“You must’ve been such a happy family. All your movies prove it.”

That often came from people who sat through our home movies that showed us opening Christmas gifts sometime back in the ‘40s. Movies don’t lie, but they do exaggerate and can be manipulated.

Need proof? Well, all of the movies of us Trujillos show us much mirthier, earthier and girthier than we really were. Back then. But now, if we take the time to view those pre-historic flicks, we appear quite slim. See? The exaggeration works both ways.

The “Leave-It-To-Beaver” image of us was partly an illusion. Of course, love and warmth abounded, but when you have just minutes to make a good impression, things change. Continue reading →

The news that Community First Bank plans to move part of its operation to the Crocket Building has drawn attention.

Will the move itself revitalize downtown Las Vegas? We can hope. Irrespective of that, it’s great the bank’s owners, Ray and Joyce Litherland, chose to keep the bank downtown.

To many of us, the Crocket Building means a lot. For the uninitiated, we’re referring to the Murphey’s Building. For many years, that was the center of New Town. Ernie Thwaites, the original manager of KFUN, used to run a live radio spot: “Douglas at Sixth Street, where Las Vegans meet.”

So it was. That was the downtown I knew while growing up.

Let me explain: Continue reading →

Several people commented on the piece about the demolition of Mortimer Hall, the Highlands building at Eighth and National that was cleared to make room for a new student center. In that building, as mentioned in a previous column, was “The Door.” On it I kept humorous headlines from various newspapers.

In one move around Mortimer Hall, it was easier to move the entire door to a new location than to apply an Exacto knife to remove the clippings. But let’s be clear: The door was of the standard institutional variety, and it held up pounds of profundity.

One headline that I overlooked last time read simply, “Babies are what mothers eat.”

One reader, Cathy Stauber, mentioned rolling on the floor after reading some of the strange headlines in that column. Stauber, a naturopathic physician, ought to know more than anyone the benefits of a good belly laugh, one in which the laugher rolls on the floor. Continue reading →

It was wonderful yesterday writing about how next year’s Super Bowl will feature the Oakland Raiders pummeling Dallas by about 87 to 3. Yet, family members who realize I bleed Raiders black and gray interrupted the joy; this column needs to be about this year’s Super Bowl. Or so they say.

Nevertheless, I wanted to convince family members that the Raiders will be in the big game next year. So I asked around:

• Oldest son Stan: No particular interest.
• Middle son Diego (Tennessee Titans fan): Raiders don’t deserve it.
• Youngest son Ben (New York Giants fan): See above.
• Daughter-in-law Connie (Seattle Seahawks fan): See above again.
• Daughter-in-law Heather (Arizona Cardinals fan): See above yet again.
• Grandson and namesake Arthur Roland (Titans fan): See above one more time.

Continue reading →