Greetings! Peter and I made it to Las Vegas, Nevada late last night & had the scroll set up on the strip by 10 p.m. A strange sensation to unfurl a piece of paper for free expression in Sin City. We chose a spot by the fountains at the Bellagio and waited to see how the project would be received. I was pleasantly surprised to strike up thoughtful conversations all night with a host of characters, including Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, former Showgirls, families with kids, locals, and travelers from Germany, Finland, England and all over the United States - all of whom wrote on the scroll. One of the former showgirls may have said it best: "Las Vegas is a small town in a big city." It was fascinating to engage with so many strangers and learn about what living and working in Las Vegas is really like. Taking the time to truly connect with others was a new Las Vegas experience for me, but it paid dividends - quite literally. I made several new friends and received invitations to stay with folks back in their home towns. A guy named Jet was deeply moved by our efforts to cultivate community & understanding. When I told him we were going to head back to the van to sleep in a parking garage pretty soon, he rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket and gave me a $100 casino chip to help fund the project. Good people out there, you just gotta take the time to be genuine. We interviewed some insightful homeless people in the wee hours of the morning and finally retired to the Vansion to get some rest. The night yielded new knowledge, new connections and new respect for a place I had largely overlooked on previous trips as a place where personal contact wasn't possible. Granted, several people were convinced that the scroll was just another way to make money. "How much to write something down?" one guy asked. People weren't used to seeing free, voluntary writing experiments on the strip, but they dug it. I ended up adding my own two cents to the scroll as well: "I know they call this Sin City, but I see an awful lot of light shining through the darkness." Overall, a great kick-off to Manuscript Across America's first out-of-California installation. We even managed to leave the next morning with more money than we had come with. Viva Las Vegas!