Page 9 - Leisure Living

Pat And Anne Dailey - Aging Gracefully
By JoAnn Cummings, Feature Writer
Entertainer Pat Dailey has always had a really good time. These days, relaxing in his home on Put-in-Bay, he is having a great time. He and his wife, Anne, spend summers on the island. “We’re growing old gracefully,” Pat says with a laugh. “The best way to grow old is to not pay any attention to it.”
Anne agreed. “There’s a lot to be learned. Embracing change is hard, but it’s fun too. We love having Put-in-Bay to come to.”
“It’s like having a fishing lodge in the woods,” Pat said.
“The community is so kind and receptive. They’ve been good and very gracious to us. I still want to winter here one year,” Anne says.
Pat sits beside her and shakes his head. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Well, I want to go ice fishing,” she tells him. He grins at her.
The dog snores in the corner.
Pat has no intention of retiring. In the winters, he performs at Key West’s famous Sloppy Joe’s bar. “Some people plan their vacations around his performance dates,” Anne said. “They have it on web cam. People from all over the world come and are fans. It’s really amazing.”
“It’s (music and performing) part of my life,”
he said.
Anne nods. “He really has to work. He gets
bored.”
“If I don’t, you know, I start questioning my self
worth. You get that adrenalin from the crowds. That positive flow just lifts you up. When I was younger I would go on stage with the flu and I would come off and the flu would be gone. It’s like healing. Now I don’t work and that’s cool for a couple of weeks, but then I need to go back. Nowadays, I just do what I want. I don’t want to be gone for a long period of time. My shows are starting earlier. That way the crowds are there and can listen to the lyrics. If it gets too late, they can’t understand them or they just don’t care about them.”
His shows still attract a lot of young people. “They’re not as wild and crazy as they were. I did a show in Fort Myers and I looked out and everyone had gray hair. But I’m not on the nursing home circuit yet. The nice thing now is that I don’t have to prove anything. I’m the old guy, I get treated with respect. My road manager for 40 years has been Tony Bacho and he anticipates everything. I’m really spoiled. I don’t have to carry any gear or worry about sound
Continued on page 10
At home on the island, Pat and Anne enjoy their summer home with Rooney.
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