[mousepod]

I never thought I'd have an opportunity to share my favorite Tom Jones story on the LoT, but since Prudence started the thread:

A dozen or so years ago, when we still lived on the East Coast, Heather & I decided to go see a Tom Jones show at the Garden State Arts Center in NJ. We brought along my pal Chris and Angie, Heather's friend and workmate from Betsey Johnson. Considering the high swank factor of the show, we dressed up in our snappiest duds, the girls wearing sexy crepe de chine dresses from work.

When we arrived at the amphitheater, we quickly realized that we were among the youngest folks in the crowd. How sad, we thought, that more people from our generation didn't appreciate the pure genius of TJ. We settled into our seats and awaited the start of the show.

Tom hit the stage like a whirlwind. His band rocked. He belted out every single hit with such gusto that it felt as if the entire theater was electrified. It didn't matter how old the audience was - we were all screaming teenagers.

We noted one odd, slightly disconcerting thing, though. The man sweat. A lot. Not a "mop your brow between songs" kind of sweat, but a "someone stuck a garden hose up him" sweat. It literally poured off him from the moment he hit the stage.

The main set neared its end when Angie turned to us. "I'm going to rush the stage and hug him. The security guards look like a bunch of high school kids."

And she did.

Her single act of insanity triggered some kind of reaction, because within minutes the stage was attacked again and again by wild-eyed adult women, who were no match for the scrawny security. Tom obligingly hugged each one, and never missed a beat.

On the way back to the car, still buzzing from the outstanding show, Heather, Chris and I looked over to Angie to congratulate her for starting the flood of hugs. And then we noticed something. Crepe de chine, you see, shrinks when it gets wet. Her beautiful party dress, which had begun the night as a mid-calf number, was now knee-length in the front.

God bless Sir Tom, that sweaty bugger.