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When our minister visited the Red Light district
07/06/2006 10:57 PM
I
wasn't too sure what I was going to think about this week, but Ely, Nev. was
brought to my mind Tuesday morning and I knew what I was going to write
about. We lived there in the 70s when we were out in the oilfield.
Ely was
an old town, probably smaller than Chamberlain. We had moved there from Las
Vegas where Ed worked for the Atomic Energy Commission drilling 72"
holes for setting off atomic bombs out in the desert area of the famous Area 51.
Ely was one hundred miles or more from Las Vegas, but it did have all the same
"necessities of life" (for some) as Vegas ... the bright lights of its two
casinos smack dab in the middle of town and the three houses of ill repute down
on the west end of town, just off Main Street.
It must have been "curiosity" that caused the steady flow of traffic down
that street; I'm sure that's what it was. The thing about that street was that
there was no exit. If you drove down there, you had to come out the same way so
if you didn't want anyone to know you were "checking things out" you'd better
slip down after dark or during siesta.
Take, for instance, our minister. It was revival time and we liked
to entertain visiting evangelists, so, what the heck, give them a tour of the
town, right? Now, if anyone should have known better, you would have thought
Rev. Kennedy would, wouldn't you? Anyway, temptation being what it is, it does
get to the best of us so down to the houses they drove. And wouldn't you know,
God was watching. In His own way, He let the air out of one of Rev. Kennedy's
tires. Rather humbling experience for the minister, I would think. Not to mention the razzing one would
get
from his parishioners.
Every Thursday was "examination day," the day the "girls" came downtown for
their checkups. That in itself was a bit of an attraction for the
"curious-minded."
Christmastime was a hoot. The town council had a wild sense of humor, if
you feel generous and want to call it that. When the Christmas decorations were
put up
along Main Street, the lights in the last block not only lit up the sides of the
street, they were also strung across the street, creating a "red district," if
you will. Apparently, there were no women on the board. I'm sure the red lights
were a "man thing."
After the novelty wears off, one can co-exist with the houses and its
occupants without preoccupation. As I think about that today, I wonder if the
businesses are still thriving, and how. The way things have changed in the past
15 years, it doesn't seem like they would be.
Well, here's a thought for you ... is there such a thing as "men of the
evening?" And again, I would wonder why. Or maybe I'm just too old and don't
have all that
much time left and need to save what little gray matter I have left for more
important things to think about.
Aside from Ely's sideline, it was a great place to live. Our house was high
on a hill with the schoolhouse at the end of our block and we were only two
blocks from the casinos downtown. Our house overlooked the town. Heck, had we
been paying attention that day we could have watched Rev. Kennedy and his
visitors fixing a flat in front of the houses along with God and the girls. We
could have all had a good laugh together!
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