The Mother’s Day Promise

 

Happy Mother’s Day to the special women reading this and the ones we celebrate at this wonderful time of year.

I tend to also prefer to include the most important girls, young ladies, and all women in my life on this day, as some may not have reached the age to be a Mother yet, or have found a different path in fulfilling their life’s purpose, and I am hopeful all feel welcomed and loved on this day.

My Mother, Marsha, had a birthday a few months ago. She is in terrific health, it is astounding to watch her play with the grandkids and being so mobile, as if she’s never slowed at all even in her 70th decade of life.

A few weeks ago I felt it important to celebrate my Mom’s birthday, and the upcoming Mother’s Day, with a special trip including my wife, Tami, my daughter Ella, and my sister, Haylee. Ella left for Juneau, Alaska for the summer on May 1, so we had only a limited amount of time to be together in April.

I had seen that a classic movie is playing at The Sphere in Las Vegas, one that has been a major part of our lives on the Redford side (my Mother’s maiden name), as her Mother, Joan, had a Wizard of Oz Collectible book on her table for my entire youth, and we watched it every time I went to her home in St. George, UT during the summers of my youth on one-on-one trips to Grandma’s house.

Those were wonderful times and we miss her.

I also recall the very first act of any kind I did on stage was a re-enactment of the entirety of The Wizard of Oz, all characters, in 3 minutes. It was a huge hit and launched many bits I created from there, such as Jim Carrey at Subway, my dentist face routine, and other fun comedy moments.

And so, we planned the trip and set out for a 36 hour blast to Vegas.

Leaving South Jordan, Utah at 9 AM, we drove in our trusty minivan, laughing and talking all the way, never even turning on the radio, as my sister and daughter have such a fun relationship, it was amazing to listen to them talk the whole way.

We stopped at Jersey Mike’s for sandwiches, gas pit stops at Maverik (mostly for me and my infamously wimpy bladder), as we raced to Sin City.

 

 

Once there, we stayed at a place we’d never heard of: The Jockey Club. Nestled between Bellagio and Cosmopolitan, this is a new favorite spot – affordable, quaint, not a casino, but on The Strip!

Early dinner was at Din Tai Fung, the favorite of my wife and children. Then we hit the Venetian canal shoppes, and found many photo opps along the way.

 

 

Eventually we made the extremely long walk to The Sphere – it said half a mile but I think it was maybe 1.5 miles – and we arrived at what I would consider the most impressive venue in the world for music and shows.

Upon entering it was clear they have created the ultimate customer experience: ambiance, warm and inviting, soft sounds to quell what would normally be a frenzied arena feel, and everyone was in awe of the space. The escalators seemed to reach into the heavens, the decor was astounding, with projection and beauty that I’ve never experienced outside of a theater. It was a show before the show. Very impressive.

Once inside it was almost incomprehensible.

There are about 20,000 seats, depending on the configuration of the space. All facing one way. With plenty of room to spare. No columns, no sight line issues, astounding design.

Thinking of seeing your favorite band there, which the venue mostly hosts concerts, I can only image how awesome it must be.

On the nights there isn’t a concert, you can see the classic The Wizard of Oz.

I took a selfie and then realized I needed to take one of the vista in front of me. Here are both angles.

 

 

Suddenly the movie began!

The ENTIRE screen in front of us transformed into the kind of thing you’d only see in a dream or a sci-fi movie. Wrapped all the way up, down and across your view in spectacular fashion. It felt like a Hunger Games or Avatar experience. Hard to describe, it was so epic.

 

 

The music began and nearly blew us out of our seats. The orchestration has been re-recorded to perfection, and was extraordinary. 120,000 speakers you could feel in your bones and stirred the soul. It was delicious to those who appreciate sound design. I have never heard anything like it.

Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” brought tears to my eyes, thinking my Mom is still so healthy she walked many stairs and over a mile to be here, after a 6 hour car ride, while seated next to my beautiful wife, daughter and sister, it was an overwhelming experience for our early Mother’s Day celebration.

 

 

A tornado ensued, and you could literally feel it, as fans whipped our hair, leaves blew all around us, strobe lights flashing, it was the most submersive and welcome experience one could hope for in an entertainment venue.

Once the tornado ended, the crowd burst into applause by how spectacular it was.

Suddenly the black and white screen turned into technicolor, as Dorothy discovered the yellow brick road, and jumped off the screen in a whole new way. It was majestic.

Apples fell from the ceiling (foam apples!) when the Tin Man and Scarecrow shook the tree, monkeys on drones that were life-sized floated during the scene of flying monkeys, robot butterflies released during the appropriate scenes…it was a feast for the eyes and imagination.

The movie is only 70 minutes, and was over so soon, we could have stayed for many hours enjoying such an experience.

Highly recommended! Not sure how to give a stronger endorsement!

We found a great place to eat a late night meal and reminisce how much we loved the movie, and the whole day.

The next morning we woke up and drove home, stopping at plenty of Maveriks, and even visited the lone Utah store Ella will be working in up in Juneau, called Cariloha, one of the best brands in the world. I believe we spent over an hour buying the entire store out. We made it home by 9 PM. What a blast!

 

 

I share this experience with you because I will do my best to make my wife and mother of our children a nice egg breakfast on Sunday, as that’s about all I can do in the kitchen, but more than anything, I was hopeful to create a most unique memory and moment with the women in my life.

There are other special ladies I celebrate, and will acknowledge them in other ways, but this was the kind of trip that needed to happen despite our schedules being too busy to pull it off. Yet we did. I am so grateful.

Now that my Ella is gone to Alaska for the summer, which makes me sad but also very proud, I am so thankful for the amazing women in my life and the blessings they are whether near or far.

Keeping The Promise to our mothers is a privilege, and I wish you the best in honoring those closest to you this day, and always.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.