Maybe it is just me, but I have always wanted to write a headline like that when it wasn’t exactly true. Hey, yellow journalism does has its fun side. Shut up! It is her image on the Flamingo which is being dismembered as I write.

Las Vegas’s Sweetheart, Toni Braxton, ended her show suddenly, a little while back, due to ill health. It was a real shame. She is a very popular entertainer and a lot of people were heartbroken she had to bring her headlining show to an early close. Today was the day her sign was painfully peeled off the front of the Flamingo.

VegasRex got a tip that the sign was being removed. He called me asked if I wanted to go. I dropped the shoe I was admiring at Macy’s, jumped into the trusty BloggerMobile and off we went to get the scoop. We were afraid we were going to be late and miss it. I dodged cops as I sped through the back streets of the strip, hopped the car over pedestrians, floored it through the yellow lights, screeched the bloggermobile to a stop to return a bottle a baby in a carriage had dropped, floored it into the parking garage and parked.

Okay, okay, there are too many people who know the truth about my driving. I drove five to ten miles per hour under the posted speed limit and eventually we got there.

Most of the sign was still up when we arrived. There was no missing the removal of this sign. It looks like it will likely take days, not hours, to get the thing off of there. I put in a circle and arrow in the photo to point out the dismembering crew.

We wandered around a bit while Rex worked his magic with his awesome camera (photo credits to VegasRex once again) and wondered what other trouble we could get in to during our little lunch break. I thought I’d get a hot dog at the hot dog/lemonade/daiquiri stand there in front of Caesar’s Palace. After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes it was my turn. The guy told me it would be another fifteen minutes until they are done. What part of LUNCH TIME does this guy not get?? Can’t he figure out what time to put those things on the grill?? Lunch is at NOON, not three in the frickin afternoon. I was there at NOON. Where is my fucking hot dog? So, I figured - screw it, I should be keeping kosher anyway. I told him I’d be back and I didn’t come back. Let some goy eat those hot dogs an hour AFTER LUNCH TIME.

There was a new sign up. At least I think it is new. I’ve never seen it before. But then… I never notice anything really. Nathan Burton has a huge sign to the left of the Toni Braxton sign. (Not to be confused with the Nathan hot dog I was attempting to purchase earlier in this story.) I guess he actually isn’t the one replacing Toni Braxton, he’s just there anyway doing his magic and comedy. Donny and Marie Osmond are actually the replacement show. I’d probably do Donny… if just to satisfy an urge from the very late 1960s, that I didn’t quite understand at the time. Never mind. Anyway, I don’t know that I’ll put that particular show on my urgent list of shows to see, but I hear from many people they expect it to be a really fine show. And I did hear that from people who you would not expect would say it.

So, that pretty much covers today’s lunchtime Bloggermobile escapade. The Strip is now safe, once again.

Tags: Toni Braxton Las Vegas