If you know me, you know I'm always up for a little cultural enrichment, so I spent Thursday evening at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Sarasota Bay with actor and comedian Bob Newhart.
No, I didn't go there with him. It wasn't a date. He was there doing a classic standup show, which was hilarious. Newhart is 81 years old, but you would never have known it -- except for the rest of the crowd. I was there with a fiftysomething friend and we got carded at the bar.
It wasn't a one-man show. The opening act was Deana Martin, the daughter of famous Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin. She delivered a 40-minute set dedicated to her dad and sang a duet with a video of the King of Cool.
Though the heydey of the Rat Pack was a bit before my time, I still got a bit nostalgic. Maybe I was a big band crooner in a previous life.