The Spa at Norwich Inn

Last year, my father noticed that I was a harried
mother, and suggested that I take some time to
myself, in the form of a 2 night/3 day gift
certificate to a spa in Norwich CT. It also
happed to be my big 4-0 so I accepted with
gratitude. Granted, it took me 15 months to
finally get it together to book the dang thing,
but it finally happened ... this week. And wow,
is all I can say!

The first day I had an aromatherapy treatment
followed by a wishful thinking, I mean, "anti
aging" facial, lots of relaxing in the hot tub,
quiet room and heated pool. The next day was
more of the same: Swedish massage in the a.m.
followed by a hair apt. more relaxing, and
finally, a "lavender therapy" manicure/pedicure.
I ended the day with a sumptuous meal of whole
wheat pesto filled gnocchi in the five-star
restaurant.

I noticed a piano in the lobby of the reception
room, so the gears started turning in my mind.
I'm thinking, I could come and do a gig here in
exchange for a day at the spa, perhaps make it a
yearly ritual... hmmm! So... I found out the
name of the woman who books the music, and made
an apt. to speak to her the next day.

When I began to explain my idea, I started by
telling her that I was a professional musician
living in NYC, and her eyes kind of glossed over.
I figured I'd better step it up a notch or two,
so I slipped in that I was the winner of the 17th
annual Great American Jazz Piano competition. Her
bottom lip protruded slightly. She looked
distracted. I was getting desperate. So, I
threw in the part about how my music is featured
on ABC's All My Children - the Valley Inn, no less! The
eyes dropped towards the floor. By that time I
was beginning to feel like something the dog
dragged in. And then she told me the deal: the
pianist who was currently performing there had been
doing so for years, and the only other music they
had was a calypso band that played on weekends.

Just as I began to sigh in defeat, I pulled out
one last stop. Oh, I said, did I mention that
I'm an author? simultaneously whipping out "the
little pink book." Here is the real shocker. Her
eyes lit up like a lightening bolt just popped
out of the sky and all of a sudden, her sleepy
demeanor turned to fascination and those puffy
lips? They turned upwards towards the heavens. I
had just pumped life into the inflatable doll!
She quickly informed me that there was, in fact,
a catering department that occasionally looked
for musicians for special occasions, as she
reached into her dress pocket for a card and
proceeded to write down the name of the gentleman
for me to contact. Tennis, anyone?

Moral: Can't get arrested as a musician. But
write a silly little book about the
mother-in-law, and voila - you're golden! I
encourage every one of you to drop everything
that you're doing and sit down and write a book.
Right here. Right now. It will open doors that
you thought were stuck beyond any can of WD-40.
Funny thing! Note to self: thank my
mother-in-law for being the catalyst for
acquiring the golden key to life.

Have a great week, and don't forget to call your
mother-in-law, if only to ask how she is feeling!

Note: to view Sally's appearance this week on The
Daily Dish with Shay Pausa, please visit
theDILRules.com/media to view.