May 2020
They call me non-essential.
Working in the entertainment industry does not: feed the hungry, cure the sick, or house the homeless. We do not solve poverty or politics. We do not clean the environment. We don’t even take care of animals! (Now certainly, many individuals do these things, but as an industry, we do not.) We are not necessary for basic survival…and we are currently in survival mode.
And yet, I believe what we do is still important. We feed the spirit. We feed the soul. We make life brighter. We can make you laugh, cry; we can make you think and ponder the great questions in this world. We inspire you, and oftentimes, make life more bearable and worth living. The Dark Ages were not dark because of a lack of sunlight; they were dark because of a lack of art and entertainment.
When Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding to support the war effort, he replied, “Then what are we fighting for?”
And in this modern time, how would you have survived without all of the entertainment to which we do have access? Yes, we can now see any movie or entertainment at any time, and that helps. We can be distracted and entertained while sitting in front of our video screens, but nothing can take the place of a live event. Nothing is as good as being there.
Of course, the problem now is: How do we get there? What does entertainment and events look like in the future?
Do we remove two-thirds of the seats in an auditorium? Do we create a “pod” for each group that comes in? Do we create the all-suite stadium, where everyone gets a private room? Do we have our temperature taken and have to show our ‘proof of vaccine’ card before we’re allowed to enter a public event? Do we get and create better live-streaming technology—more diverse and more creative?
We are in the middle of darkness, and we are struggling to see a light.
I am confident that things will eventually get back to “normal.” It could be years…but eventually… People are very good at forgetting, and we will get to a point where we will have forgotten what this time has been like. It will be a note in a history and most of the details will be lost. Do you remember how Woodrow Wilson handled the pandemic of his time?
The future will unfold, but for now, I’m non-essential.
Yes. Vegas is still on lockdown…and we don’t yet know when we’ll free to move about…and we really don’t know when there will be entertainment again. I suspect (and I am just guessing,) that things will start to open up in mid-May, with some entertainment starting in June.
It has gotten hot very early this year. We had our first day over 100 degrees in April! Normally, the 100 degree days don’t start until June. Was it a fluke, or a trend? With a fluke, things will go back to normal. If it’s a trend, then we’re in for a brutal summer.
Life in isolation has been interesting. There are priorities that have emerged, and other things that seemed so important at one time, now really don’t seem to matter. I have some observations:
I miss getting together with friends. I miss going to shows. I miss travelling. I miss very little else.
It feels like a glimpse into what daily retirement life will be, and if that’s the case, I love it…well, other than friends and shows. But it is life without the daily grind of a job, and I’ve really enjoyed daily life. I’ve gotten so much done and have gotten to so many projects that have been forever on the back burner. I’ve been really busy.
I miss my hair stylist.
I have learned that if I’m going to wear a mask, I need to have a mint. I am offended by my own breath.
I have been very aware of each contact I make and track all of the cross-contamination…it drives me nuts sometimes.
I was told I should pre-sort my laundry each time I change my clothes. I did it for a while, and decided pre-sorting was stupid. It takes no time or thought to sort them at the time I do my laundry, and I only have to think about it once, rather than every time I change my clothes.
I have exercised every day, I’ve lost weight, and I feel better.
I love my own cooking.
I have never been so aware of my toilet paper consumption.
What have been your observations?
Here are 6 Interesting facts about the month of May:
1. The month May was named for Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility.
2. In any given year, no month ever begins or ends on the same day of the week as May does.
3. May’s birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success.
4. May was once considered a bad luck month to get married. There is a poem that says “Marry in May and you’ll rue the day”.
5. The United Kingdom celebrates May as the National Smile Month.
6. On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened.
May is a lot of things…it is Date Your Mate Month, National Barbecue Month, and National Blood Pressure Month.
May 1st is of course May Day (initially started as another pagan spring festival pre-dating Christianity.) Dancing around a pole might sound like a Vegas tradition, but there really aren’t a lot of maypole dancers out there. The one rhyme that is most closely associated with the May Pole dance is “Ring around the rosy…” –a quaint nod to the plague in medieval times. In the late 19th Century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the ‘Socialists and Communists of the Second International’ to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. In those countries that celebrate International Workers' Day, the day may also be referred to as "May Day" but it is a different celebration from the traditional May Day…just thought you should know. It is also Mother Goose Day.
The 2nd is Baby Day and Brothers and Sisters Day. The 3rd is Lumpy Rug Day. May the Fourth, obviously, Star Wars Day, and Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for May the 5th. The 6th is International Tuba Day, National Tourist Appreciation Day, National Nurses Day, No Diet Day, and Space Day. The 7th is National Tourism Day and World Naked Gardening Day (There will be a lot of hoes out.) The 8th is V-E Day, and No Socks Day…which is interesting because the 9th is Lost Sock Memorial Day. It is then followed on the 10th by Clean up Your Room Day. The 11th is Eat What You Want Day and Twilight Zone Day. And the 12th is Limerick Day (There once was…)
The 16th is Love a Tree Day, National Sea Monkey Day, and Wear Purple for Peace Day. The 18th is No Dirty Dishes Day and Visit Your Relatives Day. The 20th is Be a Millionaire Day. The 21st is Armed Forces Day. The 22nd is Buy a Musical, Instrument Day, and World Goth Day,
The 23rd Lucky Penny Day; the 24th National Escargot Day, the 25th National Wine Day and Tap Dance Day, the 26th is Sally Ride Day, and the 27th is Sun Screen Day.
The 28th is Amnesty International Day, and International Jazz Day. The 29th is Learn About Composting Day. The 30th is Water a Flower Day. And finally, the 31st is Save Your Hearing Day.
Cinco de Mayo will not be a big celebration in Vegas this year. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16.
Remember that Mother's Day is on the 11th. Remember your Mother!
May 15th is the 115th Anniversary of the founding of the City of Las Vegas. No one really cares about this statistic. We had a great 100-year celebration, and we may have to wait for the 125 or 150-year mark to get the city to celebrate again.
Igoshows.com is, of course, the place to read the reviews of all of the shows that are in town so that you can be better informed as to what you should expect from a certain production. The reviews are updated as needed to give you the knowledge you need to spend your entertainment dollars better. WHENEVER THERE IS ENTERTAINMENT AGAIN!!!
Stay safe.
