Vegas 2000
We have had no adventures so far. Reunited with the Psion for
this Vegas adventure. Shades of Egypt. Waiting for takeoff.
Arrived without incident, amazing expanses of beige from overhead, all
neatly divided in squares, obviously fields but couldn't figure why it was so uniform in
color and pattern, Still getting acquainted with my pants, nicked a pair of Dennis' and
they have not 1 but two sets of pockets directly above the knees. The logic of it escapes
me somewhat. So we're now sitting on the edge of a parking lot that is reputedly arrivals
pickup, waiting for rescue. I really wish we'd done this the normal way, gotten a taxi and
a hotel and been done with
it. But Nick had to procrastinate then delegate entirely to Michelle, part of the
adventure I suppose So we waited in the airport till 11, Nick though he heard an
announcement for us. So we went inside and milled, Nick tried the courtesy phone no joy.
Tried to limit myself to saying I told you so only a dozen or so times. By luck ran into
friend of Michelle's and his girlfriend (or former girlfriend, apparently they'd broken up
three weeks earlier but she'd been so impressed by Michelle on a months acquaintance that
she wanted to go to the wedding.) He called Michelle's but Troy didn't know anything.
Eventually heard from them she'd gotten the other people and taken off so we drove to the
base. Stopped at the guest house and got guest pass, though just for the driver. Somehow
expecting something a bit more secure. Finally got to the house, were a bunch of people
there his parents, Liz's daughter and her family both her husband and her NYPD, two cute
kids.
So we sat around a lot there. Noticed magnet for obstetrics group on
the fridge. Talking with Troy a bit about what he does, targeting systems maintenance. We
stopped to go outside because there were a bunch of jets doing maneuvers. Was rather
impressive. These machines doing this crazy stuff spiraling and going strait up. Michelle
showed up with Katy who I vaguely remembered from Teaneck, used to date Napoleon I think.
M announced that in facts she is pregnant. That was pretty wacky .Eventually wound up
heading to the hotel. The Warrior Inn believe it or not. Crashed for three hours and then
headed to the only food place on base open to civvies, got a pizza and nachos. Place
wasn't too crowded, karaoke night. Relatively light crowd again not what I'd expected from
base, looked like normal slow bar, group of people sort of dancing. In general expected
something a bit more militant less like a suburban development . Made it back, watched
alien nation on Sci-fi good thing I don't get the good channels at school.
So made it to the church, waited, they had an honor guard, dress
blues, sabers. So the maids filed through. All in maroon velvet outfits, Katy among them.
It was a little weird as a ceremony, it was minister, talked about them as Christians, did
the standard ceremony. Then instead of kiss the bride bit they took communion. It was a
nice ceremony. Think Troy is born again type. Vadim had showed up with his mother and
sister. So we took a ride over with what's his name, thing was at freedom park, had roofed
in area with picnic tables, in front of what was supposedly the first prototype stealth
fighter, so we milled, M + Troy showed up, The food showed up. Talked with various folks a
bit, ate chilled. Nick went over to ask the honor guard if they actually got any
practical training in handling their swords- they don't. Planes were doing their thing
again, sort of neat entertainment to have at the one's wedding reception, courtesy of the
military industrial complex. Things tapered off, we emptied the garbage cans in the
dumpster there.
Headed back to M's hung around there. Looked at quickly developed rolls
of film. They opened couple gifts, just chilled for a bit. Went back to the room for a bit
and around 7 headed out for the strip to look around. Meeting a friend of Troy's friend,
Met at the Luxor, definitely weird, huge black pyramid rising into the night topped with
this beacon light and surrounded with lotus columns. So we tried to pick up Vadim at
Excalibur but when finally got in touch with him he was too tired so went on without him.
Katy in the meantime had bought herself a garland from souvenir stand. So we wandered saw
the volcano explode, saw the pirate battle, which was in an amazingly sculpted background,
Could see some of the towns windows really looked out from the hotel. The whole stagecraft
of Vegas is pretty amazing. More milling played three quarters and some nickels, About
then split up with Katy, Liz's daughter (forgotten her name irritatingly) and kids going
back. Walked through the Venice didn't get to Bellagio was all pretty impressive, kind of
like Disney World. The trick is of course it isn't Disney World, reality intrudes here and
there, there are the scantily clad women going about with drinks, (the contrast between
them and the grannies they walked past feeding their nickels into the machines was sort of
mind blowing). Guys loitering on corners that aren't clearly the turf of any one hotel
handing out flyers for porn shows, which, as always happens, wind up spread across the
streets, mixed with the dirt in the gutter, a sort of appropriate metaphor for the effects
on all parties involved. It was sort of interesting to get a native's perspective as well,
The friend of Troy's friend (who's a minister or ministry person of some sort I think)
works in a bank and is from Vegas. Got to hear about where his grandfather preferred to go
to do his gambling. About his experiences talking about God (another religious type, I say
that like people don't think of me as one) to washed up prostitutes coming in to take out
their last dollar. I guess it's good to be reminded that everything comes with a human
cost. Michelle wasn't feeling too well but was keeping on because John wanted someone to
gamble with. She stopped in pain at one point. I was really kind of scared, her being
pregnant. I said if she wasn't feeling well we should call it a night but she wanted to
keep going. In the end though we did just head back. Actually ran into the rest of the
party who had stopped off to get something to eat at Caesar's. So drove home with them
getting only slightly lost in the process. Had actually lost the pass to get back on base,
so though not difficult it was sort of amusing to watch to NYPD officers with us two and
their two kids in the back trying to bluff their way past the whitebread MP at the gate.
Michelle had said they'd call us if we wanted to go to church with them
early that morning but bc. she didn't feel well they didn't get up so Nick and I went to
the Catholic mass at base chapel, again surprised at how mixed a crowd it was, keep having
to remind myself that it just a sort of themed gated community not area 51. Sermon was
strangely about saving money and making sure you have enough put away for the future. It
seemed really weird. Though I suppose the only places I've regularly gone to church are an
upper middle class suburb, college campuses and middle of nowhere small-town Italy so it
might be my sample set rather than what is actually normal in a mass. Later Troy and his
friend picked us up and we checked out I had to save the warrior inn soap, God what a
name. Went over to their place and just chilled there talked with Troy's father who works
at the DMV in Carson City (from Bonanza, not only is it apparently a real place, it's the
state capital, I am so an east coast boy). Was talking about prior employment. Owned
a hobby shop in California (models and gaming and the like, tito Jackson was a regular
customer) then worked at a chemical plant with astoundingly bad sounding safety procedures
(after he left it blew up) So finally it was decided that we should go to a buffet then
another friend of theirs would drop us at the airport. So we headed out in three cars to
buffet at the Rio. Which I have to say was rather incredible, if I lived there I would be
seriously tempted to eat out a lot. They had a series of stations with different kinds of
food at each one. pizza. burgers. Chinese Mexican Italian. American, even with the
vegetarian constraint you couldn't try everything, and it was all pretty good, then they
had a desert center with all kinds of pies and pastries and cakes, I really wished could
cram more in, only managed one piece of dessert. But I think we were certainly in the
running for most volume consumed. Said our good-byes, invited everyone to see us. This
other friend of Troy's dropped us at the airport. Nick admired the kevlar helmet in his
trunk, which was odd. I sort of wonder is it another east coast thing, the tendency to
look at military types as a somewhat suspicious species apart, you meet these perfectly
normal people and are kind of shocked when the bits of their militaryness if that's a word
intrude. Even going to Rutgers I was sort of shocked at the ROTC folks in their outfits,
visible military is something I associate with my visits to China and Russia, odd. Really
pushing it timewise they called ahead to gate from check in desk. Flight was packed, seat
chaos ,because Nick traded with a girl who of course wasn't in her seat, someone else
who's seat had been taken took her real seat so when the person who's seat it was turned
up didn't have anyplace, further complicated by the fact that I was in nicks real seat, I
hate planes. But survived another adventure.