Scenes From My Life

Growing up, my extended family was spread across the southern United States. Every summer, my parents would load my brothers and me in the car to visit these far-flung relatives. We would be gone for weeks at a time, driving hundreds of miles across the American south. At times, it seemed like I had been in the car for an interminable amount of time. However, on the drive back to Atlanta, there was always one clear clue that announced that I was nearly home: the Atlanta skyline. Full of office buildings, hotels and sports facilities, the Atlanta skyline is a study in change. The skyline has grown as the city has expanded. Few of its earliest markers, symbols of the city’s future as a metropolitan center, still stand. Those that have remained are now dwarfed by newer, more modern edifices. Whether returning from a weeks-long vacation or a mere day trip, spotting the Atlanta skyline meant that I was nearly home. Over the years, skylines have he

As the plane began to descend, the passengers looked out of the windows. Everyone on the plane found their gaze drawn to the approaching city below them. Their destination was in sight and they could not help but attempt to get that first glimpse. Those passengers who had been sleeping awakened to watch the approach. Those who had been talking grew silent, seemingly mesmerized by the sight of the city. Those on the aisles craned their necks to get a glimpse. I had not seen it before and have not seen it since. That rare occasion where each and every person on an airplane watched as the destination came into sight. Only one city could draw such rapt attention. That city was Las Vegas. It was my first trip to “Sin City” and my traveling companion’s first trip in more than two decades. The late night cross-country flight put us near Las Vegas just before midnight. Since our flight had flown over the Mississippi River, nearly three hours earlier, very few discernible s