So meeting her was incredible. I thought we would meet her before the show and was a little sad when they said it would be after. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though because I kind of freaked seeing her in person for the first time. We sat row 3 and I was more than impressed with her performance. She is as classy and professional as it gets!!
After the show we were brought into the back room where there was a backdrop and a green “X”. I may have panicked a little then too, knowing she would be coming in any moment but I managed to pull myself together. I made friends with some people at my table and one couple said they were so touched by the story of how I came to love Bette so much that they wanted to go ahead of me and tell her about my tattoo. By the time it was my turn to meet her, she already knew and said, “let me see that thing” and hoisted my arm into the light. She identified everything that was in it which was so cool and asked if I was a singer. I don’t remember what I said honestly but I remember thinking that comparatively speaking I was absolutely not haha
We took two photos together. She rested her head on my cheek even!!
About The Tattoo:
So, I could go on for a while on my tattoo but I’ll give a basic back story instead. My parents were divorced when I was 6 and my mom was given custody. Growing up with her was challenging and confusing to say the least as she was a diagnosed psychopath and borderline personality. In a lot of ways, I was my mother’s mother. We had our good moments too of course, no matter how dishonest they may have been. Any time she was having a bad day or was particularly out of control I would put on Bette Midler and it was like a little bit of light went back into her. Over time, I learned about Bette and came to respect her more and more. She helped me to create a safe place and became someone I believe exudes everything a woman should be.
My tattoo has three elements to it. The first is the Continental Bathhouse in NY where Bette first started singing (also, rumor has it, where she got the name “Divine” because the person introducing her forgot her name and introduced her as, “the divine”). The second is the word “divine” for obvious reasons and the third is a hibiscus flower because she is from Hawaii.
I should also add just so you know that my fiance is the whole reason I got to meet her. For my birthday he made a FB page (which I was blocked from) asking all my friends to pitch in for the tickets. On my birthday, he threw a big surprise party where he played a slideshow of pictures of her and slides explaining that I would meet her in person. The BEST gift ever.
