Garth Mania.....

Last week’s press conference wasn’t even finished when you began to see the visible effects of the announcement that Garth was coming out of retirement. While members of the media sat inside the Encore Theater listening to Garth Brooks and Steve Wynn tell how their deal evolved, Wynn personnel updated the large lighted signs in the lobby with new signs proclaiming, simply, “garth” in white letters on a black background. Portable signs with posters announcing the start of ticket sales were placed in the middle of the theater lobby, in plain view of and just in time for the media representatives exiting the press conference. Garth’s picture was added to the Encore marquee; his image now looks out over Las Vegas Boulevard like those of hundreds of other perfomers who came to the Strip before him. The crowning touch came Thursday evening when the animatronic singing frog in Wynn’s Lake of Dreams donned a black cowboy hat for it's performance of “Friends in Low Places;" in previous performances, the frog had remained hatless.

Naturally, there’s been lots of excitement since Garth Brooks and Steve Wynn announced the terms of Garth’s 5-year deal to perform at Encore. The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that over 31 million people viewed various television news broadcasts of the October 15th press conference. If only one person out of every hundred who watched that press conference go to see Garth, the new Garth show will be sold out for every performance until almost the middle of its fourth year. And that’s if each of those people go by themselves, mind you.

Traffic to Wynn’s website has skyrocketed as a result of the announcement. Tickets for the first twenty shows go on sale Saturday morning at 8 a.m. That means 30,000 seats will be up for grabs. It’s difficult to predict how many people will be poised with computer or phone in hand come 8 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday morning. Wynn’s Vice President of Public Relations and Advertising, Jennifer Dunne, told the LVRJ that they are gearing up to handle what will surely be “unprecedented call volume."

Norm Clarke speculated in his LVRJ column that this could be the beginning of “Garth mania.” There has been a lot of buzz on the internet. Some creative person with a sense of humor over at vegastripping.com posted this picture of Garth with a newly-shaped black cowboy hat that matches the swoop of the top of the Wynn and Encore buildings. Some internet observers express doubt that Garth will fit in at Wynn or that they have little interest in going to see Garth, but most comments come from loyal fans who are already making plans to see the new show.

It appears the stock market may not be as excited over the news as fans are. Thursday’s press conference was held after the markets had closed; Wynn’s stock had already closed that day at $64.98. Wynn’s stock price fell on Friday and has continued to slide down to $62.10 upon closing today. Steve Wynn has declined to comment on the cost of the deal with Garth Brooks, noting only that he had to buy Garth a jet plane to convince him (ka-ching!) and that the stockholders would probably fire him if he told what Garth is costing. So understandably, Mr. Wynn wants to keep the cost of the deal under his hat, so to speak. However, I hear that if the contract were large enough, Wynn might have to disclose some of those details in SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filings. We’ll keep watching….

It's Official: Garth Brooks at Encore Wynn Las Vegas - Tickets on Sale Soon!

Today I attended my first press conference. I am an accountant by training, not a journalist. So I had no idea what to expect as I walked through the lobby of the Encore Theater just after lunch on an otherwise typical Thursday afternoon.

As I rounded the corner from the theater lobby and entered the long hall that leads to the Encore Theater, I was welcomed by a friendly staff of formally-dressed waiters, some with the proverbial white towel folded over their arms. Each one had a smile on their face and most of them nodded and smiled at me as I passed (like I was an important person). One of my favorite Garth Brooks’ songs, “The River,” played in the background as I made my way to the big announcement that was about to occur at the Encore Theater. I already knew it was a special day and it felt a little like I was walking the red carpet somewhere; it was pretty cool.

The setting on the stage was simple: just two stools with a red curtain for the backdrop along with a few artfully placed and spotlighted potted palms. And oh yeah, there was a huge bank of video cameras with t-shirt clad operators who kept pulling out light meters and punching buttons on their complicated-looking machines. But is was a press conference after all.

At the appointed hour, Garth Brooks and Steve Wynn took their places on the stage and told their story about how all this had come to pass. They talked about the two private performances, and in particular, the first one with just Garth and his guitar. I was at that performance and can tell you that it was amazing, a very unique once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. My full report of that first performance, written that same evening, can be found here. Today, Garth said that night was a magical evening to him. Steve Wynn echoed the same feelings and offered that Bette Midler, who had been sitting to him, said “Have ‘ya booked him yet?”

But back to today. Garth and Steve Wynn (somehow I feel its okay to call Garth by his first name but not so for Mr. Wynn), spelled out the specifics of the deal: a 5-year deal with 15 weeks a year, 4 shows a week (one on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and one on Sunday). Oh, and Mr. Wynn agreed to buy a "jet plane" for Garth so that he can go easily back and forth to his home and family in Oklahoma. It will be an intimate show; there will be no band, just Garth and his guitar, just like his first private performance at Wynn back in early June. Ticket prices are $125 and all seats in the theater have the same price. Garth and Steve Wynn both acknowledged that coming to an agreement on ticket price was the hardest part of the deal. I noticed that both men fidgeted a little when asked his question by one of the media representatives in attendance.

As I anticipated, Garth’s opening will coincide with the National Finals Rodeo. Steve Wynn, when questioned about bringing country artists to Las Vegas, reminded the audience that he brought Willie Nelson and others to the Golden Nugget, and then added that at one point he had a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) card (who knew??).

Garth talked about his long-standing commitment to be with his family until his youngest daughter, now 13, goes off to college. He talked about how Steve Wynn did something that nobody else has done: he didn’t just throw money at him - he found a way to allow Garth to be able to keep his commitment to his family and perform at the same time. Garth apparently takes his three daughters to school everyday and is there, he said, for soccer games, practices, etc. He said that his deal with Wynn will give him the opportunity to be with his family and still get to enjoy what he says is “easier than breathing.”

Garth’s wife, Trisha Yearwood, was at the press conference and he introduced her, always calling her “Miss Yearwood.” At the end, a reporter asked if his wife might perform with him occasionally. Garth prefaced his answer with the statement that she can sing better than he can and that she is better looking and then continued by saying “No” to the question while nodding his head “Yes.” It was about this time that Garth announced, “there are no rules” with regard to his performances. There is no set time length for the show. He said he will perform as long as he thinks the audience is up for it. He has always had this philosophy and noted that his shortest concert was one hour and five minutes and that his longest was three hours and 15 minutes, and that those two extremes were on back to back nights in San Diego.

In the news conference today, Steve Wynn did a good job of capturing the feeling that was in the theater during those private performances. The shows were intimate and one-of-a kind; Garth talked randomly about his musical influences and asked the audience for requests. It was like sitting in a room with a good friend who just happens to be Garth Brooks.

Having been to both of Garth’s private shows here in Las Vegas, I can concur with what both Garth and Steve Wynn said were magical evenings. Even my husband, a decidedly non-fan of country music, said that that Garth’s performances here in June were some of the best shows he’d ever seen. It was that special and unexpected and fun. Garth says that when he realizes the audience is singing louder than he is, he knows he’s got it right.

The setting in the Encore Theater is intimate and cozy. There are approximately 1,500 seats and as Steve Wynn noted today, the farthest seat is only 71 feet from the stage. Garth says that each performance will be unique, that he doesn’t know what he’s going to do or how long it will last until he goes out and meets the audience.

I think that Garth’s show is going to be a huge success. He has a talent and a passion for what he does. And he is a class act: a deeply-involved father, a devoted husband, and a gentleman. You notice it when you hear him talk. He not only is a great performer, he has a great sense of humor. I have to say that each time I’ve seen him, I grow to like and respect him more and more.

Welcome to Las Vegas, Garth!

Garth Brooks and Steve Wynn Plan Press Conference

Tomorrow we finally find out about Garth Brooks’ plans to headline in Las Vegas. This is the news that has been in the works since June when Garth held his surprise performances at Encore (at Wynn Las Vegas) which started the buzz that Garth was coming out of retirement.

Norm Clarke reported today in the LVRJ that there will be two news conferences tomorrow, one in Nashville and one here in Las Vegas. Norm says that Garth has a “surprise up his sleeve” for the news conference. Other sources say that the news conference will be “exciting” and “fun.”

I hear that the press conference with be at the Encore Theater from 1:00 – 2:00 pm and that it will be broadcast live on Wynn Las Vegas’ website, wynnlasvegas.com. They apparently are anticipating a healthy media turnout. (I wonder if they’ll let unknown, unemployed bloggers in as media representatives?)

I don’t have any scoop about what will be announced tomorrow but it’s safe to assume a few things. First, it sounds like Mr. Brooks himself will be at the news conference. Garth is an showman and he always like to leave audiences happy. Besides, I don’t think he’d have some PR spokesperson stand up in front of the microphone in Las Vegas and announce that Garth is coming out of retirement after these many years; this news is too big to not do it in person.

Secondly, there’s a reason they’re holding this press conference now and not two months ago or two months from now. My guess is that Garth will be performing by the start of the National Finals Rodeo which is always held in early December. If not, I’m sure he’ll be here by New Year’s Eve, one of the busiest times in Las Vegas. Then there’s the three-day weekend in January for Martin Luther King Day, and then Super Bowl Weekend (which always turn Las Vegas into a party town regardless of where the actual game is or who is in it), followed by Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, etc.

Lastly, I think Garth will be here for more than just 16 weeks as has been previously speculated. I sense that he’s doing more than just dipping his toe in to test the waters; I think he’s jumping in big time. After all, the singing frog in the Lake of Dreams at Wynn Las Vegas now occasionally sings one of Garth's songs, "Friends in Low Places." Someone kindly posted this video, complete with a bouncing ball so you can follow along with the lyrics (as if anyone didn’t already know the words…)

Anyway, this time tomorrow we’ll know for sure and Garth fans everywhere can start checking flight schedules.

Steve Wynn Says He Hasn’t Made a Deal with Garth Brooks (Or Anyone Else, For That Matter)

It’s been about five weeks since Garth Brooks’ last private concert at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Since then, there has been a resounding lack of information about any possible deal between Brooks and Wynn for a Garth Brooks show at the empty Encore Theatre.

Today we finally got a little snippet of news. During a conference call this morning regarding Wynn Resorts’ second quarter earnings, Steve Wynn was asked about plans for the Encore Theatre. Steve Wynn replied with a broad statement that the entertainment at Encore is a “work in progress.” He also said they will “use the showroom intelligently.” (I must say that the accountant in me interprets this phrase as “we will not lose money on it.”) Steve Wynn said “There are a number of people we’re talking to.” It should be noted that Beyonce opens a four-night engagement tonight at the Encore Theatre, but Wynn described her appearance as a “special event” and not an ongoing one.

Garth Brooks recently performed two separate private shows at the Encore Theatre, to “try out the room” as Garth explained in the first show on June 8th. The concerts were well received by both audiences and rumors have circulated that a deal is being discussed but that there is a holdup over the ticket prices. There was no dispute over the cost of tickets for the two private shows, however: they were free to invited guests. Regarding these shows, Steve Wynn noted on the conference call that “Garth Brooks was here as a friend – he didn’t charge” for the performances.

Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks first met in May, but by all accounts, hit it off and became friends. They speak very highly of each other in public. This morning on the conference call, Steve Wynn called Garth an “extraordinary fellow, really extraordinary.” It turns out that Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, and their three daughters, are accompanying Steve Wynn to Beyonce’s performance tonight at Encore. (Wonder if Garth’s getting to fly out to Las Vegas on the Wynn corporate jet again….)

So, the big Garth-related news from this morning’s conference call came when Steve Wynn announced “we haven’t made the deal, so we keep our cards close to our vest.” Steve Wynn closed out the Encore entertainment discussion by saying that they prefer to talk about deals they’ve made as opposed to deals they haven’t made.

Here’s what I take out of all of this. Wynn says they’re talking to a number of people, but in reality they would do that even if they are in active negotiations with Garth Brooks; Wynn has to have other alternatives if Garth ultimately says no. As savvy as Wynn's statement may be, it does nothing to suggest that they are not pursuing Garth as their #1 choice for the showroom.

Secondly, Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks are obviously on good terms. Out of all the well-connected people in the world, and I suspect Steve Wynn knows many of them, it is Garth and his family that have been invited to join Wynn tonight for Beyonce’s opening-night show.

Perhaps Garth Brooks wants to “try out the room” from the audience’s perspective. Perhaps Wynn just wants to keep the dance going and apply a little more pressure to an ambivalent Garth (remember, it was Garth who said at the second private show that he didn’t know if Steve Wynn was trying to “make his life better or worse”).

Whatever the reason, they’re still talking to each other. I think the negotiations are still underway and perhaps a deal is still possible. So while Garth indeed returns to Encore tonight, alas, it is just to see the lovely Beyonce perform.

If you’re willing to register your name and email address with Wynn’s Investor Relations department, you can listen to the recorded conference call. Click here for the link. The relevant piece about Encore’s entertainment starts after the 46-minute mark, in response to a question by analyst Bill Lerner from Union Gaming Group.

A Collector's Favorite (Recipe, That Is)

I love to cook. I am something of a recipe collector. I have 20 years worth of Gourmet magazines (and any number of Fine Cooking, Food & Wine and Cooks’ Illustrated magazines) lined up in my pantry.

I even used some down time between my last full-time job and my journey into motherhood to set up an Access database for my recipes. I have over 700 recipes entered. With this database, I can browse my recipes to plan a menu for the next few days or week or whatever, print a checklist of ingredients needed for the meals, check my pantry for needed staples and ingredients, and print out a complete shopping list, all organized in the order of the aisles at the grocery store. So you can see that I take food and eating seriously.

In our pre-kid days, I would come home from work, roll up the sleeves of my silk blouse (I wouldn’t even take time to change) and get started on dinner. Then we would sit down at the little table in our little kitchen with the stark overhead lighting and enjoy our dinner and talk about our day. Often we spent the whole evening just sitting at that little kitchen table. Good food led to good conversations and time well spent together.

I’ve wanted to write about cooking in my blog on several occasions but by the time I got around to writing, cooking got preempted by other topics. I suppose I’m not sure if anyone will be interested in yet more recipes and food info. On the other hand, of all our household chores, cooking takes up more time than anything else when you take into account meal planning, grocery shopping, meal preparation, cleaning up, etc. Cooking and eating is a central part of family life. It is something that we all enjoy. It is obvious why there is a cable channel called the “Food Network” and none called the “Laundry Network.”

So at the risk of having your eyes glaze over, I’m offering one of my favorite recipes which I made last night. “Chicken with Chilaquiles and Salsa Verde” was originally published in Gourmet in November, 2005. It is a Mexican dish that is similar to chicken enchiladas with green chile, but it is much quicker and easier.

You mix together chicken broth and salsa verde (a.k.a. green chile salsa) and bring to a simmer, add some shredded chicken, and then dump in a bowlful of tortilla chips. Stir the whole thing for a minute or two, pour onto a serving dish and top with cheese and cilantro. It’s that simple.

If you keep chicken broth, salsa and tortilla chips in your pantry, you can make this on a moment’s notice if you have leftover chicken or when you bring home a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Add a green salad or a side of black beans and dinner is done.

This is an unusual recipe and it invariably inspires low expectations from those I give it to. All I can say is, you just have to try it. I grew up in New Mexico eating great green chile enchiladas and I love this dish, both for its flavor and its simplicity. Gourmet’s introduction of the recipe sums it up: “This dish was the surprise of the year. The ingredients might seem ordinary, but trust us — it's fantastic.”

Click here to link to the recipe on Gourmet’s website. I make a couple of minor changes when I make this recipe. I cut down a little on the quantity of chips, to reduce calories, and I use either cheddar or a Mexican cheese since I don’t like feta. That’s it.

Let me know if you think it sounds weird, or, if you’re adventurous enough to try it, let me know what you think.

Life's Just a Bowl of Cherries

We all know the saying, “Life is just a bowl of cherries.” People use that saying when they’re happy, when things in life are going their way. And why not? A bowl of cherries just seems like a bowl of happiness.

Cherries are a sweet treat, nurtured to maturity by warm summer sunshine. Plump red cherries are practically synonymous with summertime. They make us think of backyard barbeques and the 4th of July and running around barefoot on a cool green lawn. We associate a bowl of cherries with things that make us smile.

But in reality, life is not always “a bowl of cherries.” Life is not always full of happiness. The truth about life is that, although there will be thousands of good days (we hope), there will be some number of bad days and we never know when we’re going to have them. So if we go along believing the whole “life is a bowl of cherries” mantra, we’re setting ourselves up to be disappointed by real life.

I’ve spent some time thinking about this because I’ve had some bad days of my own recently. Last month, a good friend died suddenly and tragically, leaving behind her 9-year-old daughter with a single father in his sixties and no other family. A couple of weeks later, my mother suffered an adverse reaction to some medication and nearly died. Last week, my husband’s brother died of complications following surgery. Now, my cousin’s wife, the mother of their two young children, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Enough already! I’ve had my fill of sadness and tragedy and grief. And on top of that, I am angry about the injustice of it all. If life were really a bowl of cherries, I’d throw mine out and wait for the next batch.

I am coming to terms with my recent spate of bad news. I am trying to offer love and support to those who need it. I am beginning to put things into perspective.

I am realizing that perhaps life is more like a real bowl of cherries than we admit: there are sour cherries lurking amidst the sweet ones and we have to learn to live with the bad ones when we pick them. There is no “cherry-picking” in real life. You can’t choose just the good days. We can’t stop bad days from happening by being “good” or responsible or doing all the right things. I am realizing that we have to savor each of the good days because they give us the strength to handle the bad days.

I am accepting that life is just a bowl of cherries after all, it’s just that the cherries are not always sweet.

Note to my readers: Thanks for your patience while I’ve been away from my blog and dealing with life’s struggles. Please continue to check back - I'll be posting again on a more regular schedule.

Blast From the Past

Every once in a while, by pure chance, you hear a song or see an image that triggers a distant memory in your brain, opening a tiny window into your past. In an instant, you’re transported to another place and time, as surely as if you had been Captain Kirk in Star Trek and said “Beam me up, Scotty.”

This happened to me the other day. My daughter and I were going to Petsmart for a dog bed for an upcoming road trip (more about that in a later post) when I saw something that took me back thirty years.

In the Petsmart parking lot, we saw a replica of the “General Lee,” the car driven in the 1970’s tv show “The Dukes of Hazzard.” (I assume it was a replica - it had Nevada plates.) It was parked among other cars so I couldn’t get a great picture of it. Plus I didn’t want to linger around, lining up multiple shots and running the risk of getting extremely embarrassed when the car’s owner came out. (There is a better picture, plus tons of information about the show, on Wikipedia.)

Just seeing that car brought back memories. In my mind, I could hear Waylon Jennings singing the Dukes of Hazzard theme song, "Just a good ol' boy, never meaning no harm...."

I remember many Friday nights watching the Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas with my younger brother in our Albuquerque home. It seems like I was in high school but since the Dukes of Hazzard apparently aired from 1979 – 1985, I would already have been in college and I was surely spending my Friday nights at fraternity parties and football games instead of watching tv. So this memory must come from the summers at home with my family.

My teenage years saw an ever-changing line-up of Friday night tv shows: the Brady Bunch, the Partridge Family, the Donny and Marie show, Love American Style, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat (or was that on Saturday??), MASH, and the aforementioned Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas. Now I’m not saying that I was overly influenced by all that tv-watching, but it is worth noting that my first job after college was in Dallas, in the very office building where J.R. Ewing had his office on the show Dallas.

I don’t know when those Friday nights of faithful tv watching ended. I suspect it coincided with either turning the legal drinking age and/or moving away from home and family. Things go full circle though. Now it’s my family, just the three of us, watching tv on Friday nights. Our typical Friday schedule starts, much to our daughter’s dismay, with a half-hour of “Nevada Week in Review” on our local PBS station, and then we watch more family-friendly entertainment. I wonder if my daughter will remember any of this someday when she stumbles upon a blast from her past.

If you want to have some fun hearing sound clips from the past, from tv show theme songs (like I Dream of Jeannie and I Love Lucy) to great one-liners in movies (including what remains to me the most terrifying sentence ever spoken in a movie: “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too”), check out this website, which I learned about from one of my favorite bloggers, Ro.

Garth Brooks in Las Vegas - Version 2.0

It was just after 3:00 p.m. yesterday on a sunny June afternoon in Las Vegas. It was 103 degrees outside but I was inside, shopping on the freezer aisle at the grocery store and was, well, freezing. My cell phone rang and my husband said some magical words: “I have two tickets for Garth tonight!”

“Woo-hoo!” I exclaimed in the general direction of the frozen peas. A short time later, with the groceries put away and dinner plans revised in favor of an early dinner out, I was heading down to the Strip to see my second Garth Brooks performance in just two weeks.

Garth Brooks returned to the Encore Theater in Las Vegas last night for another private show for Steve Wynn and invited guests. This time, Garth brought his 6-person band with him. While the first show was an intimate solo gig with just Garth and his guitar, last night’s show was classic Garth, minus the cowboy hat.

Garth was again attired casually in jeans, t-shirt and a baseball cap (a Pittsburgh Pirates hat this time, prompting my husband to surmise that Garth’s support for the “team that hasn’t had a winning season since 1992” must have more to do with Garth’s self-deprecating humor than any devotion to the team itself; I say maybe it’s his charitable nature).

The balcony was open for this show and the theater was packed; I spotted only one empty seat from my vantage point. Unlike Garth’s last performance at Encore, this appearance was no secret: the crowd knew who they were coming to see and they were primed for a great show. Garth said that the goal for the night was to “get better,” to make it seem “like last time sucked.”

Garth told how he got the call from Steve Wynn last Friday with a proposal to perform at Encore on Tuesday; that’s four days notice. Garth said that he and his band got to fly in the Wynn corporate jet. (As I noted in my previous post, Garth flew on the corporate jet last time too, but he didn’t share that tidbit with the audience last time). Garth joked that the plane was so big that they didn’t have time to go to the back of the plane and return to the front before they landed, and that the front and back of the plane had different area codes (were they making phone calls from the plane or what?).

Garth asked how many in the audience had been to the performance on June 8th and he received a respectable cheer in response. A much larger cheer arose, however, when he asked who hadn’t attended the first show, indicating that this was mostly a new crowd - a fresh audience. This audience wasn’t disappointed either. Garth, the consummate performer, rocked the house, if you can say that about a country music artist. It was a great evening.

Garth Brooks and his band performed for almost 2 ½ hours. As one would expect, they sang many of their hits, including two of my favorites that weren’t included in the first show, “Longneck Bottle” and “Two of a Kind.” (I’m still waiting to hear “Two Pina Coladas,” though). Garth joked and talked about himself and the band, but there was more emphasis on his music during this show. He had funny stories about being mistaken for George Strait and being asked by a confused fan to play Clint Black's “A Better Man.” He said the band’s motto is “Whatever It Takes,” echoing the “do-what-you-got-to-do” theme reflected in many of his songs.

Garth again raised the house lights and took questions and requests from the audience. He noted that he got the idea of talking with the audience from his wife, Trisha Yearwood. He sang some songs requested by the audience. He even sang “Happy Birthday” to a woman named Andy. And, after hemming and hawing a bit, complaining that it was too hard to sing, Garth sang “Shameless” upon a request. He said he wouldn’t have been able to sing it two weeks ago, but last night he did, and he nailed it (of course!). The energy and enthusiasm in the room was what you’d expect in an arena with 25,000 fans. Afterwards, Garth ended the show with Don McLean’s “American Pie;” the audience sang along with exuberance.

There was no announcement or hint about any future shows. It’s clear though that Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks get along well and that they are talking about something. Steve Wynn called Garth Brooks “delightful” and “remarkable.” Garth said that he “loves” Steve Wynn, even though they haven’t known each other very long. According to Garth, Trisha Yearwood says that he and Steve Wynn have “man crushes” on each other. Garth said he didn’t know if this relationship was going to work out or end in divorce. He acknowledged that he’s not used to working for someone else (or I imagine, putting together a concert with four days notice). And perhaps alluding to some ambivalence on Garth’s part, Garth said he doesn’t know if Steve Wynn is trying to “make my life better” or “screw it up.”

As the evening closed, Garth said he was heading back home, to fix Trisha’s morning coffee and do her laundry. What a guy. What a performer.

Garth Brooks Returns for Encore at Encore

Garth Brooks is returning to Encore at Wynn Las Vegas for another free show tonight. I got to go to Garth’s super-secret show at Encore on June 8th. Tonight’s show is not quite so secret: during last Friday’s performance by Larry King at Encore, Steve Wynn announced that Garth Brooks would be performing this Tuesday to do a show for invited guests. The upcoming show was also reported by Norm Clarke in his column on Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

I was out of town over the weekend and am still catching up on the news. I’m also trying to figure out how to get on the guest list, since I don’t seem to see my invitation to tonight’s show….

It will be interesting to see who gets invited to tonight’s show, what the turnout is, and how the audience reacts to his performance.

Last Thursday, I posted a list of 10 good reasons why Garth Brooks should come to Las Vegas. The very next day, on Friday, news of Garth’s return performance was announced. Ok, I’ll concede that the timing must be a coincidence. I doubt that my arguments, persuasive and well-reasoned as they were, had anything to do with Garth’s decision to return for another performance. I am however hoping that my powers of persuasion are strong enough to snag two tickets for tonight’s show. Based upon the last performance, I want to be there!

Top Ten Reasons Why Garth Brooks Should Come to Las Vegas

Garth Brooks’ surprise performance at Encore/Wynn Las Vegas last week (click here to read my description of the evening) has added to ongoing speculation that Garth might come out of retirement for a long-term show in Las Vegas. Norm Clarke reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on June 10th that a spy told him “Garth has a contract in his hands” and that they are negotiating over ticket prices. Anonymous sources on the internet say similar things.

I myself heard Steve Wynn say “Yes” when Garth asked aloud during his Encore performance if he could come back to the Encore Theatre and bring his band. Yet, still, we’ve heard no official announcement.

This has got me thinking that maybe Garth needs a little nudge. Maybe he’s mulling it over and needs some persuading.

It’s been widely reported that Garth Brooks doesn’t want to tour while his daughters are still in school. Las Vegas offers the perfect setup for Garth - he can perform for a new crowd every night without having to leave home. He just has to move to Las Vegas first.

With that in mind, I’ve come up with my own list of reasons why Garth Brooks should come to Vegas.

1. Real estate is cheap in Las Vegas right now. And since Las Vegans have a particular fondness for mega-mansions, there are probably many 10,000+ sq. ft. houses to choose from for immediate move-in. (I figure Garth can afford one of those.) Besides, everyone here knows that you need to get a big house, because once you move to Las Vegas, all of your out-of-town friends come to visit.

2. Garth could easily commute to Las Vegas while he’s house-hunting. Southwest Airlines alone has five flights daily between Tulsa and LV. Not that he needs to rely on Southwest Airlines. I hear that Garth got to fly to Las Vegas on the Wynn corporate jet for his performance last week, but Garth will find it nice to know he has options in case the Wynn plane is unavailable.

3. Garth would have a virtual lock on the country music market – there are no country music shows in Las Vegas. Yes, Las Vegas is a stop on the concert tour schedule of many country performers, but the competition would be ephemeral.

4. There is no state income tax in Nevada! Even if Garth’s already got all the walking-around money he needs, the lack of a state income tax means more money for his kids’ college fund and his charitable pursuits. That’s good for kids and charities – who can argue with that?

5. A Garth Brooks show would provide an instant boost to the Las Vegas economy. Believe me, we could use it. Room rates are down, occupancy levels are down and the visitor count is down. A Garth show could bring in gobs of tourists. Our mayor, Oscar Goodman, would probably show up accompanied by his customary showgirls and give Garth the proverbial keys to the city. Mayor Goodman, a known martini fan, might even switch his beverage of choice to beer in a Longneck Bottle or perhaps even try Two Pina Coladas, one for each hand, of course.

6. Some say the weather is not great here. I’ll be the first to admit that it may be hot in Las Vegas, but it’s hot in Oklahoma, too (ever been to Hartshorne in the summer?). And on the flip side, there’s no snow to shovel in Las Vegas. Plus, we don’t have tornadoes.

7. The number “7” is considered a lucky number in Las Vegas. Garth has a successful album titled “Sevens.” See the connection? I think a Las Vegas show would bring good luck to Garth. By the way, the main phone number of Wynn Las Vegas is (702) 770-7000.

8. Since there is currently no bar in Las Vegas named “The Oasis,” Garth could consider, as a fall back plan, opening up a dive bar/gathering place for all of his Friends in Low Places. I would seriously hope to be invited.

9. It would be good for the environment. Garth wouldn’t have to travel when the ACM awards come to town.

10. There are 800 attendees from Garth’s Encore performance that need someplace to wear their new black cowboy hats to.

So, in closing, I borrow Garth's own words and ask:

How you ever gonna know
What it's like to live there…
How you ever gonna know
If you never take a chance.

There ARE Nice People in the World!

Just when you’ve had enough of people cutting you off on the freeway, abandoning their shopping carts haphazardly in the grocery store parking lot, or talking on their cell phone and ignoring a store clerk, all of a sudden somebody does something really nice for no reason whatsoever. It renews your faith in humanity.

Today, my daughter and I went shopping at the Fashion Show Mall. We were on a mission to find a Father’s Day gift for my husband.

We found some good stuff for Father’s Day at our first store (sorry, Mr. M, no hints here). And since shopping with my daughter is rarely complete without shopping for my daughter, we shopped for her as well, finding two cute summer outfits and some earrings. Thus, having our serious shopping out of the way, we were doing some browsing just for fun at a home store called Z Gallerie.

I had just picked out a cool tealight holder when my daughter and I came upon some fun rhinestone-covered trinkets: a computer mouse, a lipstick case, and a cell phone-sized calculator, among other things. The items were so cute that we spent several minutes picking things up and showing them to each other. I especially liked the monogram keychains. I found the “E” keychain for my daughter and held it up for her to see; she let out a squeal of delight that only a 9-year-old can do. Our enthusiasm was infectious: another shopper joined in and began examining the sparkly items too, holding up a tiny crystal-covered stapler for us to see.

Eventually we left the little assortment of bling to finish our tour of the store. My daughter plopped down on an oversized round swivel chair called the “Cuddler Chair” while I went to pay for my tealight. Another shopper, the woman who had shown us the sparkly stapler, was in front of me at the cash register. As she was leaving, she asked me what my daughter’s name was, smiled at my reply, and left. I turned my attention to the store clerk to pay for my purchase. After a minute or so, the clerk called over to my daughter, still lounging in the Cuddler, and asked “Are you going to open that now?” I turned around, perplexed, to look at my daughter. Open what?

My daughter was holding a little package wrapped in Z Gallerie tissue paper. It seems that the woman in front of me, our fellow bling-admirer, had walked by my daughter on her way out, handed her the package, and said “This is for you.”

At the clerk’s urging, my daughter unfolded the tissue paper and out slid a sparkly “E” keychain. I was astounded! Apparently the other shopper had noticed us admiring the keychain and decided to do something nice for a complete stranger. The clerk told us that the woman had asked her to “just add it in” with her purchases, saying that she likes to do things like that every now and then. It gave me chill bumps then, and I got them again now, just writing about it. What a nice thing to do!

The clerk and I were just as excited as my daughter. Each of us was touched by another person’s act of kindness and we all enjoyed the moment. Although the nice woman left the store without waiting for a thank you or any sign of appreciation, I’m hoping she left with the satisfaction of having done something nice for someone else. And for her, I have to say, you made our day!

Garth Brooks at Encore Wynn Las Vegas

My husband came home last Thursday night with a copy of a brief, two-paragraph memo. It seems we were invited to a performance at Encore on Monday evening by an unnamed, “surprise” guest. “Mum’s the word,” the memo said. No further information was given. Except that the attire would be casual; jeans were acceptable, encouraged even.

“It’s Garth!” I replied. “It has to be!”

It had just been a week since R-J columnist Norm Clarke reported that Garth Brooks had dinner with Steve Wynn at SW at Wynn Las Vegas. Norm queried whether Garth might be returning to Las Vegas with a show deal. The next day however, Norm reported a flat-out denial by Garth’s publicist that any deal was in the works.

My initial certainty about the mystery performer’s identity gave way to doubt over the ensuing weekend, realizing that it was probably wishful thinking on my part (I’m a long time country music fan). Garth’s retired, after all, and there was also that public denial in the newspaper. My husband and I discussed other possibilities. Perhaps it was Larry King or maybe even Beyonce working in a practice run before their upcoming gigs. Maybe it was a new talent that was hoping to earn a spot in the now-empty Encore showroom. But nothing else made sense besides Garth: not the timing, not the secrecy, and certainly not the reference to denim attire.

When we walked in the Encore Theater last night, I knew I had gotten it right: each empty seat held a souvenir black cowboy hat.

Steve Wynn, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, introduced Garth Brooks without any fanfare, simply explaining that when he had dinner with Garth and Trisha Yearwood (a.k.a. Mrs. Brooks), he had been impressed by Garth, his personal story and his love for his family.

And with that, Garth Brooks walked out on stage, wearing jeans, an old t-shirt and a baseball cap worn backwards, as casual in his attitude and demeanor as he was in his attire. We were treated to an almost-two-hour performance that could best be described as “Garth Brooks Deconstructed.” It was just Garth with his guitar and a microphone. No trademark black cowboy hat. No button-down shirt. No band behind him; just a stool, a bottle of water and some stage lights.

The performance was part concert and part auto-biography. Garth joked about himself and told stories about his family and growing up in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He talked about his musical influences over the years and sang bits and pieces of songs by Merle Haggard, George, Jones, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Bob Seger, Dan Fogelberg, George Strait, Billy Joel, Randy Travis, and Keith Whitley.

Garth sang many of his own songs too, weaving in stories about how some of them were pitched to other artists but were turned down (“The River” for James Taylor; “Friends in Low Places” for George Strait). He talked about which song he won’t let his daughters listen to when it comes on the radio (“That Summer,” a song about a “lonely-widowed woman” with “a hunger that even a boy could recognize”). Garth didn’t get around to all of my favorites including some like “Two Pina Coladas,” “Longneck Bottle” and “Two of a Kind;” there just wasn’t time for all of his great songs.

There was a poignant moment when Garth performed his song about unexpected good-bye's, “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” Garth never mentioned Danny Gans but I suspect many in the audience were thinking about him in that moment; Danny Gans opened the Encore Theater in February and performed on that stage until his untimely death in May, 2009 from what is now said to be a toxic reaction to a pain killer.

All in all, it was an intimate, casual evening that was more like a conversation with an old friend than a formal entertainment event. Garth was funny and friendly. He was clearly at ease and enjoying himself on stage, saying at one point, “This is easier than breathing.” During the show, Garth mentioned that he’d like to bring his band back with him to “try the room out” with them. This was met by enthusiastic applause from the audience as a whole, and with an audible and emphatic “Yes” by Steve Wynn himself.

After Garth sang his traditional closing song “The Dance,” he asked for the house lights to be turned up so that he could take requests or answer questions from the audience. He graciously talked with the audience for ten minutes or so, sang a few more songs, then thanked everyone for coming and walked off stage, leaving us wanting more.

I hope that won’t be the last time we see him here in Las Vegas. I had a great evening and it appeared the rest of the audience did too.

Greetings from Lake Winnipesaukee

I’m spending a girls’ weekend in New England, in the town of Alton, New Hampshire, on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Nearby is the town of Wolfeboro which bills itself as “The Oldest Resort in America.” I have not been to this part of the country before, but it is easy to see why people have been vacationing here for 200+ years.

Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire, is nestled in the mountains and sits 500 feet above sea level in Central New Hampshire. It is surrounded by heavily wooded hills dotted with colorful cottages and grand vacation homes. The weather is mild and pleasant. Although we’ve gotten some cool weather and clouds today, yesterday, our first day here, was picture-perfect: the sun was shining, the lake was calm and blue, and a gentle breeze stirred the satisfying 75-degree air.

We’re staying at our friend’s three-story vacation home, which is built into the side of a hill at the edge of Alton Bay. Their home is situated next to a quiet country lane on a narrow piece of land that slopes down to their dock and boathouse. It is a charming blue and white cottage with sweeping views of the lake and surrounding green hills. A deck runs along the back of the house, creating a spectacular setting for dining alfresco. Inside, the house is decorated in cheerful shades of blue, yellow and tangerine with whimsical aquatic-themed accents. A trio of glass fish hangs in a window and catches the sunlight; a miniature, gabled birdhouse decorates another spot. The fireplace mantel is studded with colored-glass stones and sparkly shells. It is to this happy and serene place that we have escaped for a few days.

We are enjoying what I think of as the quintessential summer weekend-by-the-lake in New England. We are doing essentially the same things that I imagine those well-heeled vacationers of two centuries ago must have done. We take morning walks on the winding country lane; mind you, these are not leisurely strolls: the rolling terrain challenges us as it winds up and down through the neighborhood. We go out in our friend's boat for some sight-seeing on the lake and a ride into town (how cool is that, using a boat for transportation instead of just for entertainment?). On the boat, we don our jackets and enjoy the wind in our hair as we motor about, seeing some of the lake’s many islands and glimpsing vacation homes of the rich and famous. In town, we shop in the quaint shops of Wolfeboro and stop for ice cream at a walk-up “dairy bar.” We enjoy browsing the cute gift shops, boutiques and even a wine shop, each full of unique items. Back at our friend's home, we indulge in elegant and leisurely lunches on the deck; we enjoy assorted cheeses, pate and champagne one day and fresh grilled lobster and cool chardonnay the next. In the evenings, we share cooking responsibilities and enjoy good food and great company around the dining room table.

This is a picturesque place with a lot of old-fashioned charm. Everything is updated and modern but it feels as if not much has changed since the resort area first was established. It is simple, refined and authentic. It is about a million miles away from the artificial reality that is Las Vegas.

"I feel lucky, oh oh oh, I feel lucky, yeah… Think I’ll flip a coin, I’m a winner either way. Mmmmm, I feel lucky today." (Mary Chapin Carpenter, "I Feel Lucky")

It’s 5:30 am at Las Vegas’ McMarran Airport on a Thursday morning. Outside, dawn is breaking and it seeps through the window overlooking the tarmac, casting a soft glow on a row of empty slot machines. The air is filled with the jangling electronic melody of the ubiquitous slot machines but in my head, Mary Chapin Carpenter sings “I feel lucky.” I walk to my gate, accompanied by the smell of warm cinnamon rolls thick with icing, wafting from the Cinnabon shop. In my hand I carry my boarding pass, a mocha espresso scone and a very strongly-brewed large iced tea.

I do feel lucky today. I am heading to New Hampshire for a “girls” weekend. There are five of us “girls” who leave our husbands and kids behind twice a year for a weekend of shopping, eating and most importantly, talking.

The five of us became friends way back in the -80’s when we each graduated from our respective colleges and moved to Dallas, eager to begin our professional, adult lives and on our way to becoming “yuppies.” Since then we’ve all added home ownership, marriage, motherhood and other assorted milestones to our real-life resumes. We are now scattered across the United States from the southwest to the northeast yet we remain close enough to share our hardships and joys, our laughter and our tears.

This weekend we are getting together at the vacation home of one member of our little group. We will share our latest stories, cook gourmet meals, drink fine wine, stay up too late and get up too early (especially for me since I am the only one on Pacific time). I am lucky to have these friends and these weekends.

Lest I worry that I’m leaving my family behind while I go have fun, my husband and daughter planned a father-daughter weekend in Seattle for a baseball game, a trip to the Space Needle and dinner at a restaurant called “Purple.” Knowing that they will have a great weekend leaves me free to enjoy myself. I am indeed very lucky.

Enjoy Springtime. Quickly. HURRY!

I heard it on the news Sunday morning, just as I was sitting down with the newspaper and a cup of Earl Grey tea: Triple digit weather is just around the corner!

How can that be? It doesn’t seem that long ago that I stopped going out without a sweater because it just wouldn’t warm up. Now all of a sudden, SUMMER is perched on the horizon, stoking its furnace, preparing to release its unrelenting heat on Las Vegas for the next few months.

I have to admit that May crept up on me and took me by surprise; in my mind it’s still April (I have yet to get a present for my Mom’s birthday which was on April 21st so no wonder I wish it was still April). But now I that I face reality and the May calendar, I do recall that mid-May generally is the time we see our first 100-degree-day each year. I shouldn’t be surprised by what’s coming, but I think we're all permitted to lament the passing of spring.

At our house, the first sign of spring appeared toward the end of January with the budding of the pear tree in our courtyard. In February, the plum trees fluffed out their pink blossoms.

In March, the buds on the pear tree burst into thousands of papery-white blooms which all too soon looked like yesterday's confetti on the courtyard floor.

The lilacs bloomed next, and now finally the oleander, star jasmine and gardenias are in bloom.

A couple of weekends ago, my husband decreed that it was time to take out last winter’s pansies which were beginning to languish in the then-80-degree-days. We selected some purple petunias and orange daisies as their replacements. My husband planted them, along with a few herbs that I snuck into our little red wagon at the nursery. Now our courtyard is full of color. Everything is colorful, fragrant and lush.

Since I will soon be trading my {hot} morning tea for {cold} Arnold Palmers, I want to savor some spring pleasures before they’re gone. These images are from our yard and neighborhood.

I want to be able to remember these moments in June and July, when it is 115-degrees outside, and remind myself that pleasant temperatures, delicate flowers and balmy breezes will once again return.

As is often true in life, now is the time to enjoy the present and not worry about the inevitable.

Going Green, Thanks to My Daughter

“Reduce, reuse and recycle,” our daughter recently learned in Girl Scouts. We actually have been recycling for a long time: paper, plastics, aluminum cans, and glass, including our fair share of wine bottles ;-). We fill up our recycling bins faster than they can be emptied. (We in Las Vegas are fortunate to have curbside recycling; unfortunately it is only picked up every two weeks and the bins just aren’t large enough to accommodate our family of three). We’ve also gotten some of the “new” energy saving light bulbs and are slowly phasing out our old-fashioned ones.

I’ve even tried those reusable grocery bags. I enjoy cooking and we eat at home all but two or three nights a month, so as a consequence, we accumulate a large supply of plastic grocery bags. We use the bags to line the garbage can under the sink and the shredder in the office (and for poop-scooping in the back yard after our dog goes out – sorry no photo available for that one). But we barely make a dent in our stockpile and it grows larger every week, nearly taking over its corner in the pantry. And to top it off, I recently learned we can’t put these grocery bags in with our recyclable plastics: it seems the recycling company doesn’t take them because they “take up too much room” (that’s what was reported on the local evening news, I didn’t make it up). So using reusable grocery bags makes a lot of sense. I can help out the environment, reduce my bag stockpile and actually reach the stuff in my pantry.

I logically put my reusable bags in the back of my SUV so that they would be handy when I went to the grocery store. It turns out they were not handy enough: I kept forgetting them. Each time I went shopping, I’d remember the bags, folded neatly and stored under the cargo net, just about the time I was pushing my shopping cart up to the check-out lane. Oh well, I’d tell myself, I’ll remember them next time. Yeah, right. All I had done was turn myself into sort of a bag chauffeur, squiring my lovely reusable bags all about town but never taking them out. I realized I was not the only one with this problem when I spotted a sign over the entry to Whole Foods with a drawing of an elephant and a reminder to “remember your reusable bags.”

My 9-year-old daughter came up with a brilliant solution. Hang the reusable bags on a hook by the door where I will see them as I am leaving the house! She got out a cute wooden coat hook that she’d painted for me two years ago for Mother’s Day, which was still in the pantry hiding behind the plastic bag stockpile awaiting its destiny. I got the nails and hammer; my daughter got the reusable bags from my car, and problem solved. The reusable bags now hang right by (1) the garage-door switch that I have to press to get out of the garage, and (2) the deadbolt that I lock when I leave the house. I can’t miss them.

I am proud to say that I am now actually using my reusable bags. What a concept.

We Love Whistler

Sunday marked the end of the ski season for Whistler, and although Blackcomb Mountain remains open, it is a symbolic end to the season. It's a good time to share why we've become so fond of Whistler. We have been there seven times in the last 2-1/2 years. We used to go to balmy Hawaii every year, but since we discovered Whistler, it's been "Aloha, Hawaii" and "Hello, British Columbia, eh."

It all began with a memorable photo from the Whistler Blackcomb website of some little kids, maybe 4- or 5-years old, outfitted head-to-toe in ski gear. They were flanked by 2 ski instructors and stood in a line, looking out over a panorama of snow-covered peaks. The photo was taken in a location I think I recognize as the top of Whistler mountain. The kids, participants in the Whistler Kids Ski Program, were about to launch themselves down an unseen, out-of-camera ski trail. I wish I could find that photo to link to (the best I can do is a portion of the picture in the 5th thumbnail down on this page). The image of the small kids, dwarfed by the enormity of their surroundings, yet undaunted by them, was inspiring. They looked ready to conquer the world. That picture put my husband on a mission to convince our 7-year-old daughter to trade her swimsuit and sunglasses for the upcoming winter break to a parka and ski goggles. It worked.

Now that we are Whistler aficionados, we can tell you some of the reasons we keep going back:

We never get tired of this place.

The combined Whistler Blackcomb ski area is HUGE! There are 38 lifts to carry you up the two adjacent mountains, where you will find over 8,100 skiable acres with more than 200 ski runs. And when you are ready for lunch or just a break, there are 17 restaurants on the mountains. The food is really good and is reasonably priced.

They have an EXCELLENT ski program for kids. Our daughter has loved every day of her various ski and snowboard camps and lessons. The instructors have been great: they teach the obvious skiing skills and safety rules, but they also keep it fun (particularly given varying weather conditions and a spectrum of little personalities), and they understand and respect the kids' limits while encouraging them to go just a little farther than they otherwise might have.

You don't need a car. You catch a bus from the Vancouver Airport for the 2 - 1/2 hour ride (a highly recommended ticket because I promise that you won't want to drive that route in a snowstorm in the dark). Once you arrive in Whistler Village, you can either walk or use the local shuttle bus. The Village Stroll is a pedestrian-only walkway linking many if not most of the village's restaurants, shops and accomodations. For lodging not located near the Village Stroll, the city bus can handle your needs. I have seen taxis about but in seven trips, have never required their services.

Depending on where you are staying, you can walk everywhere you want to go. We have stayed in a variety of locations and have concluded that, for us, the ability to walk down the Village Stroll in the evening to choose our dinner venue trumps just about everything else.

There are lots of restaurants in the Village to choose from for breakfast and dinner. We are still discovering new finds on our 7th and most recent trip and we have discriminating tastes.

Everyone is so friendly. The company that operates the ski resort, Intrawest ULC, has a corner on the market, so to speak, and they want to make sure that everyone has a good time. So that equates to great attitudes from every employee you meet, from the online reservation agent that helps you out in a pinch to the ski instructors to the lift operators. It is a happy place.

Kids are welcome in Whistler. Unlike some ski towns that are as much about the night-life as they are about the skiing, Whistler is very kid-friendly. Every single restaurant we have visited welcomed kids. And this is not to say that Whistler doesn't have a nightlife, I imagine that it does but we haven't been out to investigate....

It is a great family vacation spot. We all have a good time. When our daughter takes a lesson or goes to Adventure Camp, my husband and I have time alone together during the day, followed by the fun reunion in the afternoon when we get to share stories and laughs about our day. When our daughter skis with us, we spend time together doing something that we can all enjoy.

Everything you need can be found here. There are grocery stores, liquor stores, bakeries, drugstores, candy stores, kitchen stores, book stores - you name it. I even found a friendly photo store with all kinds of camera and electronic stuff, including a cable to connect my camera to my laptop that is just like the one I accidentally left at home.

Kids are tired at the end of the day. This translates into easy bedtimes - they've probably already fallen asleep if you're sitting near the fire.

And as an added bonus, you burn a lot of calories while you're having a great time.

Have you been to Whistler? Do you have a favorite ski place? Let me know - we'd love to hear about it.

No Handcuffs Needed

What? A mom in NY gets arrested and spends a night in jail because she made her unruly kids (ages 12 & 10) get out of the car and walk?

I don't know if it was safe or not to let them out where she did. I wasn't there. And I don't know how far they were from home. There's a lot I don't know. But I think people should cut this mom some slack.

I first heard about this yesterday on the Today Show. In two different segments, they talked about how the mother had “snapped” and had “abandoned” her children. How she had "crossed the line." They talked about what this mom should have done: take a deep breath, try to understand where her emotions were coming from. (I'm sorry, but that advice is not helpful). They did come back in the second segment with something a little more tangible: the mom should get out of the car and tell her "sweeties" that she "needs a mommy-timeout." While this was a better solution than the first two, it did nothing to address the fact that it was the noisy kids who needed a time out in the first place, not the mom. The show's segments were based upon the presumption that the mom was completely unjustified and the focus was on what the mom should have done.

Ironically, making misbehaving kids get out of the car and walk is exactly the solution offered in one of my favorite parenting books, Parenting With Love and Logic, by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. The authors say this should only be done in a safe environment, and in a safe and age-appropriate way. (When it isn't safe for the unruly kids to get out of the car, the authors suggest the parents get out of the car, leaving the kids inside to get bored and think about the situation). So in the case of the unruly kids in NY, we don't know if it was safe or not but it certainly seems age-appropriate to me. It seems out of hand to automatically condemn the mom.

I hopped on over to Motherlode to see what Lisa Belkin and others had to say. Lisa also feels that 10- and 12-year-olds are old enough to get out of the car and walk home, depending on the neighborhood. I perused the comments to Lisa's post and I must say the fur was flying! People are passionate about this - there are now 169 comments about her post.

With the help of my 9-year-old daughter (who, for the record, thinks the NY mom was completely wrong), I tallied the first 75 comments to Lisa's post. The majority of commenters were sympathetic or supportive of the mom. There were 32 comments in favor of the mom, 19 that were neutral or needed more information, and 24 that found the mom out of line. There were harsh comments (#2 and #9, for instance) as well as helpful and humorous ones (see #16). In the end, the Today Show's perspective of an out-of-control mom was not shared by the majority in this unscientific little sampling of opinions.

Parenting is a series of judgment calls, about a thousand of them a day. How long do you leave your 5-year-old, playing quietly in his room, alone before you see what he's up to? Your 6-year-old cries at swim lessons - do you force her in the pool anyway? Is your 9-year-old ready for overnight Girl Scout camp? Judgment is a tricky thing. Different people arrive at different conclusions. We ourselves might even reach a different conclusion on a different day.

Lastly, we are human. As a parents, we do not always act in the best, most perfect way. Maybe we fail to use a polite tone of voice when asking them for the hunredth time to pick up their toys/clothes/shoes/etc. Perhaps we are a tad sarcastic when they ask us for the hundredth outfit for their Build-A-Bear friend. Anyway, I think this mom deserves the benefit of the doubt and a little time and space to figure out what works best for her kids.

By the way, my brother is a police officer with almost 20 years experience, none if it in NY, I might add. I called him last night to ask what he would have done. He paused for a millisecond, no doubt putting on his "cop" face and summoning the accompanying non-judgmental tone of voice, and said "No, I wouldn't have arrested her." I smiled. He would have left his handcuffs on his handy police-gadget-belt; no handcuffs needed.

An "Infernal" Machine?

On Monday, a US Marine was arrested for carrying a gun, ammunition, and bomb-making materials on a commercial flight from Las Vegas to Boston. I read about the incident in Tuesday's Las Vegas Review-Journal. TSA employees in Boston discovered the banned items during the Marine's layover; apparently the Marine's bag was mistakenly unloaded in Boston and had to be re-screened so that it could be returned to the aircraft for the last leg of the Marine's trip. Good job, Boston TSA. The question now is "How did this stuff get by the Las Vegas TSA?" I was curious, and not just because I live in, and travel from, Las Vegas. I read on.

The article said the Marine was charged with possession of a concealed weapon and "possession of an infernal machine." I did a double take to make sure I read the words correctly. An infernal machine? Isn't "infernal" simply an adjective used to associate something with hell or damnation? A word you use in a moment of frustration to convey your negative feelings about a person or object? (I'm fairly certain I've heard the word used in the same sentence as the word "lawyers"). Surely someone can't be arrested for owning something "infernal."


There was no dictionary close by so I reached for my laptop. Dictionary.com indicated that "infernal" means hellish, fiendish, or diabolical. OK, so nothing new there: infernal really does just means hellish and bad. So how is it that one could be arrested, in this day and age, for possessing a "hellish" or "diabolical" machine? I mean really, my curling iron could qualify for that title on some days.


I walked in the next room to consult a dog-eared paperback American Heritage Dictionary which I think accompanied me to college, meaning that it is not very up-to-date. It provided no further illumination. Just the same "relating to hell" et al. Thus, I'm still left with the worrisome premise that you could be arrested for possessing something that another finds hellish or diabolical. That's a highly-subective standard that even a non-attorney like me can see is unworkable. Surely after 9/11 and the Shoe-bomber we would have learned how to write our laws so they can be enforced if someone tries to carry bombs on to an airplane.

I sighed, realizing that I would have to walk all the way downstairs to get our super-duper dictionary: a leather-bound 1,500 page volume of Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary with gold-edged pages and my husband's name embossed on the cover. (My husband received the book as a gift for speaking at some accounting conference years ago but hasn't used it 1/100th as much as I have). I thumbed through the pages, landing on page 619 where I found the entry for "infernal," including the now expected hellish and diabolical references, followed by {drum roll please} an entry for "infernal machine." For the record, an infernal machine is "a machine or apparatus maliciously designed to explode and destroy life or property." Thus, I learned an "infernal" machine is quite different than an "infernal machine." Mystery solved.

I finished reading the paper with a sense of relief, satisfied that I didn't need to worry about the vocabulary skills of our lawmakers just yet. I brushed away any doubts about the adequacy of my own vocabulary with a pledge to sign up for Dictionary.com's word-of-the-day email. And best of all, I wouldn't have to worry about getting arrested for possession of an infernal curling iron the next time I travel on a bad hair day.

Ahh.....Vacation :-)

Vacation. The very word brings a smile to my face, a deep breath into my lungs, and a drop in my blood pressure. No work. No cooking. No schedule. . . . No email.

Yes, that is vacation. Even if you choose to do some cooking or stick to some kind of schedule, it is still vacation and it feels blissfully different from the daily routines of regular life. Perhaps the magic of vacation is simply the freedom of choice it provides: on vacation you can choose to set the alarm for 7:00, or you can choose not to set the alarm and enjoy sleeping in. You can choose to go sight-seeing or you can choose to go shopping. Or maybe vacation earns its high marks just for being different from our everyday lives. Or possibly vacation is great because we're all basically lazy and vacation requires nothing from us.

What makes vacation so good? It is too serious a question for me to ponder right now (after all, I am on vacation). Plus it makes me start to wonder if I like vacation because (a) I am too controlling and have to be able to choose what I'm doing, (b) I have a dreary life and doing anything different is better, (c) I am a lazy underachiever who will never accomplish anything in life because I'd rather be on vacation, or (d) all of the above. In an effort to avoid contemplating any nasty character deficiencies, let me just say that I am all for vacation and leave it at that.

We have chosen to spend our daughter's Spring Break skiing in Whistler. We have been to Whistler several times and know where we like to stay, where to go to dinner, and where to get important vacation provisions like chocolate croissants for breakfast and Okanagan Valley wines for apres-ski. It is fun for the whole family.

Of course, Whistler is completely different than Las Vegas. And while skiing isn't exactly a lazy vacation, all you have to worry about is where to point your skis to next.

What makes a good vacation in your book? Is it the escape from reality? The chance to literally leave your problems behind for a few days? The ability to see new places? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. In the meantime, I'm off to the hot tub while our bottle of Jackson-Triggs Chardonnay is chilling...

Day 1 of Life 2

OK, maybe Day 1 of Life 2 is a bit dramatic to describe my first day of blogging. It is a take on a quote from Nelson DeMille's "Spencerville" in which a Cold-War-era spy gets fired at the end of the Cold War and he is forced, just five years shy of a full pension, to begin a "new" life; the former spy drives out of Washington DC in his Saab 9000, declaring:

Today was day three of life two. Whoever said that there were no second acts in American lives had never worked for the government.

I never worked for the government and regrettably was never a spy. Rather, I was a certified public accountant (until a few months ago when I decided it really wasn't fun anymore). I spent years writing reams of tax accounting memos and other riveting works of nonfiction. It is definitely time for something new. I've always wanted to write for fun. Blogging should be fun and easy (right?). At any rate, it is a start to a new beginning and I look forward to discovering some of the many other bloggers out there.

I am vacationing with my family (husband and 9-year-old daughter) in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. It was here in Whistler over the Christmas holiday that I got the real idea to start a blog. I promised myself I would get it started by the time we returned to Whistler for Spring Break. I also boldly announced this promise to my family, thereby obligating myself to really get it done.

So, it is now Spring Break and we are back in Whistler and it is thus from here that I make my first post. I hope to post everyday, even on vacation. (There I go again, publicly announcing my private intentions).

Soon I will explain the meaning of the title, "Where's Joe?" I have my family to thank for that one and it will take some creative explanation... In the meantime, let me just say that the question I have been thinking about today is "Why blog?" For me, it is the chance to meet new people in the blogoshpere, keep up with my real world friends who I don't see very often, and basically because I think everyone has something to say. If you happen upon this blog and
care to share your thoughts about why you blog, please do so.