Kelly Lynn Diehl shares some fun with Harold Slocum, 101, above, at the Freedom Inn at Ventana Can-yon. She was performing as Patsy Cline during the presentation by Tucson Desert Readers.

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It was by pure dumb luck that Roger Allen and Kelly Lynn Diehl were assigned to the same dinner table on a cruise ship last spring from San Diego to British Columbia.

Out of 12 people there each night, the pair hit it off — kidding each other to the point where food fights could break out any moment.

"You wouldn't believe it. They had to ask us to leave every night because we stayed so long," said Marlena Allen, Roger's wife.

During the trip the couple became great friends with Kelly and her husband, Bill Southern. The Allens, who own an entertainment agency, decided that someday they should visit Tucson from their home in Ontario, Canada, and check out a readers club Roger had started.

The art of reading aloud is not something Roger Allen takes lightly. In fact, he sees it as a necessary contribution to the community, especially to seniors.

"We feel we have a calling and that we are answering it," he said. "People think about reading aloud to kids, but they forget about the seniors, and they appreciate it so much."

Kelly sang as a guest performer nine times with the Tucson Desert Readers, closing her tour as Patsy Cline at Freedom Inn at Ventana Canyon Monday.