Robert Randisi - Hey There (You with the Gun in Your Hand)

The show actually brought tears to my eyes. Sandy Hackett and his troupe of players had the guys down pat. Sandy himself did a great job playing Joey. Even hearing Buddy Hackett’s voice do the opening made me mist up. I had last seen Buddy in 2003, just before he passed away, and I missed him.

And the fella playing Sammy was perfect. He made me miss Sammy so much I looked down at the gold watch I was wearing, the one Sammy had given me for helping him out in 1961.

I should have gone backstage to congratulate them but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Didn’t want to make an old fool of myself.

I fell in with the flow of people filing out and, once outside, buttoned my coat. The chill in the desert was getting to my old bones more than usual.

I stood to the side, allowing the rest of the crowd to file past me. At my age being jostled could amount to the same as being shoved off a cliff.

Finally, the crowd was gone and I stood outside the Greek Isles virtually alone-until I heard someone call my name from behind. I turned to see Sandy approaching me, still in his Joey makeup.

“You runnin’ out on me?” he asked.

“To tell you the truth,” I said, “your show got to me. Brought back a lot of memories. I–I wasn’t sure I could …”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “My dad’s only been gone four years but every time I hear his voice …”

We stood there together, a moment of silence for the departed, the friends and loved ones from our past….

Oh yeah, next time you watch Sergeants 3 check me out. I got last billing as “Man with snake.”