{"id":488,"date":"2021-11-17T15:36:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T15:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newboppersite.048566e.netsolhost.com\/?page_id=488"},"modified":"2021-11-23T18:40:49","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T18:40:49","slug":"changes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/?page_id=488","title":{"rendered":"Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is only one constant in the universe: Change.<\/h2>\n
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Orchid Garden Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the next decade or so, we continued to perform at Church Street Station; transitioning from the Orchid Garden to Street Parties. \u00a0In addition we continued to perform for corporate, social club, and private events throughout the southeastern states from Key Largo, FL to Asheville, NC.<\/p>\n

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Typical Street Party<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s the<\/i>\u00a01990s and Change is in the air…<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mid 1993 came with some personal \u00a0 termoil: change in address, marriage split up, and all that went along with it. \u00a0My ex and I were big fans of a local vocalist, JJ Johnson. \u00a0He had a group: “JJ and the Classics”. \u00a0They used to perform at “Casselberry’s” in Casselberry, FL. It was a smoking bar (I don’t smoke). But, JJ had a really good 7 piece band behind him; not the least of which was saxophonist, Randy Lobeck. \u00a0They got me up to do a tune. \u00a0I sung “Unchained Melody” in the original key. \u00a0Randy and JJ were impressed. \u00a0I would\u00a0go there from time-to-time\u00a0and do some tunes. We became good friends. \u00a0More on Randy later in the decade.<\/p>\n

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JJ Johnson <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Randy “Wolfman” Lobeck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Introducing Melanie<\/h5>\n

More change around the corner…
As the months went by, I was getting settled into my new single lifestyle. \u00a0After being married for a very long time, it was a huge change. \u00a0Not long before the break-up,\u00a0I had booked the next spring Caribbean cruise with the rest of the band and the usual cruise mates. As time passed, I realized that spring was only a few months away; I didn’t have anyone to share the cabin with. \u00a0Early 1994: the band performed at a wedding for one of the couples,\u00a0Mike\u00a0and Brenda, who had accompanied us on a\u00a0number\u00a0of spring “Booze Cruise”s. \u00a0At wedding receptions and private parties, I used to do a\u00a0schtick on breaks for audience participation; leading a dance to Clarence Carter’s “Strokin”. \u00a0While getting this started, I looked down of the stage; spotting a very attractive\u00a0redhead in a blue dress: appropriate age group, no hardware (wedding ring), and knows my friends the bride and groom. \u00a0So, by the end of the night, I managed to find out a bit about her. \u00a0Her name was Melanie,\u00a0she was single, not dating anyone special. And, she had worked with both\u00a0the bride and groom at WDW in horticulture. Durning the night, I managed to get her number. \u00a0I called her for a date. \u00a0She asked me a lot of questions; making sure I was single, had a job, didn’t smoke, etc… We dated for a few months. \u00a0So, on a chance, I asked her to go on the cruise. \u00a0She agreed. \u00a0That night at dinner I learned she knew the entire “booze cruise” group. \u00a0We had a bunch of friends in common for like 10 years; yet we had never met. \u00a0It is now 1994. \u00a0Life is good.<\/p>\n

Introducing Melanie<\/p>\n

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Melanie (Out-Island Picnic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Melanie and I on the beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Melanie (Hour) Step Aerobics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

9\/14\/1996 \u00a0Melanie and I get Married.<\/p>\n

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Great Wedding Venue at Embassy Suites Altamonte Springs, FL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The wedding was almost perfect. \u00a0 \u00a0Haripist Kathleen Bonnie Attanasi of “Harpist Bazaar” performed pre-wedding in the atrium and during the wedding meal. \u00a0She was amazing.<\/p>\n

Melanie was being escorted down the glass elevator to the atrium when someone attempted to board. \u00a0That got some laughs. \u00a0Bruce Gardner performed the 7 minute ceremony.<\/p>\n

After dinner was entertainment by “Cactus Jack and the Cadillacs”. \u00a0Yes, I did perform at my own wedding.<\/p>\n

A great time was had by all. \u00a0I really only messed up one thing: \u00a0Instead of paying the guys in the band, I set them up for an open bar. \u00a0$900 later I realized I should have paid the band. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Leading Conga Line through the hotel atrium to “La Bamba”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tClick here to Continue
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is only one constant in the universe: Change. Orchid Garden Cafe For the next decade or so, we continued<\/p>\n

Continue readingChanges<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-488","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":746,"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/488\/revisions\/746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bopper.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}