Las Vegas silenced

By Randy Krug: I had never been to Las Vegas before. I was attending a brewing industry convention and was enjoying the bright lights and the vibrancy of The Strip for the first time. I awoke in my room at the Paris Hotel the morning of 9/11 and turned on the television in my room. As you might expect, the scene that unfolded before my eyes on Good Morning America took several minutes to absorb, and broadcasters were trying to convey a story even they were having trouble understanding.

Later, as I took the elevator to the hotel's main lobby, the casino, which had been so alive the night before, was now ghostly quiet, with everyone glued to televisions in the bar area and not a soul gambling.

With airports closed, people sought out bus lines, Amtrak or even bought cars to make their way home. I was told I could stay until flying resumed, and it wasn't until four days later, on Saturday, that I flew home. For some reason I had taken my travel agent's contact information, and she was terrific in getting me past the long lines outdoors that I otherwise would have been part of at the airport. Flight attendants hugged me when I told them I had arrived on a plane, and I was going home on one.

I witnessed two very different experiences in Las Vegas, and I will never forget the tragedy's effect on all of us who were there.