Final Friday

Today was our last Friday on tour. Every day from here on out will be a Final day but today was special. We had our final sound check in our final venue, which is amazing by the way. The Performing Arts Center in Tampa is beautiful and BIG. The audience tonight was amazing as well and really enjoyed tonight's performance. They came in droves after the show to stand in line and get autographs. It was heartwarming and overwhelming and a little sad. I also did my final pre-show meet-and-greet tonight with a group of young Lady's and their families. The girls have been attending a six week camp sponsored by a group from the NFL that was performance based. They had a lot of really good questions and some really cute ones as well. They also did a performance for me of a song they had written to JZ's version of "Hard Knock Life." It was adorable. Afterward they all asked me to sign their camp T-shirts. This is another night I will never forget.

After the show we had our final cast party with really good food and lots of good conversation. I have learned over the years to protect myself from my own depression by not getting too close to people, especially those that come into my life for only a short time. It started as teacher when I would get so close to my students that I would be devastated when they graduated or moved. I learned to keep a "professional" distance. I have applied that on the road for the most part as well. I know that sometimes it makes me appear aloof or arrogant or stuck-up. The truth is that I care so much about these people and they mean so much to me that if I were to show that or share it I would lose all control and make a fool of myself. So, to all my "Annie" family, I love you dearly and will miss you more than you can imagine. You have all played a major role in making my "dream" come true. To those that won't be coming back next year, thanks for a great year and may all your dreams come true. To those that will be joining me for "Annie" again come November, I look forward to continuing living the "Dream" with all of you.

The sun will come out tomorrow and we will have four more "final" performances to do. I look forward to each and every moment on stage and also look forward to Monday, when I will get to go HOME. Life on the road is a great adventure and tons of fun, but there truly is "no place like home."