A trip report before there were trip reports

I am sure I'm not the first to ever mention this....

This is my favorite trip report. It was written in the mid-90s by writer Mark Evanier. He writes for television, comic books and just about anything else he can. I read this story many years ago, and recently did so again, because it's highly entertaining. I read it the first time, before Al Gore invented the Internet, but thankfully it lives on today thanks to the miracle that Al thinks he created. (This is a 10-minute read, but worth it.)

http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL011.htm

Mark has several Vegas-related columns here:
http://www.povonline.com/Las%20Vegas.htm

Trivia: he contributed to the creation of Scrappy-Doo, and although it's lengthy, it's fascinating to guys like me who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in the late 70s and early 80s. http://www.povonline.com/scrappydays/scrappy01.htm

 

Haha! That was a good read! Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for posting that. Good story.

 

Now that is a legendary story. I don't even care if its exaggerated (he is a writer after all), it would make for an exciting tale in a movie!

 

there may well be writer's embellishment, but he wasn't writing that piece for a wide audience, a sitcom or anything significant, if i recall correctly. he wrote it years after the fact, but i'd wager less than 3 percent of it is exaggeration.

 

that was about as much drama as you could pack into an over-nighter to vegas. Very funny...

 

That was great! Pay phones, MGM Grand, no airport security. It must have been 1970, not mid 90's, right? Or am I just that old?

 

OMG!! What a great story. I just kept imagining each scene playing out in my mind. I am with the other person, sounds like the 70's to me!! I am still smiling!

 

there are a few indicators of the time period: a reference to comedian Louise DuArt, who began her career in 1976, a reference to Western Airlines, which ceased operations in April 1987 and a reference to Page After Page, some sort of book store that appears to be closed. oops, forgot the MGM Grand reference, which wikipedia says was sold in 1985.

the columns were written/published in january 1995, and at the time this was alleged to be about 8 years prior. that would put it in 1987. i guess when i read this story it doesn't seem like a 70s era incident. part of it is that i was a youngster in the 70s, so it's easier to me to envision this as a late 80s story than a late 70s.

other than the fact that there was fence climbing involved and calls made to a pay phone by an airline rep, the rest of that story could just as easily have happened last year.

 

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing it!

 

Thanks for the link. Great read with a happy & funny ending - the way all Vegas trips should end.

 

There's very little exaggeration in this piece and believe it or not, I left out a few of the troubles we encountered.

It took place around 1985 or 1986. We were on our way to see "Playboy's Girls of Rock and Roll" at the Maxim where Louise DuArt was the guest comedienne. The Maxim was the hotel that gave our reservation away...and you'll note that it, like the airline that gave us so much grief, is long gone.

They sent us around the corner to a crummy hotel called the Prince Albert. I think it's gone, too.

Glad some of you liked the piece. It was a lot more fun to write than it was to experience.

 

hey mark, it's great to hear from you. i've read your stuff here and there throughout the years. my guess was that i read this in CBG, but perhaps i'm wrong. i know i read this long before gore invented the internet, so if it wasn't featured in CBG, i have no idea where i would have run across it.

 

Great find. The tears were rolling down my face when I read the part about checking in at the fleapit motel.

 

1) there's a lot of great stuff on that site in addition to the TR. The articles about Groucho and comics legend Jack Kirby, just to name a few.

2) pretty cool that the author stopped in here to add some details!

 

Classic
Now that's probably the image of Vegas everyone has , for those who haven't ever been
Tales of the no-tell motel , and other vintage tidbits
Thanks for sharing

 

Thanks for the link. Very enjoyable read.

later, GVJ

 

Great link; thanks for posting it......I read the first report and kept right on reading the rest.

 

Thanks for posting and the author responding.

 

i'm not sure what tipped mark off to the fact we've been reading his story, but it must be nice to know the story has legs all these years later. when it was first published i don't think many of us realized such stories could live on forever, and be so easily accessible, 10 years later. as a writer myself, little of what i do is remembered years later, but maybe some day i'll be surprised.