& They're All Livin' Devil May Care

Rik's Log 7.1.06

So Several folks have been asking me to divulge on my Vegas experience
So finally tired of mumbling some craps...{haha} I’ve decided to write this.
So if you’re interested--read it.

So Vegas was…
The airplane ride was uneventful--except for the music.
Now lemme tell you I really like riding on Delta Song Jets
And I’ll try to only fly with that airline, if I can have it my way.
They have this thing that plays music and it has tons of albums
I listened to several Beatles and Stones albums,
& tons of 90’s pop which was cool...
But what did me in was listening to Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid ballet
It’s an exceptional piece and particularly angelic
So while I’m flying over the Grand Canyon
You can imagine The Open Prairie playing and I just feel majestic.

They also had this trivia game you played against other passengers
I came in third place repeatedly but quit after frustrating losses.

So when I arrive at the Vegas airport…
It’s a mile walk to get anywhere near to the baggage claim.
And rather than make a decent moving walkway
They decide it’s better to litter the airport with slot machine.
This is going to be the running theme of Las Vegas...
Rather than make things easier for you
They go outta their way to make it rather inconvenient for you...
While mysteriously making it convenient for you to spend your money.

So we leave the airport and arrive at the Vegas Strip...
It’s only about a 1/4 mile from the airport so you can’t really miss it.
I soon realize that there is not much more to Vegas than the Strip.

Now the Strip is impressive but c’mon this is what this city consist of...?
So walking down the Strip it like being in Disney World or Time Square
Only there are Adult themes--signs everywhere for great sex & alcohol.
Like a giant amusement park all the Hotels have themes.
They either resemble countries or regions like Paris, NY, or Venice
Or they have historical themes like ancient Rome or Egypt, or Medieval England.
The craziest thing is there is this idea...
That Vegas is the Family Entertainment Capital
But the moment you step into the strip...
You realize there is not much a person under 21 can do here.

So after you’ve walked through the Strip and seen the excitement
Which is not that big once you’ve been to Time Square or Mardi Gras
You begin to feel very dehydrated and you go to get some water
There you realize that Vegas is the most expensive place outside of Disney World.
A bottle of water cost about three bucks & don’t try drinking tap water--it sucks.

We went to a buffet and it was 25 bucks per person...
& that didn’t include alcoholic beverages!
And then there is all these everyones who will do anything for a tip.
There’s a guy in EVERY bathroom giving you paper towels for tips...
For a buck I can get my own damn paper towel myself.

The next couple of days where spent working very hard and hardly sleeping
And it only reaffirmed my first impressions that Vegas sucks.
I travel through much of what was Vegas outside the Strip & wasn’t much impressed.
However I must admit that the scenery outside of Vegas is impressive
The mountains and the beautiful desert with nothing to see but the sky...
They were indeed very magnificent.

When it came time to leave I was just so happy to get out of Vegas
That I waited in the airport for hours not to miss my flight.
(I already missed 2 earlier).
And NY was a cool breath of air--finally a town where things made sense.

Now lemme tell you my greatest revelation of Las Vegas
It came after driving in & out of Vegas to SoCal and back.
I realized the silliest thing which is perhaps the most impressive thing as well.
Las Vegas is a desert in the middle of nowhere.
But somehow somebody (probably Bugsy Siegel) 50 years ago
Thought up a genius way to get people out in California and other places
To travel for hours to the middle of a desert to spend their money on booze
And give the rest of it away to casinos in silly card games.
It’s sinister--it’s just a desert but everyone goes there and thinks it’s awesome.

If I told you
That I’d make The Mojave into the Entertainment Capital of the World
You’d lock me up--but look at Vegas!
It just proves a sucker is born every minute.

So now you know my views on Vegas.
And you’re asking “So Rik you’re never going back to Vegas again?”
But I’ll probably be back someday...
Cause I really want to get on the rollercoaster in New York, New York.