I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Bob Benjamin is a real-
life PD hero. Through his efforts, leadership and example, the face of
the PD supporter has changed dramatically and the face of Parkinson’s
itself has been altered,,,no more glitzy, formal and priced beyond the
reach of most parkies (although these events have raised countless
dollars and awareness for the disease and thank God for them!!) , Bob
has made it hip to be a contributor and an activist for PD. I just got
home from my second “Light of Day” concert put on by Bob Benjamin and I
cannot tell you the amount of love, hope and awareness that was the
outcome of this event, to say nothing of the huge donation that Bob will
be able to donate to Parkinson’s.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bob and his grand achievements,
a brief history: this event began in Bob’s backyard as a birthday party
he threw for himself. Bob manages bands (including the amazing Joe
Grushecky & the Houserockers- the hottest bar band in Philly), a record
producer, promoter and a die- hard Bruce Springsteen fan.

His little birthday bash has evolved into a monster event lasting 3
nights and is in it’s 6^th year as the “Light of Day” concert. It was
named for the Springsteen song of the same title. It is aptly named for
the lyrics to the song say “I’m just around the corner to the light of
day” which exactly depicts the hope and dreams of Bob Benjamin.

Bob is a joy- the man knows everyone who is anyone and he refuses help
when they try to help him stand or move about. Backstage, on Friday
night, the first night of the 3-evening concert, Bob sat like a rock n
roll godfather;. extremely dyskenetic, he managed to greet all of the
performers and other guests who all stopped by to show their respect and
to shower him with birthday gifts.

We are talking about big- time legends in rock n roll. There was the
sweet, charming and very talented Pete Yorn who flew in from California
to do three nights , there was

La Bomba from the Conan O’Brien house band, Southside Johnny from the
Asbury Jukes, the legendary Gary “US” Bonds, Joe Grushecky, and Soozie
Tyrell- the fiddle player and vocalist from Bruce’s E- Street Band & her
guitarist Steve Conte. I was seated next to Bob for most of the evening
and he made sure that I was introduced to all of the celebrities &
indulged my passion for star- gazing.

When it came time for Soozie Tyrell to perform, I made my way back to
the Stone Pony and was pushed in my wheelchair up to the front of the
stage, right in the middle by Pete Boot, himself a member of the 70’s
metal band Budgie. I was thrilled to see Soozie’s talent and energy. She
was joined onstage by Southside Johnny and Gary “US” Bonds and what a
treat it was!! After their set, I decided to keep my

front row seat and to watch the next set. I was somewhat startled to see
a pedal steel guitar and an acoustic guitar brought onstage by the
roadies. “These can’t be Jersey boys,” I thought to myself and indeed
they were not. It took about 10 minutes into their set before the
tumblers in my brain finally all fell into place, but I finally figured
out that this band was the Robert Earl Keene band from Austin, TX and if
this was the case; then the pedal steel player had to be my long lost
buddy, Marty Muse, whom I hadn’t seen in 30 years.

Sure enough, there was Marty- the best steel player in the states and I
sat there thunderstruck to see him playing at the Stone Pony in Asbury
Park, New Jersey. I waved to him & he looked back at me but after the
set was done, he packed up and started to leave the stage. I couldn’t
believe it so I said his name and he came over and shook my hand,
finally getting a good look at me and recognition hit him like a BFO

(Blinding Flash of the Obvious). We met down at the end of the stage and
went backstage.

There we were joined by a group of friends : Marty’s bandmates, the
ever- irreverent Ken Aidekman (founder of the Parkinson’s Unity Walk),
Pete & Nancy Boot from the UK, a reporter and various others. Robert
Earl Keene brought me a drink and I was stunned at his “regular guy”
persona and it was no act I realized as we spoke. Marty and I had a lot
of catching up to do and we had a wonderful time reminiscing about old
friends in my hometown of Peoria, Il. Steve Conti walked up and just for
grins I asked if he might know another session player from Peoria who is
well- known in New York for his session work, Dave Keyes. Steve knew him
right away and also his brother Dan who was one of Marty’s old friends
from a lifetime ago in Peoria. All of this stirred up more old memories
and stories. Marty, as it turned out was staying at the same hotel that
I was staying, just down the block from the Stone Pony. So after we were
finished with our impromptu party, we left and went to the hotel lobby
and talked until 3 in the morning. I just happened to have a scrapbook
with pictures of lots of my family and PD events and he had his computer
filled with pics of his wife and kids. It seemed as if time had frozen
and the conversation was easy and punctuated with ‘I cannot believe that
we ran into each other’ amazement! Marty had to leave for the airport to
catch a plane back to Austin at 5am so I hope that he’s finally caught
up on his sleep!!

I must apologize- this started out to be a story about Bob Benjamin and
I couldn’t help but tell about my experiences at his wonderful event.

On Saturday evening, we piled into a taxi & headed to the Starland
Ballroom where the night’s concert was taking place. This evening, I
spent mostly in the VIP room, hobnobbing and meeting and talking with
the varied assortment of people there. Ken Aidikman brought in a beaming
Robin Eliot from the

Parkiknson’s Disease Foundation and there were filmmakers who were there
to do a documentary on Joe Grushecky, along with all of Bob’s friends.
Suddenly, I was swooped upon by a lovely little man whose presence just
about knocked me over. I found out that this was the one & only Garland
Jefferies and I was thrilled to have him to chat with for a few moments.

Then just as suddenly, an Irish leprechaun with twinkling eyes and a
merry laugh grabbed my wheelchair and said, despite my protestations,
that it was time for me to go hear some of the great music that I was
missing. He pushed me up to the stage area and this is a perfect
opportunity for me to say that the staff at both the Stone Pony & the
Starland Ballroom were extremely conscientious and helpful. I was
treated like a princess and I can only attribute this to their natural
kind hearts and also to their respect for Bob Benjamin. The man who was
working the security area at the side of the stage saw me and opened a
path for me, my wheelchair and my new Irish friend right at the end of
the stage. We had the best seats in the house!

And right away, Garland Jefferies took the stage and what a showman!! He
was into a funk- reggae groove and was moving around the stage like
James Brown. He would summersault into the audience only to reappear
after a few moments of being smothered with friendship from the crowd.
His set ended with a grand cover version of the Question Mark & the
Mysterions classic “96 Tears.”

Next the staging area where I was sitting was filled with performers all
waiting to go up and join Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. Wow- what
a show that was!! Rock n Roll as good as it gets!! A horn section that
blew you away with their talent!! And wonderful, screaming vocals!! A
huge organ was played by Tony and the hot, cute young guitar player was
Joe’s son. By the end of the set, the crowd was worn out. What a
fabulous night of music!!

Sunday evening was no less memorable. At the hotel, my friend Carol and
I had met two young men from Maine who were in town to go to the
concerts. Jason and Matt were huge Pete Yorn fans and when I got to the
show, they were sitting there sipping beers while Joe Grushecky, Joe
D’Urso & three others were onstage. This was acoustic night and the
Starland Ballroom was filled but not as rowdy as the night before. I
went over to buy a round of drinks and saw Pete Yorn standing at the
entrance to the VIP area. I called to him and he came right over. I
asked him to do a favor for me and he asked what it could be. I asked
him if would please come over and meet 2 of his fans who came all the
way from Maine to see him. He immediately grabbed my wheelchair and we
set off to find Jason & Matt. When they saw me approaching with beers in
my hands and Peter Yorn steering me thru the crowd, they said later that
they thought they were in a dream or having a heart attack. Pete was so
gracious and spent the next 45 minutes with us talking and posing for
photos and making this a night that the guys would never forget. I do
remember the players on stage doing a cover of Harry Chapin’s classic
“Taxi” but I was so interested in speaking with Pete that I’m afraid
that’s all I can remember.

After the first group was done, we were escorted into a table near the
stage by one of the wonderful employees and just in time to see Pete
take the stage with 4 other players-

one of whom Pete referred to as “the assassin” for her sensuous,
extremely sexy rendition of a Cream classic.

All too soon, it was time to go, but I had time to realize that Bob,
with his determination, connections and the fierce loyalty that he
inspires in people had changed the concept of fundraising for PD
forever. Thank you Bob and I love you.


    PS: Bob is the winner of this year’s Alan Bonander Humanitarian
    Award. Congratulations and I’m proud to call you friend.

--
Joan Blessington Snyder   54/14
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“Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.”
Chris in the Morning      Northern Exposure

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