Of course stays in Vegas; but then, we didn’t really do that much. Our primary goals were to visit with Larry Paulfrey; Susan Miller and husband Chuck; and Vinni Masteguim of the famous Blue Man Group. Anything else would just be gravy.
First, we had breakfast with Larry at his favorite casino, the Aliante in North Las Vegas. We wanted him to pick a place where he was comfortable. Our desire was to support him while he still grieves over the death of his wife Gloria. After breakfast we went to his house and spent several hours mostly reviewing his intriguing Baton Rouge family history and listening to how he’s doing in general. He has done an in depth research of his roots, including DNA testing, and his stories about descendants were very interesting. Before we left, we sat outside at a backyard shrine he built in Gloria’s memory. Her passing has been difficult for him, and we wanted to be there long enough to listen to and support him but short enough to not get in his hair.
The 2010 Backstory: Through son Jon and a mutual friend, John Grant, we became aware of a Brazilian percussion group called “Cha Digga Da.” John Grant was teaching online-percussion to students across the country and explained to us the difficulty in getting quality hardwood drumsticks. Their softer wooden sticks were constantly breaking. Fortunately, I had business in Brazil, which allowed MFI to accompany me, but more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to bring them quality sticks purchased in the US. On two occasions, we brought a total of three dozen sets of sticks. One recipient of those sticks was a young “Cha Digga Dah” student named Vinni. He and many of the grateful students remained in contact online with MFI ever since.
Our 43rd anniversary happened during the stay, so to celebrate MFI coordinated with Vinni to catch an evening show of Blue Man Group and hopefully visit with him back stage. Vinni helped make that all happen. We sat near center stage only three rows back. Most of the crowd around us were issued plastic ponchos, but while the performance was very messy throughout, we luckily remained dry. Vinni has been part of the Blue Man Group cast for over 10 years. He and MFI met face-to-face for the first time back stage where we were escorted with four others through a hallway lined with photos documenting the successful entertainment journey of Blue Man Group. Vinni and his two cast mates, Tom and Matt, were of course still sweating in their costumes and make-up but nonetheless were very gracious. Afterward, I treated MFI to an all-beef hotdog dinner from Nathan’s in the Luxor foodcourt. Nothing but the best for MFI.
Backstage, I attempted to mirror the Blue Man Group trademark hand salute and perpetual expression of total seriousness but failed miserably on both accounts. That’s Vinni adjacent to MFI. The show was funny, amazing, engaging, and filled with talent. Thank you Vinni, we had a blast!
MFI had been in contact with our friend Susan Miller-Johnson to arrange a get together. Unfortunately, her husband was having medical issues and the phone exchanges suddenly stopped. Undaunted, MFI called, left a phone message, and we decided to just chance it and drive to their house. Long story short, Chuck was home recuperating when we arrived, and Susan returned from shopping shortly thereafter. We stayed long enough to catch up on what was happening with Chuck and the life events of our respective children and grandchildren. We’re grateful for their indulging our intrusion and sharing some great conversations. We send our best to both of them.
Nellis AFB has a significant number and variety of military aircraft. Not surprisingly, we ran across the museum for the Air Force’s flight demonstration team called “The Thunderbirds.” It wasn’t big, but there was a considerable amount of historic detail that could be tailored to the time one could spend. Not to sound too macabre, but I was interested in the causes of any fatal accidents over their 70-year history. Overall, there have been 22 fatalities, with only 3 occurring during air shows (2 in jet aircraft). Every aircraft incident, not just those resulting in fatalities, underwent a causal investigation, and it was the results of those investigations I found most interesting. The first fatality happened in 1961, when a C-123 transport carrying the Army Golden Knights parachute team crashed on takeoff killing the flight engineer (a Thunderbird team member). The 2 pilot fatalities were caused by aircraft structural and engine mechanical failures. One pilot bravely went down with his jet to avoid crashing into spectators, and the other ejected safely but tragically landed in the burning aircraft wreckage on the ground.
The Thunderbirds have used 8 different jets during their long history, beginning with the F-84G Thunderjet and currently flying the F-16C/D Eagle. I’ve seen shows where the teams were flying the F-4 Phatom II, the T-38 Talon, and today’s F-16. Every show was impressive. Each team has always included a military historian member who kept a huge bound album of the team’s annual events. The albums on display were about four to six inches thick. Combined, they documented the more than 3,000 shows flown in over 64 countries. I end this blog with a pictoral salute to our Nellis museum visit.
