A Magic Day in The Secret Garden

On Sunday afternoon we all met up again at the Mirage's Secret Garden, where Siegfried & Roy's animals roam in a natural jungle-like preserve. All of our Sarmoti group wore our T-shirts and brought with us a huge bouquet of 61 multi-colored roses for Roy's 61st birthday! Each rose had a yellow ribbon tied to it with a personal note written on it by each of us. It was truly impressive what the organizers of all these weekend events went through to make everything just perfect.

We had time before S&R's arrival to leisurely stroll through the Secret Garden and visit all the animals. This was absolutely awesome as you feel like you are in a real jungle. You can get up very close to the the white tigers, the Siberian gold tigers, the white lions of Timbavati, the leopards and the black panthers as there is only heavy barbed-wire fence between you and these magnificent beasts! Unfortunately, we were too late to see their beloved elephant, Gilda, who starred in their show as she had passed away only weeks before. Other than the sounds of birds, occasional growls, roars and the exotic jungle music of The Secret Garden being played in the background, there is almost a hushed, reverent silence as people walk around. Being in the presence of nature's most awesome, stunning, majestic creatures just takes your breath away, and induces somewhat of a trance! One huge male white lion, stood no more than 6 feet away from me and just stared right into my eyes! It sent chills through me, not from fear, but from CONNECTING!!

Finally, we were told to go stand near the gift shop, and TO NOT MOVE! The excitement was really now beginning to build up, as by then we knew that we would be actually meeting S&R! In fact, Siegfried & Roy paid for all of us to get into the Secret Garden, which is normally $15 per person, and were making an appearance just for us! Only our club and a few other people were allowed to be inside the Secret Garden for the private meeting and birthday party! What a thrill! The closer it got to their arrival, the more everyone got in a 'every man for himself' mode, trying to get in the best position, the best spot, and a little pushing and shoving ensued! One particularly obnoxious German gal kept shoving my arm and demanding that I "Don't Move, don't move!!!", and I finally retorted with "GEEZ, Will you JUST STOP shoving!!"

In the meantime, the LV TV station did an interview with our group, and not only did we eventually get on Las Vegas TV, but the interview (and yours truly) got on Entertainment Tonight, Extra Extra, Access Hollywood, Inside Edition and even German TV! Here are some clips - look for me on the right and in a turquoise cowboy hat!

http://home.comcast.net/~kovacssandra/roysbirthday2005.wmv
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_LVNewsClips.htm
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_punkt.htm
http://www.sarmotiworld-fanclub.com/media/clip_rtl_october.htm
http://www.siegfriedandroyfanclub.com/Site/Photos/AccessHollywood_03october05.wmv
http://www.siegfriedandroyfanclub.com/Site/Photos/ET_03october05.wmv

Then all the camera people rushed over toward a back door entrance, where in came Bernie Yuman, S&R's Manager, followed by the beautiful Lynnette Chappell, the 'Evil Witch' in their show. At that point, all mayhem broke loose, with people pushing and shoving and cameras being thrust in front of me, and then in WALKED Roy!! Yes, he WALKED in! Those of us who were there could not believe our eyes, for there was Roy WALKING in un-aided!! Truly a miracle after nearly dying. His nurse would stand behind him to steady him, and he would alternate, walking by himself and using a 3-legged cane. He has no problem showing his scar and his weaknesses. His scar shocked me, actually. It is from right under his chin almost all the way down to his breastbone! I was able to present a rose to Roy, and he kissed it when he accepted it. I was hoping to meet Siegfried too, but Roy told me that Siegfried could not be there that day as he was in Paris for a wedding.

After all the hoopla, with people trying to talk to Roy, get photos with Roy, pose with Roy, we were all invited to share his birthday cake with him! The cake was gorgeous and what a privilege to have him share his birthday with us, while we all sang Happy Birthday in German, which we had been practicing since the first night at the cocktail party!

I also got my pic taken with Roy and the group which now is on the Official S&R website. That evening, S&R also treated all our group to "Havana Nights" at the Stardust Casino, the show which they produced! None of us had to pay a cent. It was an exciting, gorgeous production showcasing the music and dance of Cuba. S&R had to fight to get this production going as Castro wouldn't let these performers come to LV, and persecuted them and their families. Finally, with much dedication and perserverance, the mission was accomplished. It is a beautiful, breathtaking show, one I highly recommend if you go to Vegas.

After the nightclub show, we all went over to the Hofbrauhas in LV where S&R love to go. It is a huge German beer hall, where we all Oom Pah Pahed, Ein Zwei Drei'd and downed more than a few Octoberfest beers! Needlesstosay, A wild time was had by all! Luckily, I got a ride back to my hotel afterwards which made me and my aching feet very happy!