A Shout Out to Reading, PA

"Leave your inhibitions behind! Some of the best shows I've ever done have been in the oddest places, like Charleston, S.C., and Reading, Pa. I just get the feeling that when you go to the heartland, so to speak, they're very happy you made the effort. It's a big night out, a big deal.


-- Entertainer BETTE MIDLER, asked whether she would tone down some of the more ribald aspects of her act when she takes her tour to smaller towns with more conservative audiences.

And if the Divine Miss M likes to play to the Reading crowd, then they must be A-OK.

It's still a pretty depressing place.