I hung out with so many wonderful ABBAMAILERs that weekend, especially some really wonderful women. I was thrilled that, surprise!, Fiona got to attend. We’ve been friends since her last visit to San Francisco, and it’s just lucky for me that she has other friends in my part of the world, so I’ll see her once again sometime this week. I met Dora for the first time, and she truly lives up to her hype. LOL! She was positively gorgeous for Saturday’s gala. Meeting Laura was a first for me as well, and she has promised (no backing out now!) to call me when she’s able to visit San Francisco. And I kept calling Mary Ruth “Cheers My Dears.” I just have to come up with a cute original saying for me!

Sandra was adorable as ever. Her smile lights up a room. And, oh my gosh, who knew that Scarlett and I had so much in common? I am so glad I straggled into brunch, just for the opportunity for the conversation with her. (As an aside, Benny and the boys were having breakfast in the restaurant when I came in, and I swear they had us seated, literally, as far away from them as possible.)

I had never seen any of the members of ABBA, let alone heard them play (or sing), so the dinner-“danse” was truly something I will never forget. I was seated at table 4, right next to the dance floor, along with Anita, Ursula, Paul, Sandy (at my left), Dora (at my right), Scarlett, and three people we didn’t know. The food was yummy…and made me sicker than a dog. Luckily, my body had the courtesy to wait until after the concert to act up. It was wonderful watching the dancers…people who could really dance, stay in step, lead and follow, all those talents that seem to escape me. Wayne was kind and brave enough to try to teach me a Swedish dance, the Hambo . I was living my dream, dancing to Benny playing his music, and I’m so very grateful, Wayne. But it wasn’t the brightest thing I did , and I had to stay off my ankle for the rest of the event.

I preferred the orchestra music better than the singers, frankly. Maybe comparing Helen to Frida and Agnetha isn’t fair, but there it is. Helen has a very powerful voice for her small frame, though, and I did get to see Helen quite close up. Ursula and I were leaving the women’s bathroom at the end of intermission, we being the last two in the room. In comes a seriously concentrating Helen, and Ursula said to her, “No need to look like that, dear. You’ve done quite nicely so far!” I had to pick up my jaw from the ground.

I was one of the people disappointed during the performance, that even from our ringside table, you couldn’t see the performers because of the people standing. But at the end of the performance, I hobbled up there, too. I was about ten feet away from Benny at his piano, watching his fingers race over the key board, pounding the keys with a smile on his face while he played ABBA songs. It was pure magic.

The next night at the jazz club, there was no room for a piano, or even a keyboard on the small stage, so Benny played the accordion with his guys. It wasn’t like the night before, and it did get a little tiresome with the multitude of amateur fiddlers who joined them. But we were still close, (a great table and the food did *not* make me sick), and could watch him make music, and see him smile, and joke with the other band members, a casual Benny. And I was there. I never would have believed it.

We finished the night with a pilgrimage in the cold to see Minneapolis’ TV icon. Pepe (another ABBAMAILER that makes me proud to be from California) said he wanted to see Mary Tyler Moore, and because I listened to Laura, I knew there was a MTM bronze statue downtown somewhere. It turned out not to be so very far away (though the cold made it feel farther, judging from the language I heard while we walked) and watching ABBAMAILERs take pictures of other ABBAMAILERs doing rude things to her statue, just seemed like the perfect ending to the weekend.

Jackie Lucero Castro Valley, California, USA