Billboards

It had been 25 years since I’d been to Las Vegas.  I was looking forward to a relaxing few days courtesy of the ‘free trip’ I won by simply putting my name in a drawing.  Hoover Dam was on the agenda along with people watching. I thought I was prepared for the changes in the city since one friend goes frequently and, after all, I’ve seen Ocean’s Eleven.  Instead of what I was anticipating, here are three things I found and today’s musing that emerged from one of them.

Contrasts.  The silence of the desert and the cacophony of the boulevard.  The snow-capped mountains and the marvel of human engineering holding back a river.  The hawker wearing an orange t-shirt standing next to a woman from the Salvation Army in a white button-down shirt and tie.  One was giving away discount cards to “Girls! Girls! Girls” and the other was asking people to drop their change in the bucket – change for change for the homeless.  A tulip garden in the courtyard of Bellagio and the majestic saguaros at the airport.

Surprises. 3 Navajo women selling gorgeous jewelry atop a mountain. Art deco statues and star coordinates in brass and marble at a national Bureau of Reclamation site.  Deer crossing signs in the middle of an established subdivision. Shopkeepers that refer you to another store.  Wax figures that make you think a celebrity is ready to talk with you.   The Eiffel Tower, the Chrysler Building and a chance to have a bagel at the corner of Broadway and Greenwich St.

Boldness. The ads – whether the screens projecting who is in town or who’s coming to town or the larger-than-life bottle of coke – were all in-your-face and hard to ignore.   The billboards that really caught my attention followed the rule of three - three words or phrases to get their point across.  One had a brown background with tan lettering.  The word ‘divorce’ was in capital letters at the top and underneath it said: Affordable. Aggressive.  ASAP.   Another more colorful one proclaimed: No scalpels.  No needles. No pain.  That one was for ez-snip.com – yes, vasectomies. 

And it’s this – the idea of being bold – that gets me to today’s musing.  What if we wanted to boldly advertise who we are on a billboard, or Facebook, or Match.com following the rule of three?  What three words would you use to describe you right now?  Too bad ‘Eat. Pray. Love.’ is already taken. 

I’ve given my billboard some thought and, at least for today, I'll stick with verbs.  Here is what my billboard would say: Participate. Reflect. Hope.

What three words would be on your billboard?