Chapter 2 ~ Bootsie, the Cat

 

(part 2)

I also grew up in a small town – Las Vegas, Nevada.  Don’t laugh!  Vegas was a small town in 1949 when my family moved there.  They say the mafia owned the town in those days and that may have been true, but we children didn’t know it.  We just knew it was our hometown.  Las Vegas was actually a wonderful place in which to grow up in the 1950’s.  My father was in show business. Like “Joseph” his name was on the marquee! As a result, I spent my share of time on the famous (or infamous) Las Vegas Strip with other show biz brats.

But for the most part, Las Vegas was a town of neighborhoods, schools, and churches where everybody knew everybody else and neighbors truly cared about and helped each other.  Did you know that in those days, Las Vegas had more churches per capita than any town in America?  (I’ve heard that’s true, but don’t quote me!)  Later, I was to tell people that as a fifth-generation Latter-day Saint from an observant family, growing up in a Las Vegas show business atmosphere, I was probably the most moderately liberal conservative they would ever meet!  What I wasn’t was any character recognizable from Little House on the Prairie!  A closer look at my family will show you why.

~  ~  ~

My mother’s family had agrarian roots, but since my maternal grandfather had made his money in road construction in the 1920’s, Mom was as far removed from farm life as anyone could be.  She was a lady in every sense of the word.  Her mother was an immaculate housekeeper upon whose floors one could literally eat and their home was filled with fine art, delicate porcelain, and elegant furnishings.  On one occasion, when my mother was in high school, she wrote, “Daddy dearest, I need a new coat. Your loving daughter, Hazel.” Miraculously, the coat appeared.  That this took place during the great depression of the 1930’s will give you some idea of my mother’s upbringing.

My father’s dad had come from a farming family, too, but by the time my dad was born Grandpa was well established as the town barber and limited his farming to his beautiful rose garden in the backyard.  My father’s mother, on the other hand, came from a long line of what one might call impoverished aristocracy.  My father was most influenced by his maternal grandfather whom he referred to as “Lord Billy”.  When a grandchild finished a meal in “Lord Billy’s” presence, he didn’t say, “I’m full,” he said, “I have had an ample sufficiency.  May I be excused?”  That will give you some idea of my father’s childhood. 

All of this will help you understand that I was not a child in touch with nature.  Instead of slingshots, fishing, and canals, my childhood consisted of dress-up, tea parties, and swimming in the pool at the Thunderbird Hotel.  I wore shoes to school.  I got good grades.  I had only one pet (yes, we are about to get to Bootsie, the cat!)  I was the least likely person to grow up and marry someone like Carmon.  I certainly never expected to spend 20 years of my life in a veritable petting zoo.

© Gebara Education, 2001.  No portion of this book may be copied by any method without the express written permission of the author. 

The picture of the Thunderbird Hotel, circa 1954, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/timetravelnow

As an aside, I love this picture of the old T-Bird and was delighted to stumble upon it.  My dad's name is actually on the marquee!  The headliner was James Melton from the Metropolitan Opera Company.  There's a funny story in the picture itself.  When Mr. Melton first came to Las Vegas, he loved the dry air and he sang and he whistled and he did everything conducive to what seasoned Las Vegas performers refer to as the Las Vegas throat.  Just a few days into his engagement, he called my dad and said, "I've lost my upper register, but I have a song I want to sing.  [It was "So in Love" from the Broadway musical "Kiss Me Kate!"]  Would you come onstage with me when I sing and when I come to a high note, you sing the high note?"  Dad did.  It went something like this:

       Melton:     Strange dear, but true dear,
                       When I'm close to you dear,
                       The stars . . .
       Dad:         Fill . . .
       Melton:     . . . the sky
                       So in love with you am I.

True story!  On another night, he actually sang to me on-stage.  He sang "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from "Oklahoma!"  My role was to sit next to him, smile sweetly, and pretend to fall asleep on his shoulder on the last verse.  I was probably about nine-years-old at the time.  Here is James Melton, as I remember him.  Picture from www.wikipedia.com