My darlings I’ve teased you and teased you and you’ve tolerated it like any good boy would. Concentrating hard to hear your mothers voice and thinking about baseball probably helped, but you’ll be happy to know it’s finally go time. Dej shot me an email yesterday morning with the *official* word, so I can finally spill it: she’ll be in People Magazine on September 19th. (This isn’t actually all the news, but hey, I’m a tease.)

We’ll be arranging for a public celebration somewhere in the ‘hood should you want to show up, stand in line for her autograph, have your picture taken with the star…aw who am I kidding. That’s not how she rolls. Come have a glass of wine, some laughs and celebrate good fortunate and life long dreams come true. Hell, it could be even better than the CD release party, who knows? I’ll let you know soon enough where to find us on the big night (mark your schedule - September 19th), she’s splitting for Cannes for two weeks so we’ve got some logistical crunching to do.

A fantasy like this couldn’t have been realized for a nicer woman with a kinder spirit and a more loving nature. Dej has been through heaps and mounds of drama and issues with me over the last few years and regardless of the level of our friendship as it evolved, she’s always genuinely cared about my happiness and my heartaches. She’s wiped my tears and shared my laughter, provided raw and real advice, smacked me upside the head a few times and enjoyed many a bottle of wine over Scrabble (which she cheats at).

No stranger to drama of her own, she’s worked for years to create her own destiny and in doing so serves as an inspiration to not only me, but countless others on days we want to give up the ghost. At 50 (hard to believe, I know), she’s released her first CD and is truly embarking on her well deserved path to a diva-dom she helped define.

The back cover of her CD tells the story:

Uncle Warren was a professional pianist. He started his career playing with big bands and was featured on West Virginia radio. During the WWII, he played on ships and was Jane Froman’s musical director.

He was wearing a white dinner jacket and playing at The Money Tree in Hollywood when he died.

I was in the 6th grade. Being the only member of the family who played piano, I inherited a suitcase full of music…

This CD is for him.

We now also know that Uncle Warren was Dinah Shore’s musical director and headlined the opening of The Aladdin with Buddy Hackett, more exciting details continue to be revealed daily.

Listen to samples on her site then suck it up and buy her cd on www.cdbaby.com.

You go, Dej! I love you and I couldn’t be more proud - “even if this was it. Even if it ended right now with the light sprinkling through the window like that…”

The rest of you? Dream big and make it happen.