The Liberace Museum

Way before in another life, I was in the shopping center business. Every year there would be a convention, the ICSC (the International Council of Shopping Centers) was held in May in Las Vegas. At one time it was Las Vegas’ largest convention.

Since we were a small developer (much like the our car company of today) we used to try to make the most unusual displays. We actually hired Vanna White one year and literally emptied out the other displays when she appeared at our booth.

Needless to say, location was a priority, and we always had a great location because we knew a very nice man who was head of the union at the convention center. So I used to travel months before the convention to have dinner with “this nice man” and discuss our location.

Now if you know me, you might say I dress rather differently to other folks. So I’m on this flight to Vegas, in first class, when a rather attractive woman spots me an says, “it’s really quite a shame that we lost him, isn’t it”? I say, “yes it is.”

Now I have no clue what’s she’s taking about but I go along. It’s only about half way through the trip so what else can I do? ”Are you going to the ceremony,” she asks. I say, “Yes”…I still have no idea what she’s taking about but she was rather familiar looking.

After a while, the flight attendant comes over and remarks, “So you’re in show business, do you know Linda Dano well? I love her.” Now it’s starting to come together, she’s not some leasing agent I know, but a soap star and that was the week Liberace had died.

Not a great story, but like most of my stories, yep, there’s more… So I get into the limo and pick up “the nice guy” and proceeded to tell him the story about what happened on my flight.

He says, “you know, there’s a Liberace Museum here. So we go and enter a strip mall center with a nail salon, waterbed store, etc and there it was… sort of sad.

Some folks think of our dealership as a museum... maybe even a little like that Liberace Museum, which of course would make me somewhat like the "Curator of the Liberace Museum."