Today is my Dad's birthday, he is 84. Happy Birthday Daddy. What a sweetheart of a man he is and Im blessed to have him all these years. My dad lives with me for the past 3 years. Im happy about that as his mobility is very limited these days and I can keep a good eye on him.

I received some sad news last night about a girlfriend of mine of over 25 years, whom I hadnt spoken to in the past three months. I was told she is terminally ill with cancer. She is only 49. How sad. She was diagnosed 3 years ago with Ovarian cancer. Her last phone call sounded optimistic, but her disease raised its ugly head again this November on her spine. I immediately called her at the hospital and she sounded so upbeat and accepting of her situation. I on the other hand was very very upset. She told me she is ready to go now. It took every ounce of strength to not start crying over the phone to her in fear it might reverse her good mood. She is in the hospital right now on pain management. Maybe its the morphine drip that is helping with her mood, but Im so amazed at demeanor at her forthcoming death. I am now on a quest to see her before she leaves us. She lives upstate. I will pray for her comfort and for her son and husband.

This coming Saturday Ill be at Greenwood Cemetery to work on the Civil War Project. We are trying to find every civil war soldier interred at Greenwood and present them with a deserved monument issued by the US Government. We have Generals from the North & South and many officers interred at Greenwood. This project has been written about many times by the NY Times, and has been on TV many times. We plan on doing the presentation Memorial Day, 2007. I will be singing the National Anthem and hopefully, God Bless America. Anyone interested in this project can contact grnwdtours@aol.com We always need people to help out.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry, Im a few days late here, but as the saying goes, better late than never.

New Years Eve was excellent. My band rang in the new year at the Hudson River Yatch Club. We had nothing but raves all night long and Im always complemented on my singing voice. Its alway a battle though to get my sound right. My bandleader is always messing with my EQ and his mic always sounds better than mine...hmmmm. The presence on the mic is always much better. Its the most frustrating thing for me. For a vocalist, if you dont hear yourself correctly, you will push your voice. Especially if the presence in the sound is incorrect, i.e. not enough highs etc. OYE Im killing myself cause I dont hear myself properly. Ill go on his mic and its perfection. This is ongoing . Why does he torture me like that? My take: he wants to sound better.. thats not fair, but in this biz..nothing is!

There is nothing like singing. There is really no words to describe the feeling I get when I sing with abandon. Its like leaving your body. I dont feel well unless I sing. Im so blessed to be able to do this consistenly for 4 decades. I could have probably been a big executive in the banking industry. I was being groomed in the mangement trainee program, of the now defunct, Manufactureres Hanover Trust Co. Its either Chase or Citibank now after many merges. At that time, the bank had invested alot of money in me for training and schooling. A new computer department was formed and I was the executive assistant to the Vice President. I could see where this was going for me.. I knew that I would become an officer soon. But guess what? Im already a professional musician pursuing my career after work. I got a recording contract with RCA records and without a second thought, quit my job! Im a rock star now. Heck with banking..music is my passion. The bank was shocked when I handed in my resignation. They were coming at me with all kinds of perks, but no cigar..I was going for my dream. So its about pursuing your dreams and passion and I havent stopped. One good thing is that I have skills. So when the recording contract ends and the checks stop coming in, I pound the pavement for work. Now, I work 3 days a week at a day job and sing on the weekends. Its perfect. At this point in my life, I no longer go on the road, so I stay local and sing basically in tge New York City area and occasionally travel to L.I., N.J. & Westchester County with my band.

I was in Greenwood today. It was so beautiful out. I gave Mother goose some cracked corn and the injured snow goose came and ate as well.. More about that in the next blog.

HAPPY NEW YEAR....Believe in your dreams and pursue them! Every day is a new beginning. Go for it!