Where to find the brightest lights in the brightest city on the planet

From outer space Las Vegas is the brightest spot on the planet. The combination of the bright lights in this big city, the lack of humidity in general and the fact the skies are not cloudy all day, makes our home on the coal-dark planet, when its face is turned from the sun, a sparkling jewel.

As I was ranging out from home the other day, cruising the grocery aisles, I was reminded of this when I bumped into Michael Yackira, the president and CEO of NV Energy, the company that makes the aforementioned happen. We chitted and chatted, swapping that we both were taking time away from work to be with family, I offering that we were taking the grandchildren to the Springs Preserve for the final night of the holiday festival of lights.

Hmmmm. More lights. Like carrying coals to Newcastle? One could almost see the meter turning in Yackira’s eyes.

As the eyes of our camera zoom down from the stratosphere toward the red-tipped Stratosphere tower and pan over to where it all started with a trickle of spring water, our wandering eyes are bedazzled by … no, not the lights wrapped around the cacti and palms but by the lights in the eyes of the children.

After all the gifts under the lighted tree, the lights on the eaves of the house, and then the fireworks tonight, that’s what it is all about.

Happy holiday, ya’ll.