Chapter 123

We went back to the Non-Broadway music for the first half of our evening, with our country music well received, as well as our older and most current music. Specifically, they most enjoyed my choral “Sunshine on My Shoulder” and my personal singing of “Some Days Are Diamonds.”

After our break, the boys wowed the crowd with the BOOK OF MORMON set and a cut version of our FROZEN set. I filled the rest of it with some RENT and YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN music.

My wife’s “Let It Go” and Princess’ “My New Philosophy” were the highlights of the evening. I really enjoy it when everybody gets a chance for a big applause as had happened with each of them.

Of all people to get our money from at the end of the night, was John Elway, who showed us his Super Bowl Rings and at 55 years old looked pretty damn good.

“Mr. Thomas, I brought my wife and grandkids to this show and we were all very entertained. We have heard about the possible 50 State Capital Tour you are planning, and we will welcome you back as an adopted son of Denver.”

“On behalf of the Denver Metropolitan Football Stadium District, I would like to present you with this check for $15,750,850.”

For that, I got a little help and stood up to shake his hand. His smile is a great one and both Jenn and Isabel asked to have their picture taken with him. He didn’t mind at all, so I asked for a photo with Mrs. Elway, who told me to call her Jane.

After the photo, Jenn pulled me away and we said goodbye to them all. I wanted to walk a few steps, but Princess assertively got me in my chair. And we were on our way to Amarillo, Texas, halfway to Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

I purposely had this tour loaded up with days off, so we would never be too tired to perform. That’s why we are taking 44 days to get to the 31 stadiums.

In our bus a two-stepping Sam Choate broke out into...

Amarillo by morning,
up from San Anton.
Everything that I have
got is just what I have got on.

When that sun is
high in that Texas sky
I will be bucking it to county fair.
Amarillo by morning,
Amarillo I will be there.

(Jason came in on the mouth organ aka the harmonica)

They took my saddle in Houston,
broke my leg in Santa Fe.
Lost my wife and a girlfriend
somewhere along the way.

Well I will be looking for eight
when they pull that gate,
And I’m hoping that
judge ain’t blind.
Amarillo by morning,
Amarillo’s on my mind...

A tight turn to get on the highway, broke up the number, as Stuart started the applause for our country music prodigy. I felt a twinge suggesting I needed a new pill. It was also itching a little, which Nancy N explained meant that it’s healing. Jeff broke his leg when he was ten years old and apparently, he went a little crazy when it had turned into an itch he couldn’t reach to scratch.

After we arrived, with Peter’s help, I got offloaded and in my chair. After finding out who I was, the young man behind the counter handed me my box from Puritan’s Pride, which Tiffany quickly took from me.

I already had my lap full. My girls would be her, Jennifer and Princess. We were at the Wyndham Garden Amarillo Hotel and went straight to the breakfast buffet which was still going. Jenn got me my food, and I had her and Tiff on either side of me.

Also, at our table were the Prefontaynes. I was so pissed that I couldn’t be physical with any of them, but I needed to be patient.

I thanked Jenn for the food, giving her a kiss. Both her and Princess took turns feeding me with the Prefontaynes all giggling all meal long. Afterward, my three and me went upstairs. Tiffany and Princess opened up the box like it was Christmas. After looking through it all, the two girls made me a ‘cocktail’ of pills to be taken together three times a day. Of course, I took it, and it had virtually no taste. That’s better than it tasting awful.

During all of this, Tiff was helping me explain why I got the supplements. The girls thought that it sounded reasonable, I had only spent two hundred dollars and had enough of everything to last at least six months. They had some great deals at the time.

I got my pain pill I had requested. I got a kiss from everyone, and Princess lay down with me for my nap. We had a really nice kiss first.

After we got up, I wanted to spend some time in the spa, so I took another pair of my Bermuda shorts and they became my suit. We were joined in the spa with Stuart and his wife, Peter & JenJen and Bonnie Slaughter, our first Trombonist.

My back found a nice jet, as did my left leg. I figured I shouldn’t let a jet hit my healing lower leg, so I straddled one hitting Bonnie by accident.

“Is your broken leg ... looking for a good time, Mr. Thomas?” she said to me with a smirk. She’s kind of cute, reminding me a little of Kristin Kreuck (from Smallville) with glasses on.

“Sorry dear, I was just moving my leg. Nothing personal ... unless my broken leg turns you on?”

Jennifer pulled me to her saying, “Turn it off, Mr. Thomas,” causing laughter all throughout the spa.

“Ask me again Bonnie, after I get my cast taken off,” I replied.

“How long will that be?” Zoe Prefontayne asked.

“Two or three weeks. Maybe by the time we are in Philadelphia, possibly sooner,” I said hopefully.

The time did feel very nice. “Can I get on your lap, Boss?” Zoe asked.

Jenn looked at me and said, “Sure honey, go ahead. I think he’s safe.”

“Careful,” I said grabbing her hips to help her down easily.

“What does she mean by being safe, Michael?”

“She thinks, because of my healing leg ... that I can’t tell if I have a really pretty girl on my lap ... but I think she’s wrong, don’t you?”

“I don’t know about that, you just looked so sad. I wanted to make you happy ... are you happy now?”

I put my arms around this Little One, tickling her. She was one of the Boylan sisters in our first true show ANNIE and has just gotten cuter growing up looking more like a twin to her older sister Joan, than being over three years younger.

“I’m really happy now,” I told her, “How about you?”

“Heaven,” was all she said.

My energy was coming back, if not my leg. The rest of our day in Amarillo morphed into our arriving at our

10^th Stop
Arlington, Texas
Dallas Cowboys
AT&T Stadium – 80,000
(Expandable to 105,000)
Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West

Home of the Dallas Cowboys. This stadium held just over 105,000 people. That gave me chills all by itself. Maybe after this tour is over, when the 50 State Capital Tour is done, the following summer we could go around to all the largest capacity College Football Stadiums while we schedule someone into the Mansion during that same time. That’s a long way away, but I could see us doing it. We will have our deferral kids back, and others off on their deferral.

The flow of younger kids needs to keep going, so I will need to make regular trips to the elementary schools and find the undiscovered jewels. I am expecting many from the other schools to come over and audition for the GSS, especially after my visits to the schools the week before we left on this tour.

I was hopeful they had the talent to grow in their own system, much less the possibility a few may join our/my professional GSS.

I found out that Rivet High School had twin brothers who both played the Bassoon. I hadn’t met them before we had gone off for our tour, but my fingers were crossed!

We pulled up to the Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West and I was, as usual, quite hungry. Princess and Jenn were making sure I wasn’t getting fat, which I wasn’t. I had been losing some of my tone, so with supervision from Peter and my mother, after breakfast, I had started some upper arm and chest workouts on the various hotel workout machines.

Again, we were in the middle of the football field, four feet above the actual grass field. We had gotten the music stands and chairs everyone had been providing us with. They even had a ramp for me to be pushed up ... how nice of them!

I heard Stuart in my ear, “Dude, this is the biggest tech area I have ever seen. It’s as big as my apartment was in Vincennes!”

“Calm down Mr. Holland, bigger isn’t always better, you know?”

“Says the ‘biggest’ guy I know,” he said with the giggle of a little girl.

“I may just completely change up the set, little buddy,” I said to him.

“Shutting up, Boss. We go in five.”

“Thank you, five. By the way Stuart, I need to talk to you about some corporate business on the trip from here to our next stop, OK?”

He answered with a somewhat nervous, “Sure thing.”

I turned around to get a kiss from Jenn, Princess, and Nancy. I sent out the orchestra, with Honey on the trap set, to a big celebratory applause. I love that sound!

My wife pushed me out to my keyboard getting a wonderful sound from this huge crowd. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left.

“That’s my wife, you guys ... be nice.”

The wolf whistles trebled. I laughed out loud...

Stood there boldly
Sweatin’, in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I’d never felt that strong
Like a rock{br}

I was eighteen
Didn’t have a care
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock{br}

(Offstage oohs from my singers)

My hands were steady
My eyes were
clear and bright
My walk had purpose
My steps were
quick and light
And I held firmly
To what I
felt was right
Like a rock
Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin’, ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock
And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers
and their schemes

I stood proud,
I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed
in my dreams{br}

(A great interlude of Jason, the horns and me)

Twenty years now
Where’d they go?
Twenty years
I don’t know
I sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they’ve gone
And sometimes late at night
When I’m bathed in the firelight
The moon comes calling,
a ghostly white
And I recall
I recall
Like a rock, standin’, arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin’, from the gate
Like a rock, carryin’, the weight
Like a rock
Like a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock

(Jason brought it home with a pure 60s rock riff)

Our large stadium of people made a sound that reminded me of the whoosh from when I saw a shuttle launch. It was followed by applause and cheers.

“Thank you ... thank you very much. My name is Michael Thomas and let me say to you, “HELLO”

That brought out the boys and we did our entire usual BOOK OF MORMON set to a rip-roaring applause from all sides.

I called out Geena, Sofia, Shirley, Emma And Martha, along with Daniel, Johnny and Rich Mitchel to sing one of my favorite songs from BYE BYE BIRDIE...

Hi, Nancy!
Hi, Helen!
What’s the story, morning glory?
What’s the tale, nightingale?

Hi, you Hugo!
Hi, you stupid!
Why do ya wanna
go get pinned up?
Well, I heard they got pinned
I was hopin’ they would
Lost your moral
Now they’re livin’ at last
Are you nutty
Goin’ steady...

Hello, Mrs. Garfein, is Charity
home from school yet?

Goin’ steady, goin’ steady,
Goin’ steady!
Well, well, oh oh oh
Well, well, oh oh oh
That’s the way it should be!
They will be happy, I know!
Going Steady for me.
That’s the way it should go!

Goin’ steady, goin’ steady,
Goin’ steady,
Steady for good
Goin’ steady,
Goin’ steady,
Ohhhhhhhhhh yeah!!!

Very little reverb made this number work, with a great roar from those who must have remembered the original number. It also gave me the idea to stage the show at the new place

After that, I had selected seven numbers from the FROZEN music, which they all did quite well, ending with Mrs. Jennifer Thomas singing “Let It Go.”

After the break, we went into a nice mix of oldies, and relatively new music. I brought out my little sister looking like the girl next door and in pigtails, no less, and we began...