A few special days in Dover, Delaware...

Dearest Doll Fans,

  This event was held as a thank you dinner for all the museum volunteers for the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force base. What a treat and a privilege to perform for these people and give back a little of everything they’ve given to us. We made our way to Dover on a rainy, gross day in NYC, but once we were in Delaware the sun was shining and it turned out to be a lovely day. Upon arrival at the beautiful country club Wild Quail, we were greeted by a gorgeous staircase and an adorning Christmas tree. We made our way to the back of the building and met the man we’ve been talking to on the phone, John. What a wonderfully delightful person. He made us feel right at home and they had the sound system up and ready to go for us. After sound check, he asked us to wait there, he would be right back. He returned as promised bearing gifts for the three of us: ornaments from the museum, air force challenge coins, chocolates (clearly he knew the way to our hearts), all in a lovely gift bag. We were so touched at this gesture and of course we gave him a huge hug! After going through the events of the evening, we made our way to our hotel at the Dover Downs Casino!! This place was stunning and with the Christmas decorations everywhere, it only enhanced the beauty. We checked into our suite which donned two bathrooms and the coolest feature being the light in the toilet room. If you were to get up at night and turn the light on, it slowly got brighter so you didn’t go blind while you were in there. Genius. We got all of our costumes together, ran through a couple of numbers and started getting beautiful. It doesn’t take much ;) We made our way back to Wild Quail (maybe we took the back route this time and drove through the entire complex to get there, but hey…I blame GPS) and were greeted by John and his cohort for the evening, Hank.  They showed us to our dressing room and treated us like queens, asking us if there was anything we needed, food, drink, kisses (haha), whatever. As the time grew nearer to begin our cocktail hour set, we were getting progressively more excited. We heard John announce us with such delight (as we were a surprise to all the museum volunteers that night) and we made our entrance.

 
  We were greeted with uproarious applause and began our set, which included a more toned down version of “Boogie Woogie” and jazz standards to set the mood.   It was during this set that we met Mr. Don Dell, who to this day I will never forget.  This man had more energy than any of us gals and swung around on the dance floor, even when it was a slower song. Clearly the jokester of the group, he continued his loveable antics for the rest of evening. Of course we got pictures with him! Following the set, we were invited to sit for dinner where we met Sandy, a jovial gentleman who loved to tell jokes and got the whole table going for the evening. He was one of the many, many volunteers at the museum and later in the evening he won a bottle of liquor which was “just what he needed,” he said. We excused ourselves from dinner to change costumes for our second set. This set included all of our high energy dance combos and Christmas songs to get everyone ready for the holiday season.

  We entered in our black cigarette dresses and got all kinds of hoots and hollers. We were showing leg this time, so it only seemed fitting! We had a special tribute to 4 WWII vets and sang “In the Mood” to all of them. Later we changed into our more patriotic dresses and when we sang “Wild Blue Yonder” the entire room was on its feet singing along with us and clapping so loud it was hard to hear the music. Amazing. You could just tell how much that song meant to them and what a proud moment for us. We disappeared to the dressing room following that set to get ready for the final numbers. This last set was very special because of our honored guest of the evening. Bill Hardie was a WWII vet and up until last year was swimming everyday and leading a very active life. He had complications with surgery and now cannot do many things for himself. Despite it all, he still laughs and makes those around him smile. He has an amazing wife who continues to stay by his side and was such a joy to meet.

  He was our “Santa” for our Santa Baby number, wore a light-up Santa hat and had the best time! After the third set, we had the pleasure of introducing the real Santa! He came bearing gifts, of course, and he happened to be one of the volunteers for the museum. These people do everything and with such heart! We helped him pass out all the raffle prizes and then spent the rest of the evening taking pictures and talking with all the vets and the museum volunteers. We were invited by the curator, Jim, to take a private tour of the Air Mobility Command Museum on the Air Force Base. The next day we made our way to the museum and after some minor complications, we finally found where we were supposed to go. This time, I can’t blame GPS; it was just the base and all the security. Once we arrived, we were greeted by about 10 of the gentleman from the party the previous evening and immediately took pictures, bought t-shirts and some pins. What? We were in a store! We had to buy something!!! Hal, the young man we sang to the night before followed us and took pictures and showed off his visual interpretations of war logs and timelines. A very talented fellow.  Jim began our tour and we got the inside scoop on everything.

  We were able to stand inside a C-5 engine and took several pictures in there, we all logged hours on the flight simulator so hey, if anything happens, the three of us know what to do! And we all did it in heels, thank you very much. Continuing on the tour, we saw the race car that’s been driven at Dover Downs, the race track there in the city, and several WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, and Gulf War planes, helicopters. Along the way, we saw the most amazing collection of commander coins that was donated by one of the honored guests from the night before. We finished up the tour with more pictures in front of “Sleepy Time Gal” and reluctantly said our goodbyes. After being treated like royalty, it’s hard to leave that all behind. Every gentleman at the museum had incredible stories to tell and if you ever get a chance to visit that museum, go. It’s an experience not soon forgotten and I know that it holds a special place in our hearts. We cannot wait to return next December and are already planning our PT17 flight with pilot Don!

  Until we sing again,

Sarah Drake, Manhattan Doll