[split] Haley in Vegas - January 2015

[Himm2]

Rather than doing a run through of the second night’s events I thought I might ruminate a little on how special every Haley encounter I have ever attended has been, this one included. I have never had a bad experience (well, other than that one time when I embarrassed myself a little and still get twinges of regret when it comes to mind—but never mind that cuz I’d rather forget it entirely), and moreover each time has given me memories both staggering in scope and small and fine like sparkling gems.
I actually thought the first night’s events could not be topped and did feel a little under the weather so I considered skipping Sunday’s show. At the last minute I decided I simply could not pass up such a rare and valuable experience and so headed over to the Cosmo. Traffic was unusually light so I got to the venue with time to spare. By now I have come to the conclusion that it is always worth coming to one of Haley’s shows because I am always surprised by some unique happening or special moment.
One small moment that stands out from the night was when I was able to tell Haley how cool it is that she will be playing a young boy named Bill (which is my name if you didn’t know). What could have been a throw-away moment became something more when Haley said something like (paraphrasing wildly here) Bills are good people. I said something like (sorry, the vodka tonic smoothed over some specific facts) yeah, they are steadfast guys, and we had a little laugh. I think we said a few other things which she punctuated with little elbow touches but I am even less clear on the actual words (gosh that vodka tonic must have had a bigger kick than I thought!). Regardless, the moment was perfect and a perfect demonstration of Haley’s comfort level with fans and her knack for creating good memories.
Oh, I could go on with the Haley moments and there quite a few, but what is really important is that these occurrences happen consistently. Rather than being unusual moments created by the perfect alignment of the stars and such, they are just what happens when one encounters a genuine person who actually likes people and is open enough to make real connections with them.
After the show, ISCAT, Airhigh and I had a wonderful conversation with Patti and it is clear that Haley is an apple that hasn’t fallen far from the tree. Patti is so caring and open that you can’t help but feel good in her presence and it is the same way with Haley. By the way, during our talk with Patti she wanted to send us the Reinhart Family Christmas album so we all wrote down our addresses. The funny part is that our writing was bad enough that we spent the next 10 minutes making sure Patti could read the info accurately. There was a lot of crossing out words and writing in her own versions she could read and writing over numbers to clarify what actual number they were. It was classic and hilarious. LOL.
Later we did some group shots with Patti, ISCAT, Airhigh, Nikki and Blake Lewis that I should be getting from Airhigh by email. Airhigh asked Haley at on point if she was tired of taking so many pictures and she said, in perfect Haley fashion: Oh no. Especially for YOU guys (!) I’m telling you, she has a real talent for making you feel very good.
In every single encounter I have ever had with Haley, I have always left with more than I ever expected. Unfailingly, what could have been just another gig that comes and goes becomes something truly special and something to be treasured, all because of a very special and talented young woman named Haley Reinhart.
PS: I’m a little jealous of Airhigh. He actually got a little serenade sung to him by Patti. It was another of those little moments that are so special.

^^ Bill, you really are as beautiful as a Swan with your words and as strong as Steel when you get up the nerve to just enjoy yourself. Thanks for always making me feel good about what you write.