Reply #32: Years ago my mom, in a moment of what can only be called temporary insanity [View All]

[LibertyLover]

took me and my best friend from high school, both aged 14, across country to California and back the summer between freshman and sophomore years. My mom loved Las Vegas, not for the gambling but because it was one of the few places west of the Hackensack River that she could get the NY Times, a decent cup of coffee and soft bread rolls at breakfast - her three favorite things in the morning. We stayed a few days so that she could get caught up on the news and rest from the ordeal of having 2 teenagers in the car. While in Vegas she thought it would be nice for us to see a show at one of the casinos and we tried to get tickets to one or two of the ones that were for a younger crowd, with no luck. Finally the concierge at the hotel we were staying at suggested Circus Circus as being age appropriate. So one evening we all went there. It was noisy, crowded and lots of fun. But the thing that made it stick out in my mind was our encounter with Pat Boone. Mom, Eileen and I were standing in front of one of the arcade games booths watching, when Eileen gasped that she had just seen Pat Boone. I wasn't sure of who he was, but my mom's reaction took the cake - she turned towards the person she thought was Eileen and said "Pat who?". However the person wasn't Eileen, but rather Pat Boone, wearing what I found out later were his signature white buck shoes. I'll never forget the look of dismay on his face.