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| September 12, 2008 | NEWEST - PRIOR WEEK - ARCHIVES |
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| "It's The Norm" - Las Vegas Entertainment Events | |
REMEMBERING AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
(This column, written by Norm, following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 is being rerun today as a continuing reminder of the 9/11/01 events. - Editor) As I was preparing to write this column, the worst catastrophe to hit America since December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor was taking place. The date of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, will be remembered forever in the minds of those who witnessed the New York City and Washington D.C. explosions. For the millions of us who watched in disbelief on television, it will forever be burned into our memory.
The last time I personally was involved in a situation even similar to this was the day, President John Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. At the time of that event I was a reporter in Los Angeles for Copley News Service, and was in route to the office, when the Motorola radio in the car (which was connected to the office) came alive. My boss, the editor, was telling all reporters to report to the nearest office for special assignments. I turned the radio dial to KNX (all news station in Los Angeles) and heard for the first time about the shooting. As a reporter at the time every one of us went into automatic mode, as I’m sure, the men and women who covered the events of last Tuesday were working on. The death of a single man, no matter how powerful or important, could never, in my mind, compare to the loss of the thousands in New York and Washington. There will be heroes galore coming out of both cities. I can still remember exactly where I was, when as a young boy I was laying on the floor in the front room reading the Sunday morning funny papers. My folks were listening to something on the radio when suddenly my mother started crying, and my dad turned up the volume on the radio. It was right then that we heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. At least our nation knew, within minutes, exactly who had attacked our country. It was a sneak attack, do not get me wrong, and it was cowardly. But not as cowardly as the one that took place last Tuesday. |
When Japan attacked the United States they attacked military targets by military means. Sure, there were innocent civilians killed in the attack, and of course hundreds of men and women in the various services were killed that day. But, what we must remember and I am sure we will never forget, at least, Japan did not sneak aboard civilian airplanes and purposely kill thousands of innocent civilians. Who ever was responsible for ordering those men to take control of those planes and aim them at the buildings may think, in his mind, that he is a hero. However, I would venture to say that 99.999 percent of the world would disagree. It does not take much to be a coward! The idiots who obeyed those orders may have died thinking they were heroes for their cause', whatever cause that could be. But in reality, they too were and are the worst cowards the world has ever known. This is the third major event during my lifetime, which, unfortunately, I will not be able to forget. I hope and pray I never have a fourth. THIS AND THAT QUICKLY: Founding member of the Supremes and a Las Vegas resident, Mary Wilson, will be performing her hit show this weekend (Sept. 12-14) at the South Point Hotel / Casino on the south end of Las Vegas Blvd. Ms. Wilson, who just returned from Berlin, Germany, where she celebrated her 50th Anniversary as a Supreme, will do three 7:30 p.m. shows, with tickets ranging from $30 to $40. Wilson is constantly on the go, as a performer or as a humanitarian: Mary will be in Viet Nam next month as the spokesperson for the Humpty Dumpty Institute (founded by Princess Diana), where she will once again help explode landmines and bombs left behind during wars. Ms. Wilson also was on the Dennis Bono radio show prior to leaving for Germany to promote her engagement. I must say, here and now, that Bono and his producer, James D'Arrigo, are consummate professionals and know how to put a show together. Dennis does a marvelous interview, in that he listens to the answers - much like the late, great Johnny Carson... Well, gang, that's about it for this week.
I'm outa here!
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