The Life and Times of Las Vegas

Writing about settings from where you are currently living is that you can narrate the experiences firsthand. It can make writing more authentic since the writer is in both a place and time warp, transposing experiences that make the audience understand because human experience is universal. I impart this theory to my students, and although they may want to delve into the surreal, I advocate for starters to write what they know. Teaching is something I enjoy greatly, but apart from that, I learn so much from the process of teaching, of grappling with so many writing issues every week.The biggest perk is the infectious quality that I see in my students that have the fever of the emerging artist, and the desire to succeed against the sobering odds of the publishing landscape.

Not everyone has glowing memories of growing up in the Desert. Although many may appreciate Las Vegas now, a few wanted out back when. People were embarrassed by their working class parents. Some had complicated childhoods. Many had been poor. Having the Strip as an immediate detail was not insignificant- it made for aggrandizement, where the values of Sin City made many uncomfortable. The fascination with money and what it could buy was particularly apparent to those who didn't have much. The loan sharks, the high rollers, the clubs with the naked girls, with all their plumes and sequined costumes was a reminder for those who couldn't get enough of homes, jewelry, furs, and cars.

Las Vegas then as now symbolized American consumerism and excess, a coarse ugliness of mainstream American culture. There was no nature just bulldozing. It usurped Reno's place as the nation's capital for marriage. But it also became a place where up and coming entertainers – comedians, singers, musicians, – were scouted.

Later, when the high local color was fading, flattening, as the number of hotel rooms ballooned and the competition for tourist dollars became more fierce, individual hotels swallowed up many of the service and entertainment functions that had made the city lively.

Walking pass City Center, I overhear one woman say about another to her companion, “Getta loada that bling”. She doesn't recognize diamonds from Cubic Zirconia's. Hotels are in trouble, unemployment is over 13% and the reckless overbuilding, and over-financing of the national economic crisis hit hard made by massive speculation. No city has a larger concentration of home foreclosures.

In most American cities, “new” means “improved” but in Las Vegas, “old” means last year's hotel and old people, preservation is a concept that seems like nothing but a liability.

The city has a history of espousing poor judgment, and there hasn't been sufficient attention to the fundamentals. Yet it remains a populuxe playground where tourists flock and neon enjoy a spectacular life. As the day fades into sunset, the Strip gleams in pink, lavender and azure blue. At a distance, the neon lights shining between the dark silhouettes of the palms soften into a romantic sway. Like many of its attributes, it is an artificial sunset, but still a gorgeous one.