The Deluge

May 7 - Richmond to Pennsylvania

by Lenny Hughes

Rain, rain, rain.

We're water-logged and holed up at the majestic Sands Hotel and Casino in picturesque Bethlehem PA, after a six-hour, bumper-to-bumper ride yesterday to Wilmington DE from Richmond VA.

We converged on Richmond Wednesday night, did the show Thursday at the Carpenter Theatre Center Stage, a beautiful vintage converted movie house, designed in the '20s to look like an outdoor garden. Lewis did an autograph session for the fans who showed up undaunted by the relentless rains.

Next morning, it only rained harder, as we packed our bags and boarded the Bus for the epic drive.

The Rainman

Seems like it's been raining here in the East ever since we last talked.

It rained at the Borgata last month, where we did two quick shows, and had a nice dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Black and friends, who often appear when we are near their Baltimore-area home.

We did three shows last week at the Warner Theatre in D.C., and it was drizzling then. I got welcome help from my girlfriend Sandra, decked out in Lewis Black apparel every night and handling sales from the sell-out crowds.

We were reunited with Mr. and Mrs. Black backstage after the Saturday show.

My lovely daughter Liza and her dashing photographer husband Jose-Luis also attended the final night, and I told Lew's mom that Liza obviously takes after me in the good looks department.

Liza with Mrs. Black

Family Reunion

"Give it up, Lenny," my surrogate mother snapped-with a smile.

After more rain, and a nasty hailstorm that knocked out trees in the Washington area (sparing my house), we set our course for Richmond and the current weekend.

So, as I said, we headed up I-95 yesterday in the worst traffic ever. The Washington Beltway was closed from one of the scores of accidents that clogged arteries like cholesterol.

I-95 Traffic Cluster

Lewis signing DVDs on the bus

We hit the Playhouse on Rodney Square (in the Dupont Building) pretty late...I had half an hour to set up, but the Wilmington theater already set up a spot for the Merch, so all went well.

We pulled out from the theater for a couple-hours drive to Bethlehem.

James, our technician, had a disastrous mishap with his phone. Resting on the couch behind him, it suddenly slipped into oblivion-disappearing down an air duct, just narrow enough for an iPhone.

Ben collapsed on the floor, pulled out drawers at the base of the couch, while John and James crawled up on the thing and tried to fish out the phone. John quit after his finger got stuck, and I took up the task with a coat-hanger, but I'm afraid the phone is toast.

James' iPhone Incident

404 iPhone not found

Meanwhile, as we rumbled through the quaint little town, we got stopped by the cops, who issued a warning for an alleged speed violation. Frank speeding?! Impossible!

Well, the rain finally stopped this morning, but the clouds hanging over the town and the mountain behind it look pretty black.

Bethlehem is a fine-looking old place. Sandra, a native Pennsylvanian, pointed out on the phone that it was once home to Bethlehem Steel and Pennsylvania Bell. But in post-industrial America, it appears a gambling casino is only game in town.

The Sands

Bethlehem PA

Tomorrow, we go to Hershey for a show at the Hershey Theatre, then we head home.

-Lenny