should put it on shuffle. That way you don't know what song is coming next and you also get to hear stuff that you forgot about." This morning I decided to take her advice. Sometimes the kid is smart.

When I got to the track I put the Ipod setting on shuffle and started on my way. Of course, the first few songs were The Beatles and Paul as most of my music is. I have hours and hours of live performances, outtakes and of course the generally released music. I was happily walking as fast as I could while singing as loud as I could. Yeah, the people who go there are used to this activity.

All of a sudden I heard the three drum noises that start off Queen's We Will Rock You. I haven't listened to Queen in a very long time and We Will Rock You is one of my favorites. It got me walking really fast and as I rounded the track another Queen song started playing. It was We Are The Champions. This song brought back a very special memory for me.

When Kerry was playing soccer she tried out for the under 13 girls travel soccer team. I was all for it considering the fact that I had already turned into a total soccer mom monster. This team was very talented and made it into the regional playoffs. This was a really big accomplishment as they had to play and beat the best teams from all over the state of Florida to get that far. It was a very exciting time for the team and they played really well. Well enough to made it into the finals.

The final game was a squeaker. Our team won by one goal and when the whistle blew to end the game the girls and the parents went wild. After the celebration was over Kerry and I decided to put her stuff in the car so we started walking back to the parking lot. We had to pass by all the players and parents of the team that had just been beaten. They were very sad and many of the kids were crying. Yeah, we felt bad for them but we were on cloud nine. After all, we were the champions.

All of a sudden we heard Freddie Mercury's voice singing We Are The Champions. It was coming from the losing team's boom box. I guess it was an attempt to make the losing kids feel better. Oh wow, did Kerry and I laugh. We kept saying to each other "They're not the champions, we are." As you can imagine, this memory stuck with us and to this day every time either one of us hears this song we think of that wonderful day when Kerry and her team won the Regionals. It was truly one of the best memories of my life. Oh how I miss those heady days of girls soccer but what a fantastic memory that is.

I'm glad that I finally listened to the kid and put my Ipod on shuffle. I wonder what other great memories are on there.......

Viva Las Vegas Final Installment

Part of the Las Vegas experience is taking in a some of the large production shows and/or exhibits that are a staple on the Las Vegas Strip. Every hotel has something to offer. It was hard to make a decision when there were so many activities to choose from. So many shows, so little time.

Kerry had voiced her opinion about wanting to take in the double exhibit at the Tropicana Hotel. The first exhibit was called The Bodies. Kerry is a pre-med major in college and really wanted to see this. I was hesitant but as always Kerry got her way with me and I was happy I had given in to her. It was an amazing experience for both of us.

This exhibit featured actual human bodies that had been dissected and preserved so that all the different systems of the body could be featured. Each room had a different theme. One of the rooms featured the respiratory system where we got to see actual human lungs. A different room showed the circulatory system where human arteries, veins and hearts were displayed. Another room was dedicated to the muscles and how there worked. Another room featured the reproductive system complete with conjoined twins. It was an awesome thing to see.

There also seemed to be an underlying theme of this exhibit which was healthy living. We got to hold both a lung from a nonsmoker and a diseased smoker's lung. The smoker's lung was black and had small holes in it while the nonsmoker's lung was pink and smooth. There was a huge see through trash can where people could throw away their cigarettes after holding the different lungs. It was about three quarters filled with different brands of cigarette packages.

We also got to see arteries and veins that were were clogged with cholesterol and fat from a lifetime of unhealthy eating and not exercising. There were human hearts with fatty deposits on them as if to say "eat healthy food and exercise or be sorry". I felt Richard's presence in this room. LOL

The second exhibit was called The Titanic. As far back as I can remember Kerry had been fascinated by the sinking of The Titanic. Long before the movie came out my house was filled with books and movies on this subject. Kerry was the house expert on The Titanic so we had to see this exhibit. She still has a piece of Titanic Coal that was brought up from the sea floor.

When you first walked in you were handed a replica of the boarding pass that was given to all of The Titanic passengers. Each boarding pass contained personal information of a real person who was on the ship when it sank. At the end of the exhibit there was a list of all the people who were on the boat and you got to look up the person on your boarding pass to see if your person survived or not. It was very moving.

We went through one of the doors and found ourselves standing in front of the grand staircase. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time. This was the staircase that was featured in the movie.

We went through another door and found ourselves in a replica of the first class cabin. Another door led us to the third class accommodations. There were things in the rooms that had been brought up from the Titanic when Richard Ballard found it so many years after it sunk.

One of the rooms was a replica of the outside deck at night complete with cold weather, boat noises, icebergs and stars. It was amazing.

We got to see many different things that were brought up from the sea. Plates, bowls, clothes, luggage, socks and shoes, hats, hair pins and many other things. It was very sad to think that these things actually belonged to someone.

In the last room Kerry and I looked up our boarding pass people. They had both died that night. It was very sad. We were both very glad that we had seen this exhibit. Don't miss it if you ever get the chance.

Our last night in Las Vegas we went to the Cirque de Soliel Beatles Love show at the Mirage Hotel. I had already seen it but Kerry had not. It was absolutely fantastic. It was like being dropped into a 60's acid trip. The costumes were amazing and the surround sound Beatles music made this Beatlefan very happy. Pictures of Paul that were 100 feet high didn't hurt either. LOL


This was a vacation that I will never forget. Kerry and I got even closer than before if that is possible. I know that she will always remember the trip to Las Vegas with Mom and that was what Pat wanted when he first suggested it. What a guy!

Thanks Pat, we love you.

I am a Beatlefan

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Beatles fan. On February 9, 1964 I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on black and white TV in my living room. I had heard a little bit about them and had actually seen a very blurry bit on The Jack Paar show a week or so earlier but really had no idea how my life was about to change.

I remember all the excitement and hype that was going on about this strange group from England called The Beatles. It seemed that all anyone was talking about were the screaming girls and their long hair. Nobody was talking about their music. As soon as the Ed Sullivan Show came on that night I knew why. They were unlike anything we had ever seen.

By the end of that night everyone had their favorite Beatle. For me it was Paul McCartney. He was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen on the planet. I knew this perfection could never be repeated in another human being. He had big round eyes with those fantastic eyebrows peeking out from underneath his every hair in place perfect Beatles haircut. I was gone, never to come back.

I screamed when I went to the movies and saw A Hard Day's Night and Help. I even screamed at the TV when Paul was on. "Wait for me Paul. Please wait for me". My parents, brother and dog thought I was out of my mind. But I wasn't. I just suffered from the condition that had been named Beatlemania and I had it bad.

In 1966 my dad came home with two tickets to The Beatles at Shea Stadium. He knew someone in radio and had gotten me field level box seats over the dugout that The Beatles came out of. I made a deal with my best and Beatlesfan friend Helene. I would provide the tickets and her mom would drive. I remember when The Beatles were announced and the jet engine screams started I looked up and there he was. Right in front of me. Paul!!! He turned around and waved at the crowd. I was sure that he made eye contact and was waving at me!! If I was gone before I was really gone now.




I followed "the lads" all throughout my life with my love of Paul never wavering. He married Linda and I sat shiva. LOL I never stopped loving Paul. I got every album that he worked on and read everything about Paul I could get my hands on. He continued to look fine through the years.

I managed to see Paul 9 more times through the years. Each time was more fantastic than the next. The last time I saw him I was in Tampa and I had managed to sneak my way into the third row. There he was, right in front of me and close too. He looked in my direction and then it happened again. He made eye contact with me. He saw me and waved at me. No!!! I am not crazy. LOL

I will be 56 in a few weeks and Paul being 9 years, 7 months and 11 days older than me will be 65. He is still right there in my life making me happy. Every time I hear his voice or music I smile. I also smile when I see something extraordinary done to Beatles music. Click the link below. You won't be sorry.

Juggling to The Beatles

Outside Versus Inside

I am off today. Yay!! I say yay because I haven't been to the track since I started working last week. It took a week for me to get comfortable with my new schedule so when I woke up today I decided that today was going to be the day that I get back. Get back to where I once belonged.

I have been getting all of my exercise inside lately. Inside the gym at work, inside the yoga studio and inside my home. I had forgotten how much I love my walks at "the track".

It isn't really a track in the traditional sense. It's more of a walking park. It is one mile in length with each tenth of a mile marked off. This makes it easy if you want to incorporate some jogging into your workout. You can walk a tenth or two and then jog a tenth or two. That's what I usually do.

It is a gravel track which has allowed me to power walk consistently for over 15 years. My left knee is screwed from a motorcycle accident many years ago and power walking 4 miles every day would have been impossible if not for the gravel track. The pain would have been too great but the gravel makes the surface much more pliable and I don't feel much pain after walking.

It really is a beautiful place. It is a little piece of the country hidden in the hustle and bustle of Coral Springs. There are trees and plants growing all over. There is also a canal along the back of the park with turtles, ducks and fish living there. We even have 6 resident cats. They are always on the prowl for a lizard or stalking the ducks. We make sure the cats are very well fed. We don't want the ducks don't become sitting ducks for the cats.

It was cool this morning with clear skies. The air was crisp and clear. The birds were singing and the cats were waiting for Rose to come with their breakfast. As I was walking the sun was rising and the sky was turning from black to pink and orange and then blue. My music of choice for today was the soundtrack from The Beatles Love show. I suddenly realized that I had really missed this place that I call "the track" which is really named Ralph Diaz Memorial Park. I missed my outside exercise. I had decided that on working days I would skip the track as I don't want to burn myself out. I am rethinking that decision. I'm thinking that even if I am getting my exercise at work I should still be going to this place that helps my spirit fly. OK, outside wins.