This is what I wrote in “Frugal Fridays,” the predecessor of this blog, after the attacks of 9/11/2001.
Last week I promised you that I would write about red-white-and-blue Las Vegas, a city with patriotic feelings as strong as anywhere else in the U.S.A. As I’ve been traveling all over our spread-out city since September 11, I have proudly seen the proof of that everywhere, from children’s make-shift pictures of flags and eagles in the windows of simple homes in the most impoverished neighborhoods to the big new flags that wave from tall new flagpoles I can see above the cinderblock walls that guard the most exclusive suburban enclaves. When we went looking to buy a flag, no store in town had one of any size, so we cut out the full-page color flag from a our local newspaper and put it in our window.
Sure, we’re a “company town,” but the towering casino marquees replaced their flashing advertisements of magic, or dancing girls, or the message of possible riches, with eagles and waving flags and the simple message of “God Bless America.” A couple of large casino companies have contributed a million dollars for disaster relief — but small businesses all over town have donation jars at their cash registers in their best effort to help fellow Americans in this time of crisis. Our firemen have been out on the street soliciting contributions for the families of their brothers lost; our entertainers are unselfishly showing up everywhere for benefit activities. And so many people arrived to give blood that the Blood Banks were swamped.
If you just come here on vacation, you might think of Vegas mostly as the Strip, the downtown casino area, and a few casinos scattered around the outskirts. Actually, casinos make up a very small percentage of our city. If you fly into town in the daytime, you’ll see that most of the buildings are not tall casinos, but are red-tile-roofed houses, stretching in neat rows for miles and miles beyond the Strip or any casino. And in each of those houses is a person or groups of people that have lives much like residents in any American city. Many of these people will never enter a casino their whole life, will never play a slot machine or sit down at a blackjack table, will never eat a meal at a casino restaurant or see a casino show. Many may go to work in casinos, but when they come home and take off their black-and-white dealer uniform or scanty cocktail-waitress costume, they’re simply tired mothers who are cooking their families’ dinner or dutiful husbands who are cleaning out the garage when they would rather be watching a ballgame on TV.
Of course, many local residents do visit casinos, but because of time or money constraints, this is a special maybe once-a-month treat. Even most of the retired residents with extra time and money don’t go to casinos every day. Most of the time Vegas residents are busy with the same activities that you and your family are busy with in a non-casino town: going to school, earning a living, playing golf, standing in line at the DMV, reading old magazines in a doctor’s office, shopping at the mall, figuring out how to make enough money to cover all the bills, reading a newspaper, getting married or divorced, finding privacy time to have sex, doing volunteer work, welcoming new babies, and burying the dead.
And when disaster strikes in our beloved country, like it did on September 11, all of our eyes are glued to the TV, just like anywhere else, whether we’re in a casino or at home. For a few days life seemed to stand still, even when we wandered around doing necessary tasks, our pain so great we could barely breathe. The normally raucous casino atmosphere was strangely quiet, with most of the scattered gamblers around only because their planes had been grounded and left them stuck in a place where they really didn’t want to be. Everyone longed to be home, and that was where most Las Vegans were whenever that was possible.
Las Vegas is trying to start getting back to normal — that’s what our President urged us all to do.
I think this still describes the Vegas I know and love..
To Bill #7.
You are not 100% correct.
We log on because Jean & Brad are just like us.
The tips Jean prints and comments about personal health and wealth make Las Vegas a much more fun place to visit.
Don’t change a thing.
Look us up at the Palms if you have time Sept. 17 – 20
June & Gil Anderson (San Antonio)
We were in Las Vegas and scheduled to fly home on the morning of September 11, 2001. We were witnessed the terrible attacks on the TV in our room at NY-NY. We called Delta and they advised us to come on to the airport. We checked out, turned our rental car in and their van dropped us at the airport. It was closed and we could see harried passengers trying to claim their luggage and get out. We caught a van back to NY-NY and they put us back in the same room we just left. We stayed five more days in Vegas until the planes began flying again and we could get home. The impressive thing is how the casinos responded to the tragedy. All their marquees had “GOD BLESS AMERICA” in big, bold letters. Excalibur put large TVs in the casino, and held a patriotic sing along out front, attended by patrons, cocktail waitresses, dealers, and others. Firemen and police uniforms began to be draped over the wall by the Statue of Liberty at NY-NY. It was an amazing time.
Jean…
People log on to your site for FRUGAL TIPS, Video Poker (&slots) information not personal information or what’s going on in the city.
please
(don’t get mad or upset – fix it.)
Wonderful comments.
I remember our trip to Vegas right after 9/11. My wife Joey and I were on the first flight out of Detroit to Vegas. We were scared but refused to let others rule our lives. We had the first row in first class and remember crying and praying, with the flight attendant, when we took off. When we landed in Vegas the airport was empty, with maybe three planes unloading. Vegas was quiet but the monument of tee shirts at New York, was beautiful. Vegas and the people of Vegas were sadden but refused to stop living. We were glad we kept our trip plans.
God Bless America
On Sept 11, 2001, my wife and I were in Las Vegas, planning to fly home to Alabama on an early flight. We awoke early, turned on the TV, and watched as the second plane hit the second tower. We knew immediately that America was under attack. I called our airline to ask what we should do, and they said we should come on to the airport. We checked out, turned our rental car in, and their bus dropped us off at the terminal. By that time, the airport had closed and guards were at the doors as frantic passengers tried to claim their luggage and leave. I immediately found a van going to the strip and we returned to NY-NY. They took us back in and put us back in the same room for two more nights. We later moved over to Excalibur for three more nights. They put big-screen TVs in the casinos so we could keep up with the news as we played. We kept up with every detail, including the Pentagon, as I spent three years there in my Air Force career. Every casino replaced their big marquee signs with “GOD BLESS AMERICA” in big letters. Excalibur held a patriotic rally outside on the ramps at their front entrance. Cocktail waitresses, dealers, guards, and players came out and sang patriotic songs and chanted “USA”. Finally, after five extra days, we were able to book a flight home. We will never forget that experience and our extra five days in beautiful, patriotic Las Vegas!
Hi Jean. Being from the Uk we were not directly in the horrors of that day , but always feel for all Americans. One of the reasons I love America is the patriotic spirit you can see from the smallest town the smallest to the largest city . Thanks for your words. I must say I had a little weep when I read them. Sue UK
We had visited Las Vegas several times a year for many years before September 11th , 2001 and again had made reservations for the first week in October 2001 to fly from Atlanta to Las Vegas . I remember so well just how quiet it was in and around airports , both in Atlanta and Las Vegas , planes were maybe half full , but the most eery feeling was on the Las Vegas Strip . Never before and never since had there been so few people in Las Vegas . Guess everyone was suddenly afraid to fly . We stood on top of the crosswalks between the Tropicana and the Excalabur looking north down the Strip and there was none of the usual activity . That is one of our many Las Vegas trips we will always remember .
Jean, touching, poignant words – and as appropriate today as they were then.
You are just wonderful….You say just the right things…Bless you!!