The Hand That Shook The Hand

Can you sense the energy flowing from this blog? That's because I am typing this post, at least in part, with my right hand, the hand that last night shook hands with the man who makes the whole world sing! That's right--I shook hands with Barry Manilow! And so did my wife Jan. And the fact that you are reading this means you are now two degrees of separation from the man himself! You're welcome.

I know you want all of the juicy details--so here they are. Mandy, Barry's first big hit (I can call him Barry now because I shook his hand last night!) came out in 1974-1975. Jan and I started dating in January, 1975, so do the math. We fell in love to Barry's music and grew up with his music (and I can admit that with my manhood still intact!). We've been fans for years and have seen him many times over the years. Last night was Jan's birthday, so we flew up to Vegas to take in the show. We had front row, center seats. Barry was inches from us. Wow. It's one thing to see your favorite band/singer on TV, or in concert from the nose-bleed section, but to be inches from them is awesome.

So...at the end of a fantastic show, Barry looked at me, stuck out his hand, and shook mine! And then he did the same to Jan and a few others in our section. I turned to Jan and said, "Happy Birthday!" That's one we'll remember.

There you have it. The Hand That Shook The Hand of the man who makes the whole world sing just typed about the experience of the Hand That Shook the Hand of the man who makes the whole world sing!