Two or so weeks ago, my Brother and I were returning from a trip to a small casino in our area, when today's Battle Of The Bands theme occurred to me. I feel a strong affinity for Las Vegas themes - the flash, the glitz, Old School "Rat Pack"-like casinos & lounges - because, according to my dear departed Ma, I was actually conceived in this historic Vegas Hotel / Casino:
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As I recently mentioned to Lee here, "I used to like Las Vegas a great deal and went there often in the 1970s through the early '90s. But 'Classic Vegas' probably disappeared in the mid-'90s and I have no desire to ever visit there again. The last few times I was driving in the area, I went right through Vegas without ever even considering getting off the highway. No thanks. Like everything else, it ain't what it used to be."
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Everything eventually deteriorates, but I sure do remember and miss Old School Las Vegas, doggone it! One of my favorite Vegas memories is of seeing my Pa cleaning up in a Blackjack tournament at downtown's Lady Luck casino in 1988. Sadly, today, my Pa is gone, and so is the Lady Luck.
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Also gone is [link> The Algiers, my all-time favorite Vegas establishment. What a trip back in time that place was! Even in 1990 the joint felt like 1956!
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Although I always loved the atmosphere of Vegas, I've never really been a big gambler. The ONLY thing I know about poker is this:
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Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy.
She'll beat you if she's able.
You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet.
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Well, speaking of my conception, Classic Vegas, The Algiers, and the Rat Pack, let's have some fun with a LADY LUCK (or "Blow On The Dice") music theme. Below are two songs for your voting consideration. Please vote for whichever of the songs you dig the most. And then please make sure you visit all of the other BOTBers (see participation list in the right column--->) and drop your two bits into their slot machines also.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!
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LUCK BE A LADY -- Frank Sinatra (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfiKk4wxiVM
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LADY LUCK -- Kenny Loggins (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClnyOy-xyeU
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I'll return on or around September 8th to announce the winner.
Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy.
She'll beat you if she's able.
You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet.
.
Well, speaking of my conception, Classic Vegas, The Algiers, and the Rat Pack, let's have some fun with a LADY LUCK (or "Blow On The Dice") music theme. Below are two songs for your voting consideration. Please vote for whichever of the songs you dig the most. And then please make sure you visit all of the other BOTBers (see participation list in the right column--->) and drop your two bits into their slot machines also.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!
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LUCK BE A LADY -- Frank Sinatra (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfiKk4wxiVM
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LADY LUCK -- Kenny Loggins (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClnyOy-xyeU
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I'll return on or around September 8th to announce the winner.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
(a.k.a. The Joker Of Clubs)
Having never seen the bright lights of Vegas, I admit I'm curious to visit this flashy dessert town. It would be fun to drop a few coins in the slot machines and see the showgirls. Maybe, if we ever take a trip out west then we can squeeze it in our itinerary. :)
ReplyDeleteI listened to both videos for a few minutes and I was I thought I knew which one I liked the most but then I got more than half way through the one I started off digging when it sort of got under my skin. It seemed to jarring on my nerves for this early hour. My opinion might be different if it were later in the day.
This being all said, I'm going with Frank Sinatra. There's no denying his classic crooner style has real appeal and overall it's just easier on my nervous system. :)
Stop by to join in the fun of my Sep. 1st BOTB when you have a sec, my friend!
CAThy ~
DeleteThere are LOTS of wonderful sights to see out here in the West. I don't think I'd put Las Vegas real high on that list, although it's certainly one of the world famous locations.
The Grand Canyon is certainly a must-see, and I'd say the Redwoods and Lake Tahoe, too. And that's without even getting into some of the famous Western gold mining towns, which are of particular interest to me.
~ D-FensDogG
All of the points of interest you mentioned are definite destination attractions we hope to see someday. The landscape is so different out west. We hope after DH retires to make a trip that way. Who knows, maybe we'll come close enough to you that we can meet or share a meal. :)
DeleteThat would be terrific. I know this area well enough to point out the highlights - the dos and don'ts - the bests and worsts, etc.
Delete~ D-FensDogG
I've been to Vegas a couple of times and enjoyed it, but the Rat Pack era would have been even more fun, I'm sure. ☺ In that vein, I have to go with Ole Blue Eyes.
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE ~
DeleteYou've done it again! 'The Purple Waylon Effect' in action.
Before I even published this Battle I told my Brother that the *only* vote I was completely certain about in this contest was that, "Debbie will vote for Kenny Loggins, if for no other reason than that fiery guitar solo at the end."
Goes to show ya what I knows!
~ D-FensDogG
My wife Betty and I have watched several films recently that showed Vegas back in the 40s and 50s and later and I felt kind of sad about what was gone. I agreed with Betty that the new Vegas looked kind of cool like a theme park, but it lacked what it used to have. Especially the buffets. Then there is the homeless population of over 2000 who live under the Vegas strip in the network of storm drains. It's a crazy place, but it's a big city.
ReplyDeleteSinatra lost me from the get go. I didn't like the intro at all and really I've never cared for this song much. Sinatra is king of his domain, but even a king has to take a crap sometimes I guess.
The Loggins song was pretty cool. I was snared right off with that mandolin. The rest of the song was a terrific musical ramble that could carry me wherever I felt like going while I'm listening to it.
An easy vote for Kenny Loggins from me.
Viva Las Vegas!
Lee
LEE ~
DeleteI agree with your wife entirely. A "theme park" is an excellent description of what Vegas looks like now. Gone are the really artistic neon and intricately flashing light-bulb signs, replaced with computer generated electronic billboards. The casinos have become impersonal, money-grubbing corporate leviathans where *nothing* is free and *everything* costs top-dollar.
Ironically enough, even though Disneyland began as a theme park in 1955, I could actually draw some parallels between it and what has happened to Vegas. Both have gotten much worse with age; the wonder and magic have been destroyed.
Kenny Loggins appreciates your support and will comp you a buffet the next time you're in Vegas (...if he can afford it).
~ D-FensDogG
Damon Runyon, who wrote the stories that inspired "Guys And Dolls," from which "Luck Be A Lady" is drawn, was a particular favorite author of my stepfather (God rest his soul), who used to have his Latin students translate Runyon's stories into Latin. So it's no surprise, I guess, that I'd choose "Luck Be A Lady" for this battle. As for "Lady Luck," I prefer JJ Cale's song of the same name.
ReplyDeleteBROTHER JOHN ~
DeleteI knew that 'Luck Be A Lady' was from 'Guys And Dolls' (I actually own the movie on DVD), but I did not know that the play / movie was inspired by anything written by Damon Runyon.
Nor did I know (or at least remember) that JJ Cale recorded a song titled 'Lady Luck'. I'll be sure to check it out. In hindsight, I believe perhaps that would have been a better match-up than using Sinatra. First of all, he's "SINATRA!"; and secondly, I fear maybe some voters have gotten the idea that they were supposed to vote for what they considered the more classic Vegas-y song, rather than just which one they personally like better.
Even after a decade, BOTB is still damned tricky!
~ D-FensDogG
I remember the very first time I visited Vegas. It was in 1987. My bestie and I stayed at the Sands. I remember being blown away with all the buckets of coins that everyone carried around. And some people were disappointed in their buckets would actually just leave them behind. My bestie and I would watch for these and split our findings. Then life got a little busy for me and I didn't return until 2004. I'd return every year after that until 2011. In 2004, I stayed at Sam's Town. The next year I stayed at the Stardust. I stayed at the Stardust every year until they tore it down. Then it was the Flamingo, and then The Tuscany. The Tuscany has Marilyn's Cafe where you will find the very best pancakes I have ever had. I stopped going, but I have friends that live there now and some that still return each year. I hear about all of the changes to he strip and it makes me sad. There's a new stadium being built and Formula 1 will be there in November. What used to be a quick 5 minute drive now takes over an hour, thanks to all the construction. Growth is good, but I hate seeing the old standards go away.
ReplyDeleteThat being said... I don't think of Kenny Loggins when I think of Vegas. My vote goes to Mr Sinatra, if nothing more than for the nostalgia.
-Mary
MMQE ~
DeleteI hope you liked the Sinatra recording better than Kenny's song, just in general. Because LADY LUCK (or "Blow On The Dice") was the theme -- which automatically conjures up mental images of Vegas -- but the really important thing was that you "vote for whichever of the songs you dig the most."
The Sands is where my Ma & Pa spent a wedding anniversary and saw Tony Bennett. And decades later, my Pa and I saw Keely Smith with Sam Butera & The Witnesses at The Sands.
Also memorable was seeing Glenn Campbell at The Riviera and getting to visit him in his dressing room after the show. (It's all in who you know!) And the great trumpet player Jack Sheldon at The Four Queens.
Probably my very *earliest* memory of Vegas is of swimming in a motel pool during a lightning storm (until my Ma yelled for us to "Get out of there!") And of waiting for my parents to come around again on the Horse-Around Bar at Circus Circus, so I could get more quarters for the carnival games on the second floor. Both of those memories are from the 1960s.
~ D-FensDogG
"Based on her response, I fear that Mary also may have placed too much emphasis on the theme when she voted."
DeleteNope. I just simply prefer Sinatra over Loggins in this case.
Spent the weekend putting together Rocktober posts. I'm about halfway done. But I was kidnapped yesterday afternoon and haven't been able to return home. Maybe they will return me this evening or in the morning before I leave for treatment. Doc gave me some Ativan to take before treatment so hopefully we'll have a better experience.
-MMQE
Hey, Missy (Missy Mary Quite Eavesdropping), you've gotta lotta nerve listening in on other people's conversations! Why!... Why!... Why, I'll bet you're that same woman with binoculars that I've seen watching me through the window while I change into my Winnie-The-Pooh pajamas!! You otter be 'shamed o' y'se'f!
DeleteIt sounds like you done right 'n' done goot when you "boted" in this Battle. (Pen, meet calendar!) I'd raise my glass and toast to ya, if'n I was drinkin'. But, actually, at the risk to my well-coiffed reputation, I will admit that right now I am *NOT* drinkin'. I'm eating Trader Joe's 'Celebration Cake Gelato' "with cake pieces & rainbow sprinkles". It takes a "confident heterosexual" man to dip his spoon into something like this!!
(However, I *DID* have a cocktail earlier at The Peppermill casino. I ordered a "Mr. Peabody's Waybac Machine". Don't bother trying to find that recipe via Google. Google ain't man enough to comprehend the stuffs *I* drink! Incidentally, I also won $5 at video poker. You can call me "Maverick".)
With all this yakking about Vegas and 'Swingers', I actually watched the movie again tonight. Did the old Las Vegas 'Lady Luck' casino show up in the movie? Yer dern betcha it did! Probably in the first 15 minutes.
'Swingers' most definitely has one of the very funniest movie endings of all time!!!
~ D-FensDogG
(a.k.a. Maverick, The Joker Of Clubs)
Hands down Frank S for me. It's just classy in that whiskey in a glass kinda way. I have never been and not sure I want to. It just seems that it became more surface polished. I would have liked the Era of the 50s to the earlyb80s best.
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteVegas still had some of that Old School Whiskey-In-A-Glass Class & Cool up to the very early '90s. Then corporate America took over completely and started razing so many of the iconic places.
The Golden Nugget's famous entrance was fully modernized; The Sands got flattened; The Algiers was leveled, later they knocked down The Stardust, and even the free show at Sassy Sally's disappeared! And, of course, Lady Luck no longer resides in Vegas. It's just a big amusement park for Millennials & Gen XYZ and their children now, in my opinion.
~ D-FensDogG
I say it got Disneyfied
DeleteGood song choices, Emcee ;-) Can anyone think of the Rat Pack without thinking of Vegas? I saw some really wonderful shows there, but I was always glad to get back to ordinary life.
ReplyDeleteSinatra was good. Bennett would have been better ;-) My vote goes to Loggins for a breezy tempo on an end of summer day.
Power outages where I am now are slowing up my visiting - but I'll be around soon.
dee KAY ~
DeletePoor Kenny really needed and appreciates your support here!
I sure hope they've gotten that power outage issue resolved. If not, hopefully you're getting cool air and maybe some rain (like I currently am), so you're not frying in that Arizona heat.
>>... I saw some really wonderful shows there...
Same here. But one of the most memorable -- due entirely to the shocking sadness of the situation -- occurred in probably 1987-1989. I was with my Pa at The Mint casino downtown (I always loved that iconic pink sign!) We were dinking around the slot machines and decided to get a drink at the bar. And that's when the keyboard player, who was playing a set for free on a postage stamp-sized stage in the middle of the casino's main floor, caught my attention.
I had to tell my Pa who the famous musician was, because this guy was outside of my Pa's musical timeframe. BILLY PRESTON!!!
Apparently his career had nosedived so badly due to drugs and other personal problems that he had been reduced to playing free for the entertainment of gamblers. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and that sad image has remained engrained my mind all these decades later.
~ D-FensDogG
This is an interesting battle theme, though not my two fav songs. I really like Kenny Loggins but the song is well down the list of them for me. I like the guitar solo near the end of it, but he overdoes his breathy style at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteSinatra is doing his usual slightly off tune Sinatra thing... which I usually like. But I am not a huge fan of the song itself and mainly what it has going for it is a nostalgic feel. Based on the blog battle theme, I will vote for Sinatra because that they both support that nostalgia.
As you know, I totally agree with you about Las Vegas. It used to have "something special," and like virtually everything else, it has lost it. It still had some of it in the late 80's, which was the last era that I spent much time there. For several years I'd attend a convention that lasted a few days. I always had fun then even without gamling OR drinking! I was back again once in the late 90's and it was just a Six Flags for reprobates.
Sixgun McItchyfinger
McBRUHTHUH SIXGUNBOY ~
Delete>>>... "This is an interesting battle theme..."
Ooh! Always scary when the word "interesting" pops up!
Kudos for mentioning the guitar solo in Kenny's song! I'm kind of surprised it hadn't been mentioned by anyone previously. I will definitely have more to say about that in my BOTB Results post.
>>... "Based on the blog battle theme, I will vote for Sinatra..."
Well, putting the theme aside, would you say that you like Sinatra's recording *better* than Kenny's? Granted, you don't like either one very much. But if you *HAD* to listen to one recording or the other once a month, would you choose the Sinatra song? Because *that* is what I'm really looking for. The theme was just a way to tie the songs together for a match-up, but it is secondary to the songs themselves.
GOL! "Six Flags for reprobates."
Oh, man, that's a perfect description!
There was still enough old school style to Vegas in the early '90s for me to dig it. But, yeah, in the mid-'90s it really started to come undone. (My Pa often said that he liked Vegas much better when The Mob had control of it. And he was right. Corporate America is *worse* than The Mob... in possibly every way!)
If you haven't seen it yet, I'm going to remind you of the movie 'SWINGERS' which Judge Al turned me onto years ago. It's a silly, fun movie that captures a certain time & style in both L.A. and Vegas. ("VEGAS, BABEEE!")
'Swingers' always reminds me of the night (circa 1983) when Twinkie and I, on a sudden whim, decided to go to Vegas. As was usually the case with The League Of Soul Crusaders, we made NO arrangements in advance. So we did that long drive through the desert late in the night. When we arrived, we got "laminated" on The Strip, having a drink in almost every casino. And then we realized...
...it was some holiday weekend and every hotel & motel was booked solid!
Twinkie and I tossed and turned all night in his truck, parked in some dirt lot near a construction site, outta view of the coppers. And the next day, we made that drive back to L.A. with hellacious hangovers. (Mine was so bad I saw telephone poles doing jumping jacks!)
Just writing about it now, I can almost feel that Vegas hangover creeping back into my noggin. Ugh!!
That Vegas trip was *before* the trip we made to Mexico, on a whim, again without any advance preparations. But on that trip, the town of Ensenada was good enough to provide me with a "room".
~ D-FensDogG
Well, it IS an interesting battle, and will even say that "I like it" even though the two songs are not favorites.
DeleteAs to your forced question, if i HAD to listen to one a month, I would choose Loggins and wish that I could cut it back to once per year, or instead listen to the entire Loggins and Messina catalog WEEKLY. I like most of Sinatra, but this song for some reason just not so much.
Six
So, if you wish to count the vote as for Loggins given my new answer having excised the "Vegas" part of the equation, don't fight it. Or is that playing too footloose with the rules? Have we entered the danger zone if I change? I'm alright either way.
Delete6
Yes, I see what you did there. ;^)
DeleteAnd I'll have a remark about 'Footloose' too, in my BOTB Resluts post.
10-4. Based on your clarification, I'm going to count you as a vote for Kenny. The themes are just a device for bringing two different songs into competition with each other. But first and foremost -- no, in fact, exclusively! -- what I am always asking is "Which of the two songs do you, the voter, like better?"
If I did a 'Riot' theme, I wouldn't want to know which song sounds the most like a riot. I would want to know "Which song annoys you the least?" :^D
Based on her response, I fear that Mary also may have placed too much emphasis on the theme when she voted. But she is going through cancer treatments right now, so I'm not going to pester her for greater clarification. But I appreciate you answering my question and reexamining your position in light of my better explanation.
~ D-FensDogG
I always use your correct criteria for voting, but in this case my feelings about the two songs were SO close that I figured I would let Vegas nostalgia win out this time. I sit corrected.
DeleteVI
I've never been to Vegas. I want to go at least once to say I did. I do like to play the slots. As far as the songs I have to go with Frank. His voice is just velvet to me.
ReplyDeleteCHRISTINE ~
DeleteAs someone who's never been to Vegas, you'll probably enjoy it. It's the old-timers like Lee, MMQE, dIEDRE, Sixgun and myself who complain about what it's become since its true heyday. But not having the Old School reference by which to judge it, you'd probably dig Vegas just fine.
I mentioned the 1996 movie 'SWINGERS' above. If you've not seen that, I recommend it. Jon Favreau has perhaps the most cringey (cringy?) scene in Hollywood history, and Vince Vaughn is memorably annoying (but he gets his comeuppance at the end).
Also, for classic Vegas lovers, I recommend the movie 'One From The Heart'. I love it far more than I probably should. But I really dig the magnificent cinematography and how they managed to capture old school Vegas *entirely* on sound stages. Hard to believe that even the airport was indoors!
~ D-FensDogG
I always found Vegas to be severely overrated. It's so corporate now, and it seems like it's trying to be half amusement park and half modern, upscale luxury that's only appealing if you're a CEO or one of those temporarily embarrassed millionaires who's just one all-in away from hitting the big time (Uncle Jim was always the latter, sadly). Having only ever seen this new Vegas, I can't imagine going there, sitting down at a swanky cocktail lounge, and feeling 'cozy' and 'intimate' (what a great advert!).
ReplyDeleteI do love Frank Sinatra, especially when I'm thinking about lucky ladies. His version wasn't Marlon Brando's (the gold standard powerhouse version of this song, naturally), but I do have a fondness for some classic Frank. Kenny's tune wasn't bad, but it just didn't quite do it for me in the same iconic way. An easy bote for ol' Blue Eyes.
BEER-WHILE-BATHING BOY ~
Delete>>... His version wasn't Marlon Brando's (the gold standard powerhouse version of this song, naturally)
Ha!-Ha! But ain't dat da twooth! Still, Ol' Blue Eyes gave it his best shot.
I'm happy to report that, apparently (according to lyin' Google), THE PEPPERMILL has managed to survive Corporate America's bulldozing of Old School Vegas:
https://www.peppermilllasvegas.com/
It may be the only place still standing for Old School visitors who remember Sinatra, Deano, Prima and even Elvis. The Peppermill still existing on the Vegas Strip is almost a Twilight Zone episode in itself. Somehow Father Time (and American greed) forgot it was there. It's like the place was built on a small piece of land that's in a time warp (not to be confused with "warp speed"), and only people with a pure heart can even see it! Corporate CEOs cannot see it standing there, otherwise they surely would have knocked it down by now and built a Marvel Comics-themed casino there.
Just yesterday I spent a few hours at The Peppermill in Reno. Won $5 playing video poker while drinking Pigeon Head Pilsner on tap (for the outrageous price of... FREE).
Believe it or not, The Peppermill in Reno is much bigger and even better than the old Vegas version. First of all, it's an actual casino & hotel (not just a restaurant & lounge), and on top of that I think it may be my favorite casino ever. So clean 'n' classy! Beautiful decor, really excellent restaurants -- but no cheap buffets :-( And, yes, it too has a Fireside Lounge that looks just like the one in Vegas. Just a beautiful place that always makes me feel like I have stepped back in time to Old School Vegas. (Did I ever tell you the story I heard from a bartender at Reno's Fireside Lounge, and how he was reunited with his lost daughter nearly 30 years later?)
In Los Angeles, there was a place where Venice, Mar Vista, and Culver City all sort of crashed into one another. And in that location there used to be a great establishment called The Crest House Restaurant & Lounge. My favorite cocktail lounge ever. I wrote about it in an old 'Stuffs' blog bit. The place was so small and cozy and intimate (yes, with a fireplace for chilly nights) that these two pictures show the lounge in its ENTIRETY:
Crest House Lounge
https://i.imgur.com/5P8BPYa.jpg
Crest House Lounge
https://i.imgur.com/s91NeR9.jpg
The Countess and I were regulars. (Our booth was the one right next to the jukebox... which included music by Glenn Miller, Louis Prima & Keely Smith, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, etc.) Sadly, it's been gone for many years now. But it was so Old School that every time I walked into that place, I half-expected to see Sinatra and Deano and Sammy Davis Jr. sitting at the bar!
I remember being at The Crest House Lounge -- in my normal booth -- watching the Rodney King Riots occurring live on the small television set. It was like the mayhem was happening in some other world!! Probably the all-time ultimate example of "Incongrutiating" (a word I invented when I was still writing reviews on BigBitch.com).
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and drop "two bits" into my BOTB Slot Machine!
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation
Man, I probably passed by the Vegas Peppermill countless times and never even noticed its existence. Not that I was in the right frame of mind to notice it back when I was in Vegas. With that said, Google images sez that the Reno location looks MUCH better. Not just the casino, but if I was staying in a hotel, this is the EXACT room I would want. This looks like the kind of room I'd want on a dream vacation.
Deletehttps://www.visitrenotahoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Peppermill-Deluxe-King-PARTNER.jpg
And don't even get me started on how much I wish I could have been around for one of those cozy, intimate bars with the jukebox and the fireplace, like the Crest Lounge. These days, I'm lucky if a bar isn't playing crappy Millennial-whoop(™) pop music over the loudspeakers.
Now then, I am dying to hear this story about the bartender who reunited with his daughter. It kinda sounds like the sort of story John-Boy would tell, and the sort of story I'd want to hear while sitting next to a fireplace and a jukebox, sipping a beer.
~Chief Julio
J S-A ~
DeleteA couple weeks back, I did something I very rarely do anymore. I went out at night to have a cocktail (gin & tonic -- because details matter) at The Pour House, a bar in the heart of downtown. The loud *music* (using the word liberally... in multiple ways) was so blasted bad that it drove me outta the place and back home after just a single drink -- which I drank fast!! The good times are... gone.
THE FIRESIDE LOUNGE STORY:
Some of the details are hazy now because of Time & Whiskey. But, essentially, this is very close to the truth. I was in the Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill casino in Reno. It was probably 2016 or 2017. I got into a conversation with this nice, elderly bartender. I'll call him "Bart". And somehow the discussion turned to this amazing story he told me. I am certain that it was true.
Bart had been working as a bartender at the Fireside Lounge for years, when the place hired a new employee. She was the new bartenderess, approximately 25 years old. I'll call her "Beth".
So, Bart was training Beth on the ways of the Fireside Lounge, and they instantly developed an unusual rapport. There was nothing the least bit romantic about it. A purely platonic friendship (he was old enough to be her dad -- wink!-wink! nudge!-nudge!). But Bart & Beth's personalities meshed so naturally and perfectly that everyone else started noticing it. They had identical senses-of-humor and seemed like they could read each other's minds. Beth began requesting a work schedule that coincided with Bart's schedule and they became "the team" at The Fireside Lounge. Other employees and some customers started saying that it seemed as if Bart & Beth were like dad & daughter.
Well, Bart was as acutely aware of the uncanny relationship as was any of the other employees and customers. So one night he began asking her some personal questions, like where she was born, where she'd grown up, what her parents had been like, etc.
Beth had been born in the United States. In California, if memory serves me. But when she was only about 2 years old or so, her mother - I'll call her "Eve" - took Beth and moved out of the country. (I wanna say she split for Australia or England or one of them places like that. ;-) Beth grew up hearing about how her dad had been a really rotten, abusive man, and that's why Eve sneaked her out of the U.S., never allowing her bad dad to know where they were.
Well, you already know where this is going. When all of the questions were answered, it was clear that Bart was Beth's biological pa. Everything Eve had told Beth about Bart was a lie, and he had spent years trying to locate his daughter, because he loved her. But Eve did a good job of hiding overseas, and eventually Bart figured he'd never see his daughter again.
After she became an adult, in her early twenties, Beth got an urge to move back to the country of her birth, even though she had no clear memories from those early years. And then, a couple years after returning to the U.S., one day she turned up tending bar right next to her dad at the Peppermill's Fireside Lounge in Reno, Nevada!
The Peppermill has a massive and terrific sports book on the first floor. It's the nicest sports book I've ever seen in any casino anywhere. (my own Pa would have *loved* it!) Now, can you imagine the Vegas line betting odds on the above story actually happening?! Astronomical odds!! Let's face it, indeed that would have made a fantastic segment on one of John-Boy's 'IT'S A MIRACLE' episodes. There was nut'n coincidental about what happened at the Fireside Lounge. That was clearly the handiwork of God. God said that Bart & Beth - dad & daughter - should be reunited, ...and it was so.
~ D-FensDogG
Like Eavesdropping Mary, I've had my ear to the keyhole of your other posters. Your comment to Beer Brother B about the Peppermill being forgotten - as in a Twilight Zone episode - reminded me of a short story I really liked from a high school lit class. It was "The Street That Got Mislaid" by Patrick Waddington. It is only 2,000 words and is easily found via web search. A delightful little tale that could be updated for our digital times with a tweak or two. After all, deep-staters, hackers, and election officials seem to be able to make reality go missing just by changing a few digital files here and there.
ReplyDeleteSixgun McTwitchy
McTWITCHYFINGER ~
DeleteThanks for the recommendation, McBrother! That sounds like something right up my alley and I will definitely read it before I start working on r-E-ply #3 Of ____? Which, by the way, I hope to begin sometime tomorrow. Other than having to go to the post office to mail three pocket knives to a friend of mine, tomorrow is mostly open.
Why three pocket knives? Because I don't owe him four, of course! ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
Al Bondigas here. Well, Stephen, you already knew my rulin' before you even posted this battle. As we've discussed on many occasions, I never got the Sinatra thing. There is nothing special about his voice, there is nothing charismatic about him and he's basically a stick figure with a microphone in his hand. I enjoy the crooner genre, especially Bobby Darin and Sammy Davis Jr., but they had some life to them. If there was ever a case of the emperor being naked, it was Frank Sinatra. Rulin fer Loggins!! That's it, that's muh rulin'.
ReplyDelete"Well, I don't know about tha-a-at!" (spoken like Martin Crane).
DeleteI mean, after all, you gotta admit that Frank Sinatra was pert-dern good as that Singing Sword in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'. He may have never eclipsed, or even equaled that performance, but he was certainly the Carroll O'Connor of singing swords! ('Witchcraft' *never* sounded better.)
~ D-FensDogG
Butting in again...
Deletebut he was certainly the Carroll O'Connor of singing swords! ('Witchcraft' *never* sounded better.)
Better to have been Carroll O'Connor than Jean Stapleton in this situation.
Butting out now . It's the 7th. I need to go see if the Partridge Family will be celebrating or congratulating a new winner.
MMQE ~
DeleteI expect to be voting for SUSAN DEY again next month. (I'm going all the way with Susan Dey!)
Pssst!... I pray the treatments are going well.
~ D-FensDogG