Soon after our California departure, the view from the backseat was blank. Literally nothing to see.
But then some snow capped mountains appeared bigger and bigger in the windshield, despite the 70 degree temperature.
It was so out of place in the desert, it almost looked like a movie set, so my dad decided to stop and take a picture near a babbling brook with the mountains as background.
“Kids, put your feet in the water,” he directed and poised his German Brownie camera as though he were Cecil B Demille.
We removed our shoes and socks and innocently waded into the babbling brook, instantly receiving a great shock. It was cold. No it was freezing. Within seconds it felt like needles were stabbing at my feet.
My brother looked at me and I could tell he was feeling the same thing. Then my sister started to cry.
“It’s too cold. Everybody get out,” my mom grabbed my sister out of the water.
Thank God, saved by the baby.
My dad shook his head in defeat and walked back to the car.
“All right, then let’s move on.”
But soon the annoyed tension in the car lifted as the scope in the window changed to a series of fanciful signs dancing with neon lights.
No, it wasn’t a UFO. And not Las Vegas. It was the second city of lights in the middle of a desert…Reno, Nevada.
Reno at the time was a small town version of Las Vegas with many similar trappings.
We were mesmerized. Every square inch of the road was stuffed with blinking signs containing arrows and cryptic messages like:
Girls. Girls. Girls. Two for one. Best odds. Eat at Joes.
Recognizing the word eat, my sister pointed gleefully.
“I’m hungry.”
My dad smiled. “That’s a good idea. Let’s all go to a restaurant and eat lunch.”
He followed the glittering beacon and we walked into the seemingly normal diner, yet were instantly plunged into an alternate world.
There were flashing lights and sirens emitting from every direction with every available wall filled with the electric excitement of slot machines.
We were not in Kansas anymore or even the desert, but had arrived into a puzzling juxtaposition of fantasy versus reality.
We sat in a small booth, eyes widened in disbelief at the wonderment all around us. It reminded me of Disneyland’s carousel with all the melodious high-pitched earworm sounds of continuous songs emitting from the glitzy machines.
Even the food had sharp piffy names, such as Snake Eyes eggs and bacon, Double down grilled cheese sandwich and Blackjack hamburger with Monterey Jack cheese.
And when the waitress approached, you could hear audible gasps as my dad’s eyes popped out of his head.
Entranced, my father smiled from ear to ear when she asked for our order. But it was my brother who aptly spoke for us all.
“Wow!” He remarked.
Unlike most diner servers, she was dressed as a showgirl in a revealing costume. Tall and slender, her very pale skin accented the canary, bedazzled outfit and nude fishnet stockings.
As she stood close to the table right next to me, I curiously examined her costume with metal stays at the chest and waist that looked very uncomfortable, as well as very high heels and a heavy looking headdress. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to work in that get up all day.
The atmosphere in the entire place was intoxicating, drawing us all in until my sister uttered what we all were thinking.
“Can we play these games?”
This time it was my mom who relented, her face lit up with anticipation.
“Sure, I don’t see the harm. It’s just a nickel.”
She took my sister‘s hand and walked over to the machine next to our table with my brother and me and tow.
“Here’s a nickel for all of you. I’ll show you how it works.”
She put the nickel in the slot and pulled on the long silver handle with a ball on the end.
It was amazing. The machine lit up like a Christmas tree and chimed several bells and a little song as three different wheels flipped around so fast you couldn’t even see what happened until they stopped one at a time…one, a cherry, two, a cherry, and three, a black rectangle that said bar. Then a few coins dropped into the chrome bin below happily clinking as the landed.
We all gazed in awe. It was better than gumball machine.
Now it was our turn. My mother lifted my sister up first to put the coin in the slot and helped her pull the arm down.
Once again, the machine lit up and began its kaliedscope melody. But this time as we were watching the wheels spin round, two disgruntled men in black suits swooped in like the Secret Service protecting the president.
“Please step away from the machine,” the one man said in a strong surly voice while the other put his body between the machine and us, coaxing us away.
Alarmed my mom held my sister and led us away, while my Dad intervened.
“Look guys, what’s the big deal? It’s just a nickel?”
The lead man in the black suit glared at my father sternly.
“Sir, children are not allowed to gamble. It is a big deal. It’s against the law.”
By now a small crowd gathered and my dad tried to make a joke to ease the tension.
“It’s not like they’re gonna bankrupt the place or anything.” He chuckled, looking around at the curious faces.
Needless to say, the men were not amused. Then one of them grabbed my dad’s arm.
“Sir, you and your family have to leave immediately.”
I could tell by his angered face that my dad didn’t like being pushed around by these guys, but glancing in the cherub faces of his children, he decided to acquiesce.
“OK, everybody let’s go,” he said and we left the restaurant.
Without a word, we all got in the car. We didn’t really understand what had happened, but it was obvious my parents were upset. We drove a few minutes down the road until my sister broke the silence.
“I’m still hungry,” she whined in her little girl voice.
My dad nodded and pulled into the first diner available. This time we just ordered and ate, but to lift our spirits, my dad and mom allowed us to pick out trinkets from the gift shop attached to the restaurant.
My sister picked out a showgirl Barbie. My brother got a deck of cards. And I selected a book about Reno.
It was a short trip, but we learned something along the way. Casinos are serious places. And kids can’t gamble.
Unfortunately, my family did not learn their lessons as this incident was repeated in casinos for decades on cruise ships, the Bahamas, and in Las Vegas. I guess we can’t be taught.
(c) Suzanne Rudd Hamilton 2024
SUZANNE RUDD HAMILTON 