Saturday, August 11, 2007

Public Dancer

I encountered a most interesting person on the Las Vegas Monorail early this morning. A young woman gets on the train at the Flamingo/Caesars Palace stop and immediately grabs the center pole, swings herself around and says, "hey, pole dancing!" I looked at the young woman and smiled while every muscle in my body resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to burst out in laughter. I discreetly looked at my dear friend and sister Angela, who returned a polite smile.

As the train started moving again, the young woman proceeds to apologize for her actions and I say, "no need to apologize, this is Vegas!" We all laugh and the woman tells us she wouldn't be doing this if her son was with her. She says she has a four year old boy and that before he was born, she would visit Las Vegas two or three times a year. But, this was only her second visit since the boy's birth. I resisted the urge to say, "so, you're making up for lost time," because the young man she was with was trying to get her to sit down. I don't think she even heard him because she started pole dancing again.

After a few more spins, she tells us that before her son's arrival, this-- pole dancing at a strip club-- was her life. To which Angela says, "yes, you appear more than a bit familiar with it."

Once again, my muscles got a workout as I struggled not to laugh. Luckily, our stop came up moments later. As we exited the train and stepped onto the escalator going down, I nearly collapsed from laughter as the train pulled off. The woman, once again shaking her tail feather around that pole.

Through my hysterical, stomach tightening laughter, I thought about Chris Rock's HBO comedy special remarks on the subject of women, dancing, and poles and said to myself, "clearly this woman's father failed."

Oh, Good Evening!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

When Love Is Calling Your Name

Fellow Detroit native Kem Owens headlined a reception opening the 32nd Annual National Association of Black Journalists Convention and Career Fair at Bally's Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip Wednesday evening. Kem has released two CD's on the Motown label, both of which I own and enjoy listening to periodically. When his first CD, entitled "Kemistry," was released, my sister, Kathy, told me she knew Kem. I really didn't know whether to believe her. Granted, she had no reason to lie about that, but for some reason, I just didn't fully believe her.

Following Wednesday's performance, which was very good, I attended a reception in the President's Suite in honor of Kem and Ledisi, a terrific young female singer who opened the convention event. When the opportunity came for me to introduce myself to Kem, I told him who I was followed by a quick mention that my sister always said she knew him. He asked my sister's name and before I could tell him, he told me. So much for not fully believing Kathy.

"Man, I didn't just know your sister, I was in love with your sister. But, she wouldn't give me the time of day." Then, Kem looked at me and said, "I'll bet I could call her now."

Oh, Good Evening!