tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000154353586469196.post7982411648980707173..comments2024-01-12T19:16:48.879-08:00Comments on Scraps of Literacy: The Power of Imagination Under FireRory L. Aronskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18173518202611695171noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000154353586469196.post-72477959317118810342013-02-14T03:16:38.580-08:002013-02-14T03:16:38.580-08:00Today marks five months as a resident of Nevada, a...Today marks five months as a resident of Nevada, and as a resident of Las Vegas. Even though I worked in two newsrooms and was guided by the sharpest editorial minds I'm ever likely to meet, mainly because I don't want to go back into journalism, I believe Walt Disney World trained me well in showing me that there's a story in everything, in every detail that you have to look more closely to find. There are stories, I'm sure, in the carport roofs in my mobile home park, in trees that may very well have been here for the 20 years this park has been open. I walk to one particular street, Lane B as I think it's called, with my dogs every night just to look at the trees and cactus and bushes that border it, and it makes me think of Boulder City. <br /><br />Last night, while walking Tigger, I saw a plane fly over with higher-powered lights than I'm used to seeing on commercial aircraft, which makes me think it was actually a private plane, but it made me want to go back to McCarran Marketplace, which has a FedEx facility in the back, and is located next to a distant taxiway and runway at McCarran. One bitterly cold night in November, Dad parked the car in a lot across from the viewing fence, and I saw a Virgin Atlantic 747 parked on the shoulder, waiting for clearance to taxi to the runway for takeoff. I waited 20 minutes, hoping that it would get clearance, waiting so impatiently for that sweet sound of the four engines spooling up to taxi. It never happened. I eventually peeled myself away from looking at that 747 because I didn't want to keep Mom and Dad and Meridith waiting, being that we were going to eat at the Sbarro nearby, the best one in this city, since it's technically not closely linked to the corporate chain, being a franchise location.<br /><br />When we drove back, the 747 had long taken off. I was disappointed because it was one of only two 747s that land at McCarran each day. And the last time I saw a 747 majestically take off in person (I have a few aviation DVDs that offer that, and while it is just as beautiful, it's not the same on a TV screen) was in 1996 at Miami International. But in October, I did see a Virgin Atlantic 747 fly over us to land when we were at a 7-11 gas station, so that's a start.<br /><br />In Las Vegas, I never run out of things that interest me. Every day, I see something I want to know more about or that I one day want to write about (and there are a few short-story ideas that have come from what I've seen here that may not reference the city, except for one). That's how I know I'm home.Rory L. Aronskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18173518202611695171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000154353586469196.post-60742484350304406682013-02-14T00:45:37.363-08:002013-02-14T00:45:37.363-08:00Thanks!
Businesses today seem more utilitarian th...Thanks!<br /><br />Businesses today seem more utilitarian than anything else, providing what we need and that's it. I don't think we could expect anything more from them than that, nor do I think we'd want more from them because that would entail them horning into our lives even more. But it's in the ways that these businesses work to make the products they sell, how they make those products, that seems to interest me.Rory L. Aronskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18173518202611695171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000154353586469196.post-47635230172400940662013-02-12T14:07:27.468-08:002013-02-12T14:07:27.468-08:00"I don't know how to shift a paradigm, no..."I don't know how to shift a paradigm, nor would I want to learn."<br /><br />I find it fascinating that you've become part of the city as swiftly as you have, as though you and the city are a perfect fit, and that you're finally home. <br /><br />Also fascinating is the way your mind works. Your observations are so unique and rich.David Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07594244647778062784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2000154353586469196.post-612873366532986672013-02-12T13:07:56.496-08:002013-02-12T13:07:56.496-08:00Ah, so now you are a sub. Congratulations! As for ...Ah, so now you are a sub. Congratulations! As for businesses, I think some are kinder and more humane than others. But rarely do they seem imaginative to me. <br /><br />Love,<br />JanieJanie Junebughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10573607241326291404noreply@blogger.com