>Hey all;
> I'm going to incorporate three stories into one here. I hope some of
>you get something out of it. On the 11th and 12th of this month there was a
>party for Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, 40th year in show business,
held
>at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh. There were 24 Doowop groups there for
>the celebration, and one of the groups I used to play with was invited to
go,
>The Del Vikings. Of course there was a house band there so I didn't play,
but
>after the show was over, the Host, T J Lubinsky, production manager of
WQED,
>presented all the groups with a gold record of the one that made them
famous.
>Although I didn't sing, I was the drummer, so all the names of the people
>that are on the record are etched onto a name plate, and mine is there. I
>have a gold record, what a thrill that is.Then, A girl I know from Naples
>Florida came up for the show, and we had made prior arrangements to meet
>there. She didn't know me until we were brought on stage. Her name is
Carrie.
>She grabbed me as I came off the stage and introduced herself. We had been
>talking on the internet for about a year. She had a radical mastectomy due
to
>breast cancer, and loves doowop music. Anyway, she came to Youngstown
>yesterday, and as I promised, I took her to the National Shrine of Our Lady
>of Lebanon about 10 miles from here. It just so happens that Father Bill
was
>saying mass, and he's the guy I wanted to see. After the mass was over,
>Father Bill came over and hugged me and asked what I needed. I told him
about
>Carrie, and that she may have to have another operation for the removal of,
>well, I don't wanna talk about that, but he blessed us both with the relic
of
>Padre Pio. We came back to town, and she went back to Pittsburgh for last
>nights show. after she left I went outside and did my normal walk up the
>parking lot. When I got to the end of the lot, I looked left, and said,
let's
>go for it. I started down the sidewalk in front of my building to the next
>building, down their lot, around the back of the building and back up my
lot.
>I counted the steps and it was 1,027. Multiply that by a normal stride of
>three feet and that's 3,280 feet, 2000 short of a mile, and I wasn't tired.
>Needless to say, I think Padre Pio came through for me. I feel great. Just
>thought I'd share that with ya.
>
>
> Gunny
>
>