Ole Blue Eyes, the Flu and the back of the Rolls

Getting ready to go to Las Vegas for the Tuskegee Airman convention this week let loose a stream of thoughts about back in the day when I went there every single weekend....and what a different town it is now. One particular tale is worth telling here. The marquee simply said, "He's Back" and that meant Sinatra was at Caesars. For some reason I don't remember I didn't stay at Caesars this trip. I was at the Tropicana. I had gone to see Frank and while sitting in the dressing room at the end of the evening, I started feeling feverish. I got really sick, really quick. So Lee Solters said he'd take me back to my hotel. Because I was sweating, I took off my prized diamond and opal ring and put it in my purse which, then and now, holds my entire life-- airline tickets for Paris, several thousand dollars, passport, etc, since I was leaving the country in a few days. Somehow, I got out of the taxi without my purse and didn't even know it until I got deep in the lobby. I turned to Lee and he said "Just Sit." He went to the phone and called Frank's man Jilly Rizzo and within fifteen minutes my purse was delivered to me--with everything in it! I had the flu and couldn't fly back, so I rode to L.A. sleeping in the back seat of Norman Winters white Rolls. I got home, wrote a review of Frank sent it in and left town. When I returned two weeks later I had mail. I think I was one of the few newspaper people Frank liked, he sent me notes from time to time. This one said, "Forgive the delay in getting this to you, but I had the goddamn flu. Your review was so lovely, please consider this my love letter to you." it was signed Francis Albert. Nobody ever knew until now that I always felt guilty about hugging and kissing on Sinatra and giving him the 'goddamn flu.' --I'm Ruth Adkins Robinson

The Airmen in Las Vegas

I am excited about my upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Next weekend is the Tuskegee Airmen Convention and it's gonna be fun, fun, fun. Like way too many people, I didn't know much about the Airmen until I got knee deep in the Tuskegee: Journey to Flight. Most of the fascinating people I met lived through struggles in Times of War and Times of Peace. They chose carefully what they wanted to say about what life in the South during World War II was like, the humiliation they received at the hands of white officers or the outrage of seeing German Prisoners of War being allowed to ride in the front of the bus or eat at white lunch counters while they, fresh back from fighting for their country, were not. But the pain was there, still close to the surface --almost seventy years later. For months I was working on producing five videos that became part of the Exhibit. But then I was only talking to people from California, since the museum is the California African American Museum with a focus generally on people from this area. In Las Vegas, I'll be working for the military and talking to Airmen from all over the country. The CAAM Exhibit is open through the end of November, so if you are reading this, come by the museum and check it out. Off to salute the Black Warriors of World War II, I'm Ruth Adkins Robinson.