As you all must have gathered, I’ve been very sick and things don’t look to improve much, so I think I’m calling it a day. I have unconditionally loved this for so long, it will be hard to let go….you may see spurts of activity here and there, but I doubt I’ll ever get back into the groove again.
And I don’t need to….there have been some glorious new sites popping up left and right to keep you entertained. It’s time someone else took the lead…..
I just want to thank you all for making this site so successful…..without you ladies and germs I would have been nothing! So thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love and will miss you all!
As always,
Mister D
You will be sorely missed, Mister D. Bootleg Betty has always been a favourite go-to for everything Bette and more!
I hope and pray that your health improves and that you accomplish everything you desire.
Christina
Thank you Christina,,,,this is going to be really hard, but I really appreciate your words
thank you for running this wonderful site and hope that there are many more joyful days to come!
Dear Mr D, Thanks for the years, thanks for the cheers…you have enlightened our lives with the only real link to our goddess. You have informed us like no one ever could, nor ever will again. I am saddened hearing your unwell and i will be praying for your health to improve. Stay strong my friend, look after yourself and i will always be checking to see if you pop back into our worlds. Kick this illness in the ass Mr! Love & Strength, Dave XOXO
Mr D i dont know what i’ll do without you.
Im crying right now……
BLB is a site i go to daily for YEARS and it is SO much Better than Bette’s Official site!!!! Much more informative and creative.
Im gonna miss you soo soo much.
Your health is the most important thing so look after yourself and i promise to keep in touch.
I still hope one day our paths will cross.
Missing you already.
Love always and forever
Miss Ezz
xoxoxoxoxoxox
I think i meant one day our paths will meet?!?!? ^^^^^
xox
OMG….don’t go…why look for other bette sites when your the leader..I remember are private discussion when kiss my brass first went on tourn in 2004 and you posted my remarks from my 3 row seat…we also saw KMB 5 more times…at that time we talked about your not feeling well then…if your health has been a toll,,,,we all willl understand and pray…My wife and I prayed then so did my sister the NUN…yes a real NUN for 53 years….took her in plain clothes to the philas KMB in the 7 row center…can you imangine how she felt after being a music teacher for 43 years…the 6th grade reviews have never been the same…Oh my dear friend, althought we’ve never met you will always be in our hearts with much love and admiration for your tireless work…tears are rolling and so will I!!!
again GOD BLESS …you have my contact info and I’d be glad to help you with your getting well again….be strong but rest well, TOO!!!!
love ya’ mary and joseph.
ps…these are are real names,we just don’t use them at the holidays/…lol
Don, I hope you know how I feel about you and this website. But mainly about YOU. I love you dearly my friend. You are not getting rid of me… even if it is just sung into an answering machine! as a matter of fact expect that here soon…. <3 always Mister D.! 🙂
After have been in total stress the last few days, I started to cry when I read this. I will miss this very much, but it’s always better that you feel that you can rest without having a lot of things to think of.
I hope you will feel much better soon!!
lots of love,
Josefin
Dear Mister D, I’m really so so sorry to read this 🙁 it made me cry and you will be so so missed :((( The Bette World is not the same without you. I hope very much that you will feel better , after all – the health is the most important we have in our lives. I pray and hope very much that one day you will feel much better again and be back with all of us. I wish you from all my heart the very best and thank you so much for everything you did for me and all of us! you are a amazing friend ,
we all love you very much!!!!
xoxoxoxox
Ilvana
Take care of yourself. If you need to shed the stresses of this web site, don’t regret that decision for one moment.
I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers – first for your health and second that someday you’ll feel inspired to return to this glorious website. Until then, get good medical advice and maintain your optimism. We’ll miss you, but we’ll miss you in a way that holds hope of an eventual return. If not, then thank you for all you did for this site and for those who regularly visited.
-Brian
Don,
You are our main link to all things Bette thank you so much for all the joy and info you have bought us over the years you are a great person with so much to give you will be deeply missed on here from all over the world. You have helped so many people keep updated and you also helped me finally get to see Bette in the flesh (Graham Norton show ’11) and for that I am eternally grateful. I wish you all the best for life and hope you recieve all the love and joy you have given us.
All my love Emma. XXX
My Dearest Mr. D
I am so sorry to see you stop, but your health is of the utmost importance. I just wanted to thank you for all of the years of fun and information. You and Bette literally saved my life during the Kiss My Brass Tour, and I will never forget it. Here’s to you and all of your hard work and dedication. May your health improve and enable you to pop in now and again. Love, Stan
Thank you for all the years of great work. Bootleg Betty is one of the best Bette sites if not the best there is. The Bette world will never be the same wthout you!!!!!
I’m praying for your health to get better!
Michael
Dear Don, I want to thank you, deeply for providing such a thorough and loving opportunity to experience Bette’s work and also the expression of her devoted fans. I’ve been enmeshed with her spirit since I was in my early teens (in the early 70’s) as if she was already a part of me like Peter Pan’s shadow. I’m so sorry for your suffering. Life is a slippery slope, to say the least, but filled with riches beyond compare. Your generosity has been one of those riches. If and when it gets really too rough, I hope that you’ll do what I’ve done in those circumstances and return to our friend, Bette. Her excellence, intelligence, sensitivity, warmth, humor and “smile” have proven to be a bit of a panacea giving hope and comfort even when I have been very ill or deeply blue. May you have ease and peace. Many thanks again for your gift to all of us. All My Best to You, with Love, Jackie
I’m always a flop at a top-notch affair,
but I’ve still got my health, so what do I care?
My best ring, alas, is a glass solitaire,
but I still got my health, so what do I care?
By fashion and foppery, I’m never discussed.
Attending the opry, my box would be a bust.
I never shall have that Park Avenue aire,
but I’m in such health, why should I care?
The hip that I shake doesn’t make people stare,
but I got such health, what do I care?
The sight of my props never stops a thoroughfare,
but I still got my health, so what do I care?
Your face is your fortune, so some wise men spoke.
My face is my fortune, that’s why I’m totally broke.
My ship ain’t come in, but I grin while I bear,
’cause I got my vitamins:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I still have my.
Got no diamonds, got no wealth.
I got no men, but I got my health.
Dear Mister D,
Don, You are the reason for having a computer. Even if CNN were assigned “bootlegbetty” on a full-time basis, they couldn’t come close to the coverage and dedication you have put into Bette over the years.
Nonetheless, your health is paramount, and recovery can be slow and difficult. I wish you continued strength and will be rooting for you, every day and every step of the way! No one can take your place–so you just hang in there. If and when you’re ready to visit us again–we’ll be here for you!
Yes, you have friends, and will be truly missed! Take care of yourself.
You’re the best!!!
–Ron
Mr. D you will be very missed!!! There will never be another site like Bootleg Betty! My love and best wishes on your recovery! XOXO!
Its ok, Mr D. We love you. I want to thank you for giving me so much. I realize you have put in a lot of time and effort, which I am guessing makes it hard to let go. Whats most important is for you to enjoy life and do what you want. If this website has become, “a beast of burden.” then. “kick it down the street.” I wish you well. I don’t know your health issues but I sincerely hope you get better. “I remember you, you’re the one who gave me Bette news, I remember to , your kindness and humor, when the angels ask me to recall the biggest Bette fan of all, I will tell them me, cough cough, I will tell them I remember you…
Is this for real?? Say it ain’t so! There have been several occasions where you said you were going but then got a second wind… I hope that’s one of these times. Can’t you do this on your own time, at your own speed? Just letting us know about the insidery stuff… We all love you and will be forever grateful but I hope this isn’t true! You are one of kind Don and you and bootlegbetty are a HUGE part of my life.
Dear Mister D,
I am so saddened that this wonderful site you have created has to end. it’s been a daily ritual of mine to visit every day. But you and your health are the most important thing.
So on that note…..I wish you all the very best. I love you and I thank you. We will miss you so very very much.
Love now and always
Nicola
xxxxx
Dear Don: Legions of Bette fans are mourning this news. But…let’s not be selfish! We DO hope and pray that you will be on a good road to better health in the months to come! Thanks ever so much for BLB…it’s been wonderful.
Best wishes, kind sir!!
“Thanks for the memories!”
Susan
YES, HEALTH first… sorry if I didn’t mention that before. Of course, being healthy and feeling better comes first, everything else second. I hope you feel better and bounce back, which I just know you will.
Well, well, well. The first thought was “thanks for the mammories…” You know my heart. I want you to live a long and happy life……even if we have to suffer the loss of your genious. Take good care of yourself. Be well dear friend. Catch you pn the flipside
Dear dearest Don, you must do what is best for you now. One stap a time it must be hard to do. You have high standards no one can compeed. We all have so much to be grateful for, i send you my love and hope for Better days.
Will come and visit BLB every day to see how yóure doing.
For now, Love Linda (DD)
Hi, My deepest respect to you. You’ve worked so hard on behalf of Miss Midler for years and years. I remember the old fan club back in the 70’s “Best On Bette”. I was a member and sent you art that you used in the booklets. Please take care and God bless you. Michael
Thanks for all the fun. Meeting you in Hammond was a blast, as I got to meet the outstanding Bettehead himself. I wish you love, peace, and happiness in this journey we call life. God Bless and take care.
Mr. D,
When I first read this, I said “He’ll be back, he always does”. Now…not so much. You mean it this time, and that makes me said. This site has been a part of my daily life for I don’t even know how many years now. Because of you, I got to Oprah for Bette. Because of you, I got to be there for her press conference to announce TSGMGO. Because of you, Jill took extra care of me both times I was able to meet Bette. I am not saying this to show off, but to let you know that you have been helped me in ways I can’t describe. You allowed all of us crazy Bette fans to have a place to call home. You have always shared and embraced a community that you were instrumental in creating.
I have emailed you numerous times, and you have always been there to help, and never have you shown any type of annoyance.
To say that I am sad is an incredible understatement.
What am I gonna do for my daily blog check?
I hope that your health improves and that you stay as loving as you have been to us.
This site is exactly why the internet is special. This site is special.
With MUCH love,
Ryan Kiser
I can never thank you enough for running this amazing web site. I would’nt had a clue about half the things Bette gets up to. Am sure everyone around the WORLD want to say and big thank you for all your hard work you’ve put into the site over the years.
Your gonna be big miss.
Wishing you good health and happiness
Paulxx
UK