Route 91 is special, let me start with that. It's an amazing weekend every year where this beautiful city gets to put herself on display for country music royalty & fans a like. From the excitement of the lineup announcement, giving away tickets on the radio to broadcasting live and interacting with the artists. It's an amazing weekend! I was lucky enough to be a part of the show last year and looked forward to this year even more, why...ummmm, ERIC FREAKING CHURCH!!! It was set to be an awesome 3 days of country, what it ended up being...I can't even out into words.
I'm going to be honest, I have a million things going through my head. I have since 10:10pm Sunday October 1st when my wife called me, "There is a shooter, someone is shooting all over here!" After talking for 2 minutes, the call dropped. Right then I got a call from my friend Danny, the gun shots so loud it sounded like he was right next to the shooter. "I can't find Leah, call your wife, someone is shooting up the show...call her now!" He and I talked on Saturday night. I mentioned to him, "Hey, I'm working the Golden Knights game tomorrow, do me a favor, keep an eye on my wife." Not that she needs it but I felt better knowing someone had her back and was watching over her when I couldn't. I got as close to the Festival grounds as I could, there was no way I was going to get to my wife. Once I knew she was safe, I decided to head home to be with my sleeping kids and my wife's sister, who was also in town. I finally got the all clear and was headed to pick her up around 3:20am Monday morning, at this point I had been up since 6:30am Sunday morning. Once I got her home safely, I was headed into work. A National tragedy had just occurred, our city needed us for news, updates & to just be there for them. Tay & I walked into the studio and were greeted by our boss, Tony! He knew what I had been through in attempting to get to my wife and struggling with knowing if she was safe or not. I immediately dropped my things and broke down. It was the first time I think I let myself realize what had just happened, in OUR CITY! We got on air and began what would be over 24 hours of no music, no commercials, just us with updates and open phone lines. Between Tay, Tony & myself, we did our best to keep our friends updated but as the phones would start ringing, we could feel our city weap. From calls of people not being able to locate loved ones, to people sharing the pain of watching friends fall victim to the gunfire, we just tried to be there. It's hard to balance, do we keep talking about this or try and be someone's escape from the reality of it all. From the darkness of the events on Sunday October 1st, came something truly beautiful, the "City of Sin," became the City of Strength. Yes, we cried on the radio, all day long, but as the hands on the clocked kept moving, the calls started to turn, it was our community stepping up and helping one another. So much food and water donated, city officials asked people to just bring it all to food shelves, blood donation lines that wrapped around city blocks. Lois made her way back from Phoenix to be here and be a part of things from the studio and thank god she did, we were all so tired and starting to fade ands she tagged in at the perfect time and kept 95.5 The Bull going through the rest of the day. We were so lucky to have her back in the building, even if just for the day.
OK...hang on, because before I share more I need to give love to the amazing members of Las Vegas Metro, first responders & the citizens that became instant heroes that night. THANK YOU! I'm so proud to have you protecting my family and this city, we're thankful to have you.
I know this has kind of been all over the place but I'm just typing feelings and words as they come out, thanks for putting up with it.
Here we are, one week later, I still struggle, more than I'll never admit.
To the friends and families that will bury your loved ones, I'm so sorry! You will forever remain in my thoughts and prayers & I promise, you're loved ones will never be forgotten.
I'm sad! My city was attacked and is now soaked in the blood of innocent people that just wanted to have fun and enjoy country music.
I'm confused! Did I do it right this week? Did I talk about the tragedy too much, not enough?
I'm mad, mad as hell! I should have been there. For my wife, for my friends. Nothing can change how I feel about that.
This one is the best one...PROUD! Proud of this city, my radio team, our police & first responders. I am PROUD to be a citizen of Las Vegas. Proud of how this city came together, WE truly are VEGAS STRONG!
I know this was wordy and, I just read it back myself...wow, I'm all over the place!
Thanks for reading, I truly appreciate it!
Big D