My dear friend Rony celebrated a milestone recently, and chose to spend his big day among family and friends back home in Manila. I suppose I could describe the evening as musical, but it was really more magical than that. Theater music filled the air, and the voices of theatre angels took centerstage right alongside the music-maker himself. Nothing was rehearsed, as there was really no need. Anyone who has ever sung with Rony on the piano will know what I mean.

Taking my turn on the microphone brought back a flood of memories. Glittery evenings in hotel ballrooms, open air stages, nerve-wracking auditions, hilarious lounge gigs, intricately arranged melodies, forgotten lyrics, made-up new ones, voices soaring, voices blending in not one, not two, not three--but 5-part harmonies! Without a doubt, those moments made up some of the best years of my life. And Rony figured prominently in most of them.

Opening the show with a song he wrote himself, entitled "How Do You Open A Show?", Rony graciously gave the floor to his singing guests before ending the evening with a simple, but very touching rendition of a Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty showstopper called "I Was Here", from the musical The Glorious Ones. Check out Patti Lupone's version!

Take in the lyrics and see why theater people--who, in my opinion, are the greatest, most fabulous people on earth--do what they do. Why I do what I do.

Summertime is. . .when we hit the sunny beaches and occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.

-Erma Bombeck paraphrased

Rein made a new friend today. Stopping by to pick me up after work, he found himself "hi-jacked" by this little charmer, Unicorn Child's 6-month old baby girl and my goddaughter, Keira. Look closely and you'll see who (or what) Keira would rather befriend! Like the cuddly magpie that she is, Rein's shiny silver watch is all she cares about for the moment.

As a staple of my daily My Left Hand diet (I see her everyday at work), Keira occupies a considerable chunk of my dinnertable conversations with Rein. He hears all about every new event in her life--her latest word-sounds, her sweet little outfits, her ongoing battle with solid food, her mood swings, and even the amount of muscle power it takes to carry her for more than 5 minutes! Today, he happily experienced some of that for himself. . .with the aching muscles to prove it! Today also marks a milestone of sorts as it is the first time Rein has agreed to hold Keira -- or any baby this small, for that matter -- in his arms. Like many uninitiated males, he always felt like he would drop them if he tried. But as this photo shows, Rein looks like he could ably take on fatherhood himself one of these days.

I can't wait.