Maybe a week after I got home, my mom, Kate, Hayley and I jetted off to Vegas. I had been there, once, before, but I wasn't of gambling or drinking age, so, it was an entirely different experience this time around. I will say, though, that I have never forgotten seeing the jousting show at the Excalibur when I was about 10 because you had to eat your whole meal with your hands. It was so satisfying ripping apart a Cornish hen with your hands, like a caveman or something. You can't eat like that often enough. It's fun.
Anyway, here are some pictures, followed by more reflections from the trip.
And... I'm a winner!
At Hakasan
At Hakasan
Overhead Acrobat
I really thought I would win on this machine, given my childhood Grease fanaticism, but, sadly, there was no love from Greased Lightnin'
Now, that's a hot chocolate!
Michael!
The "New York" Skyline
Magical fountains and a real rainbow!
Love the Bellagio flowers.
A New Fall Friend
Flamingos at Flamingo
Hayley's favorite slot machine, Bier Haus, of course.
And the family-favorite slot. It has the best graphics and music and dance moves.
Speaking of Michael Jackson, the whole reason we went on the trip was to see the Cirque du Soleil, One. It was seriously a life-changing event. We were all sobbing, even me, which was very surprising. There were several reasons why I felt so strongly about the show and I'm going to try to convey how emotional it was for me. I loved that they used real Michael Jackson video clips and images and songs. Although my whole family went to see the real deal concert before I was born, I never got to see him perform, so, I really felt the fact that this experience was the closest I would ever get to that.
As I was watching, I felt such an overwhelming sense of unadulterated appreciation and admiration for his talent as a performer. There is one person, above all, that I admire for his contribution to film, but that I also respect and idolize for his more general contributions to the world and the human race. Even that introduction doesn't do him justice, in my eyes. That man, as you may all know, is Charlie Chaplin. So, with that in mind, imagine a very responsive, emotional Taylor sitting in the very front row, already loving this show and just feeling so sorry that this talented person (Michael) is gone, now, never to be seen, again, but all the while feeling so appreciative of his work and talent and so on.
Then, the mood shifts and the music starts to the song, Smile. Michael Jackson did a cover of this song composed by Charlie Chaplin. At this, I got teary, but, then, huge floating projections of Michael dressed as Chaplin appeared onstage, like so:
Now, at the time, this was just too much for me to handle. I was actually holding my mouth with both hands to smother the sobbing, which is very unlike me! I know I must have looked like a crazy person, but what I was thinking was actually very sincere. I was feeling just complete admiration and appreciation, like I said, but when I started thinking about Chaplin and how much I would have loved to just be alive at the same time as someone like that, I just got really emotional. Then, I was thinking about how these two men would maybe love to know that they can still have such an affect on one girl. Maybe that's all anyone can hope for if they're creating something - that their work and even their lives will touch someone, before or after they're gone.
OK, so, after that, I composed myself and was enjoying the show, again, ...until the finale. So, they had this group of dancers doing a little group dance, really happy, really upbeat, and then, out of nowhere, there was this magical swirl of gold glitter dust... and there was Michael - dancing and interacting with them. It was an f-ing hologram! He would dance with them and then do another turn and disappear in to glitter dust, again. In a way, it was so hard to watch because you knew it wasn't real and you just wanted him to stay on stage, performing. And then he would disappear and you'd remember that it was just a hologram and that he wasn't coming back and that he really isn't ever coming back to dance and perform, again. And it was all so tricky, and I was just thinking, against my more logical judgement, "Come back!" and I just sat there wanting more of him and wishing that I was actually seeing the real thing. Finally, he appeared as a little boy with his arms outstretched toward the audience and slowly faded into gold glitter. And isn't that the tragedy that maybe killed him - feeling that people always wanted more of him.
I don't know. It was very emotional, but I really appreciated the experience of that show and I really recommend it.
Nice!
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