Turning 50 with the Divine One!

My Vegas experience is nothing short of a miracle. It was so amazing, so full of non-stop special experiences, I found it hard to write it down. But I know Don would never forgive me if I didn’t (joking). The trip was a 50th Birthday present from my husband (George). I was reluctant to go since the economy has been so bad and he has been working under a 35% salary cut for over 6 months. He simply said, “You only live once!” I mentioned to a friend that I was struggling, wanting to be practical and she immediately offered to purchase our Showgirl tickets for us! Lets say at that moment caution was thrown to the wind!

At the airport and on the plane I met 6 people going to see Showgirl, 2 of them smug Muthas. Ask my husband, I talk to anybody and everybody I meet! As we checked into Caesar’s, I learned the registration clerk was originally from, PA. We chatted and next thing you know we were upgraded to Junior suite! We did, some sight seeing and when we got back to our room, there was a package and a note for me. It was card from Rosie at the registration desk wishing me a happy birthday and thanking us for being so kind to her and a set of stone Caesar Palace beverage coasters!!!

By this time I hadn’t slept in well over 24 hours. In addition to the show I was meeting a friend I’ve Facebooked, text and spoke on the phone with for almost a year. We weren’t supposed to meet until Monday, but decided we just couldn’t wait. She gave me directions where and when to meet her outside Caesars. We waited and the texts began to come,” just a few more minutes…I’m walking..” Then out of the door pops that gorgeous mane of hair with that unmistakable gorgeous smile…Bette Sussman! Finally, the hug I’ve been waiting to give for what felt like forever. We joke about the fact that her actual home is 2 hours from ours but we had to fly clear across the country to finally meet!! You all know what a stunningly beautiful woman she is but I can tell you/ she is also one of the kindest, most generous, funniest and incredibly supportive people you could ever hope to meet. I will be forever grateful for the amount of time and the number of incredible experiences she shared with us throughout our visit.

We did so many things while there, including the Grand Canyon, the skywalk, I rode a horse to and along the edge of the canyon. We had our picture taken with a lion cub. (We actually got to meet and pet 2 cubs because the first one wouldn’t settle down for the photo!) Of course we did all the touristy stuff and did all the recommended things from friends and family.

When my Birthday arrived I was over the top, I was going to see both my Bette’s perform!!!!!!! We had dinner at Sushi Roku, a big deal if you know George’s aversion to seafood and particularly sushi. We underestimated the time a little and were hurriedly trying to leave the restaurant, but the staff had a surprise for me, three types of ice cream on a plate with drizzeled chocolate that said Happy Birthday!!

We got to theater and purchased a program. We were taken to our seats in the 16th row center. The seats were amazing, the view and acoustics were perfect! As we were sitting there a woman approached (I didn’t get her name) and spoke with my husband, she handed him an envelope and told him when the show ended to wait and she would come and get us! Needless to say I was stunned! There was quite a conspiracy of kindness that worked to surprise me with meeting the Divine Miss M!! Just prior to entering the theatre, my husband informed that efforts were being made to have me meet her but since he hadn’t heard he was sure it didn’t work out. At this point it didn’t even matter to me. I’ve had so much fun, I was going to see Shayna Steele, Kamilah Marshall, Jordan Ballard and Bette Sussman play a set the club Freakin’ Frog after the show. Everything up to this point had already been so far beyond any thing I could ever have dreamed.

The show started and the band began to walk on the stage we waved and Bette Sussman acknowledged us in her unique funny way! When the Divine One took the stage it was nothing short of magical. Of course it felt as though she was singing directly to me. I was mesmerized, it was magical watching both Bettes, the Harlettes, the Caesar Salad Girls, the band, The Fat City Horns…all of it! It was the fastest yet longest 90 minutes of my life if you know what I mean! The audience was electric, several standing O’s, she had us eating out of the palm of her hand! It was nothing short of spectacular. What an extraordinary group of talent all in one place, performing seamlessly like this is what they were born to do.

When the show ended and we waited, I realized how lucky I was not to have been expecting to meet Miss M up until the last minute, I didn’t really have much time to get too nervous! We were taken to the infamous elevator and the green room. We waited and in a few minutes in pops Bette Sussman, she and my husband were beaming with the knowledge of how well they surprised me. As we waited I noticed Olivia Newton John, Bob Mackey and Tony Basil. They were all in conversations but Ms. Newton John took a second to acknowledge and say hello to us!

I looked around the room and there she was…Bette Midler! I finally realized it wasn’t a dream! This is real!!! We were called to come meet her, by this time Bette Sussman had gone to her dressing room. I introduced myself and much to my surprise she said, “Oh yes, I’ve heard about you.” My immediate response was to say “Oh no, should I leave now?” she laughed and told me no, it was all good things! I asked if she had been to NYRP since her birthday and she said she hadn’t. I told her about the BLB donations, she put her hand to her heart and seemed to fill up a little and said, “For me? That is so wonderful!”. I told her about the box, mostly I told her about the note I taped inside. The end of the note said, “Consider this the hug I would so dearly love to give you in person. My circumstances as they are now won’t allow for a trip to Vegas let alone a Smug Mutha’ package.” She laughed and agreed to ignore that section when she gets it! We talked about the show and both of us told her how good it was. I asked her if she would sign a program for a friend of mine whose mother is terminally ill. I explained that a few years ago when my mother died this friend took me to see KMB to lift my spirits and I know I can’t change things for her but this would give her at least a smile. She asked my friends name and wrote a personal note to her. Before she handed it back to me, she gave me the biggest hug and said” this is so kind of you.” We got the picture taken and my husband asked if he could give her kiss for making this day so special for me. She said, “Of course you can!” As I turned to leave she gave me another hug and said, “I hope we meet again soon”! As we left the room, Bette Sussman met us and lead us out to the casino floor.

There we met Jordan Ballard. I introduced myself and told her we are friends on FB and she says yes we are!!! It was on to the Freakin’ Frog for the next show! I will write about that next. For now it’s off to bed. To Don, and all my fellow Betteheads that have encouraged me to write this, thank you, how wonderful to relive it!