I can't tell you how much I anticipated my next visit to The Late Show with Marilyn. We were both psyched beyond description - we were going to see a Dave tradition, Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)!" I would be in New York City for several days, just prior to Christmas, a dream vacation, culminating with The Late Show.

One of my worst nightmares came true when I got sick after only two days there. Put a Floridian into a New York winter, with extremely cold outside temperatures and extremely hot, dry indoor conditions, and chances are something will go wrong. All I could think about was NOT being sick for The Late Show, so I gave my friend Monica, with whom I'd been staying, a break by moving into the Ameritania Hotel, where I could get all the sleep I needed. The fact that I could get a hotel room in midtown Manhattan for two nights that close to Christmas is a miracle. Plus, the Ameritania is right next to the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Show day - Mon joined Marilyn and me while we waited on line for ... well, with the ticketing policies changing so frequently, we weren't really sure what would happen. All I knew was that you get a postcard in the mail, and you have 30 days to call. When you call, you are told the earliest dates available, and when you request a date, you are given a confirmation code and asked many questions.

Back to the Ed - a CBS page patiently answered all our questions, and told us that although the tickets suggested arriving at the Ed by 3:00, it wouldn't hurt to get on line sooner, so we did. What they do now is check the name on the tickets against a list, take the tickets (postcard) from you, and give you an index card with a number on it. The color of the index card determines in which line you will stand when you come back at approximately 4:15. We received yellow cards numbered 7 and 8.

The infamous Donz5 eventually met up with us. He left us briefly to chat with Walter Kim, Late Show Online guru, and returned with a gray Late Show T-shirt. The story: Steve Timko correctly answered a question posed by Rob Burnett in that week's Questionquest, the prize for which was a Late Show T-shirt. Steve requested that the shirt be given to one of the ladies, and when Donz presented us with that scenario, everybody looked at me. I had come the farthest to be there, and I was sick, so I think they all took pity on me. We went over to the 53rd Street side of the Ed, where you never know who you'll see.

First we harassed Rupert a bit. He's always so nice when we see him, especially if Donz is there. I had to ask about the pastrami sandwich atop the Christmas tree in the Ed (which I referred to as corned beef and was politely corrected by Rupert) - do they take it down and refrigerate it every night, or does it just stay up there? It just stays up there and rots, according to Rupert - and he believes Dave was genuinely peeved that it wasn't the usual giant meatball. Several weeks later, Jay Thomas in Quarterback Challenge knocked off that sandwich.

We all but bumped into Tony Mendez when we left the Hello Deli, and Barbara Gaines whizzed on by. It was freezing and I wasn't feeling too well, so I took the opportunity to go back up to my room for a bit. Naturally, this is when Mike McIntee came by, dressed in a police uniform for some bit, and Donz introduced him to Marilyn and Mon. Damn!

At 4:15 or so, ticket holders were let into Roseland to wait. Once inside, we were informed that should we need to use the rest rooms, we'd have to use them there because we'd be unable to use them in the Ed. Then we were separated by card color, and lined up according to number. We were among the first 10 people to get into the Ed, right after the VIP's - and were escorted INTO THE BALCONY! We wound up in the third row of the balcony, all the way over to the left of the theater, right next to the sound guy, just about as far from Dave as a person can get. I was devastated. I didn't even have a full view of the band, just Paul and the horn section. And I feared we'd be unable to see Dave during the pre-show and monologue. When Dave was introduced, there was none of that wonderful thrill that I'd felt before - he was just so damned far away. Indeed, once or twice he did get so close to the front of the stage that I couldn't see him. And I didn't have a clue what the pre-show question was, couldn't hear a thing.

One of the best things about being downstairs is the intimacy with Dave and Inky and Alan and Rob and all the stagehands. All that is lost from the balcony. Well, at least from our seats, it was. Combined with my queasy condition, I knew this would be a most disappointing Late Show experience.

In all fairness, it was a great show. I always enjoy John Travolta's appearances, the top ten animated bit (Dave goes to the North Pole) was sensational, and the Darlene Love song was wonderful. Also, the view from the balcony, while far removed and impersonal, does provide an unobstructed view of everything, including Dave during the commercials. I was so close on my two previous visits that watching Dave was often a challenge, with people and equipment almost always getting in the way.

After the aerosol lamb and eggnog bit, a gang of stagehands came out, armed with towels, to clean up. Dave took off his jacket, grabbed a towel, poured his drinking water onto the desk, and cleaned it himself. As for Dave not talking to guests during the breaks, he carried on quite a conversation with John Travolta. He also removed his jacket only once, during the first break.

When the singers and musicians filed in during the break before the musical number, it was fun to try to pick out anyone recognizable. The only one I guessed was Phoebe Snow, and I have no idea why I should know what she looks like! Never would've guessed Cissy Houston or Roberta Flack, who was a whole lot shorter than I thought she'd be.

Marilyn wondered whether or not there would be snow in the Ed that night, and sure enough, there was. We didn't expect to get any of it, but some managed to get 'way up there after all.

The show was over, Dave said goodbye, we stood up to leave - and the sound guy gave Marilyn a script! Mind you, he had to reach over ME to give it to Marilyn - can't imagine why he'd do that.

Our original plans were to go out after the show, maybe hit a comedy club, but I was about ready to drop, so I had to beg Mare's forgiveness and go right to my room - not a suitable way to end the day.

Upon viewing videotape of the show, I was actually able to see us on camera. At the very end of the Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) segment, you can just see Mare and I before the Late Show logo swoops by. I caught it only because I know where we were sitting, and there's a blonde and a non-blonde at the end of the row.

So that's the latest in the ongoing (?) adventures of Marilyn and Maxx at the Ed. I now know several things: I will avoid going to NYC in the winter, I will never go out of my way to be in front of the ticket line, and I will never expect another show experience to be as good as our first two together.

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