Things I Miss

This has been a week of reflection for me.  I do not know if it is because of the Terrible Shooting here in Las Vegas a week ago or that I have another Birthday in a couple of weeks.  ( I will be 62 on the 21st.)

I was thinking this week of the things I miss.  I miss rushing home from school to see "The Mickey Mouse Club".

Over the years I have had the good fortune of meeting many of the Original Mouseketeers.  Including every boy in America's Favorite, Annette Funicello.

To answer a few questions about Annette, Yes, she was even nicer than her reputation of being wonderful.  And Yes, she was still a Beautiful Woman with a Killer Body that every little boy dreamed about who were wearing Mouse Ears!

I miss getting up early to watch "The Lone Ranger" catch the bad guys each morning before I walked to school.

I met "Tonto" ( Jay Silverheels ) at a Western Convention and the words Nice Guy do not come close to describing how nice of person he was, even when I met him in his later years.

I interviewed Clayton Moore, "The Lone Ranger" himself, via telephone during my Talk Show days in broadcasting.   Honestly, I found him to be a bitter old man who felt he was "Cheated" in Lone Ranger royalties.  Perhaps he was but when you were doing a talk show interview to promote the DVD release of all the episodes, that is NOT a time to be bitter.

Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri, I also spent each afternoon with "Cactus Jim" (Dick Moore)

"Cactus Jim" was a local host of a 30 minute kids show which always reminded you to "Say you prayers and Kink Your Pinkie  Finger" when you drank your Prairie Farms Milk ( the show's sponsor)   Dick passed away earlier this year which was a great loss to many kids childhood, including mine.   You could not have asked for a better person to be a role model for kids.  "Cactus Jim" continued to keep current a Facebook Page right up to his death.  I had several e-mail exchanges with Dick who was proud of his work, his religion and his poetry works which he was a published author.

And no kids childhood would be complete without "Bozo The Clown".

"Bozo", played by many men over the years always had his friend "Cookie The Clown" by his side trying to explain the simple things in life.   And my day would not be the same without watching Bozo pick a kid out of the crowd to play "The Grand Prize Game".

But of course those days are now just memories but I often wonder "What do kids do with their time now?"  So I asked some friends with kids and sadly, almost to a parent, I found their kids were either on their Cell Phone Texting or on the Internet.  Think of the role models they do not have in their lives.  Is this part of the reason that schools have security guards due to violence and more young adult are in prison than ever before?  It makes you wonder.

The shooting tragedy here in Las Vegas brought a "Sadness" over the entire city.  But it also brought neighbors and complete strangers together to realize that the Evil of One Man does not define our city!    We are a city which has over 32 Million Friends from All Over The World come to our city to get away from their sometime boring lives.  A gentleman from the Midwest hand crafted 58 Wooden Crosses and set them up at the Famous Las Vegas sign.

We are a city of Love and our guests this week helped remind us that we depend as much on our tourists than they depend on us!

One of the other stories which "Slipped through the cracks" this week was the passing of Comedian Ralphie May.  He had finished Second on the first season of "Last Comic Standing" back in 2003 which made his career take off. 

He enjoyed a regular gig at Harrah's Resort and Casino for over a year.  He died from Cardiac Arrest at age 45.  He is survived by a wife and two kids.   I guess it was a tough week for God as well and he needed some laughs!

Something else I miss is "Old Las Vegas".  There was a time here a mere forty five or fifty years ago that Las Vegas was owned and ran by Organized Crime, yes, The Mob.

Those were the days that your $100 to $500 Bankroll Meant Something to Casino Bosses.

Those were the days when if you went to see a Las Vegas Headliner, men had to wear a Coat and Toe and the Ladies a nice dress.  My first few visits to Las Vegas you were "Expected" to wear a Coat and Tie to play a Slot Machine!

And you notice there are No Chairs in front of the slots?  It was not until the early seventies when, as rumor has it,  chairs were added when a Mod Boss's Wife complained about having to stand.

Now that "Corporate Owners" are the norm instead of the exception, it has gotten to be more about "The Bottom Line" than the player in most casinos. 

Don't get me wrong, Las Vegas is still the Best Buck for your Vacation Dollar with Major Headliners performing every night.  And don't think you have to spend a lot of money to have a Great Time!  There are so many FREE Attractions for you to enjoy, 24 hours a day!

And lastly, I miss the days when people did NOT Blame the President or the United States Government

For things like
*   The Las Vegas Shooting
*   Hurricanes
*   The Way People Treat Each Other
*   Global Warming
*   Other Countries Political Issues

And On & On & On!

Can you imagine Walter Cronkite

Blaming John F Kennedy for Global Warming or an Evil Gunman who shoots up an Outdoor Concert?

I miss the days BEFORE all the Cable News Channels who Intentionally "Skew" the news to their Political Views? 

All of the things I miss can be summed up in a line from one of my favorite songs.  In her Mega-Hit, "At Seventeen", Janis Ian has a line that says

" It Was Long Ago And Far Away, The World Was Younger Than Today". 

(you can click on link to listen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeUV3LmtTBY

Of you listen to that song and those words, I think you too will discover things inside "You Miss"!

Have A Great Week!

I always welcome your feedback at

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its.dan.bledsoe@gmail.com

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