THANK YOU FOR VEGAS COMMUNITY ONLINE. Thank you for your support and love. I just wanted to let you know that…I'm back!! I am just reminiscing…but going forward seeing as there's no other place to go…ha!

With all the incredible talent that has come…has gone…and still live in Las Vegas…I am reminded of Peggy Lee's song "Is That All There Is?" There are only a few lounges left that serve as a reminder of why it was great to learn an instrument and become part of the musicians union or go to "Backstage" to take dance classes from some talented individuals and audition for a show…a group…or just to showcase at the "Gypsy." Now we have to grab both our ankles and swing from the high bars by our teeth, hum and spin a thousand times just to show we can. This was meant to be the "Specialty Acts" to a major hotel review or circus. We were in awe of this kind of talent! They use to be special…now the whole town is a circus! And it's all pre-recorded! If it weren't for impersonators…we would forget what Las Vegas really was. And let's not forget the Big Bands. What happened to Johnny Haig? His swing band worked seven nights to relieve the musicians so they would have a night or two off a week. Now its maybe 6 to 10 musicians if they're lucky enough to get the gig. If there is a gig. *sigh* Sorry guys and gals.

With the billions that built this STREET of ILLUSION, there is no money left to acknowledge musical talent. But send us a copy of a song and maybe we'll let the DJ spin it for you. It has to have a "pound you in the face" beat though. Better yet…we need a bus person right now…I miss the good old days. No, not so much to perform, but to see so much real talent working in all the showrooms and lounges and for free. Where being an accomplished musician or singer meant work! Where a showgirl or dancer in a casino was treated with class, had a weekly paycheck, and never meshed together with a side street men's club pole dancer. Who, in today's Las Vegas might be the only dancing left in town. So there go all those dance classes moms and dads. Though I have never been a showgirl (I was a principal singer), I have a lot of friends who were and have traded in their feathers and rhinestones for careers in Law, or became business owners, but mostly, had a family. Most used their free time in the day to go to UNLV for a specific trade and worked at night.

I miss the Musicians Union where we all went after the shows/gigs to listen to the best jazz until the wee hours of the morning. I miss the dancers and singers in the shows, where we were an extended family. Where we were all crazy together! I'll feel sad the day the "FOLIES BERGERE" shuts down for good. I hope not. I'm just grateful to be able to remember all this…to remind myself that if "That's All There Is?"…than let's keep dancing…let's kick off our shoes…and have a ball…