Sunday, May 8, 2011



Tonight was Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball at Madison Square Garden taped for a HBO special. Marissa Tomei and Liza Minnelli were in the audience. The small Italian kid on stage gave tribute to the other accomplished Italian women in the audience. Liza had a little help in her career from the contacts of Judy Garland, her mother’s fame. Marissa is just a sexy smart actress who did a fabulous job in the movie ”My Cousin Vinny.”
A great show full of great lighting, giant monster on stage, always gave tribute to her “little monsters” her audience. Like all great artists who break out of the mold of want-a -be famous stars, she mentions the teachers that said she wasn’t tall enough or blond enough to be a star. Too ethnic. She was hoping they could see her now performing in the city she grew up in, in front of a sold out concert in front of thousands.
I’m glad the concert was tonight and that tomorrow is Mother’s day. I’ve been married for 33 years. Met my wife while she was playing guitar in front of about 200 people every Saturday night. She led a singing group. She was the cover song and the last song performed, and written by her produced by her high school. She got the lead role in the high school play. Taught and played piano, guitar, bass, drums sings in harmony and saw another little Italian girl perform tonight. She wished she was right there on stage.
I planted myself in her life. After being steady fixtures in each of our lives through out high school, I decided not to go to Notre Dame and attend the same college as her in New York. She majored in music. We got married at 20 years old. At that point the career on the road for her came to a screeching halt. We have 4 kids and she spent most of her life raising kids and teaching in schools while I got my Masters and Doctorate.
I’m sure if there was a different yellow brick road we could have taken, she wanted to be the Madonna or now Lady Gaga on stage; only she would have played all those instruments in all those hit songs too. We met because I used to carry her guitar home after her performance. I should have become an entertainment lawyer and we should have gotten more babysitters throughout the years so she could perform more on the road and wouldn’t be so envious of these women’s successful careers.


At the end of Lady Gaga’s concert, she gets off stage, changes into street cloths, thanks her father and gets driven away to relax. None of the famous women mentioned have a husband of 33 years and 4 kids that still live with them. We might not have the hit records or timeless movies but we are blessed and it is a Happy Mother’s Day. Have a drink and try not to think of what could have been in your lives. Be happy for today and be glad you have someone to go home with and your own vagina monsters to go home to.

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