Some adventures in Vegas

Page 4

People and places

Oki. How is everyone, in this slow-to-thaw spring? A friend of mine, Joanne, had a good point about this 1997 spring. She said that Mother Earth and Old Man Winter are having an affair, and they don't want to part ways. Actually, I can't say that it's only happening in Alberta - I heard that Manitoba was another place they'd taken a liking to.

As I told you before, I went to Las Vegas, Nevada, the city that never sleeps. It was kind of scary, especially when you're a woman and you are all alone. I went and looked around the casino. I mean, if you're not a gambler, a casino can get boring after awhile. I went to watch a basketball game (on TV) and this man approached me. At first, my guard was up, thinking what does this guy want? After I finally relaxed, Andy told me he was the "great American" person, with many kinds of blood running through him. Originally from Texas, with the accent of a true southerner. He invited to take me to several casinos along the strip. I know if my gut feeling had been sending me other messages, I wouldn't have gone.

Several casinos later, we arrived at one of newer hotels called "New York New York." The hotel looked liked all the monumental buildings in New York squished together. We walked through a market place, which was designed like the streets of New York. I asked Andy, if they have a place where customers can also get mugged, New York style.

We made our way to the Motown Cafe - they had impersonators of the old Motown stars. Andy started a conversation with two women, Marilyn and Sally, both from Las Vegas. Marilyn looked like Elizabeth Taylor in her younger years. She had a personality that would attract anyone. I think Andy saw that. We went driving around, ending up at the Sahara. We were listening to a band that sang a variety of music from the '50s to '90s. Andy "coerced" me into going up on stage to sing a verse with the band. I told one of the singers I didn't know the song. She told me to sing anything. So, I did. We all had a good laugh over it. All of my newfound friends had to work the next day, so we bid good night. I didn't see them after that. But I do have their phone numbers, in case I may show up again.

I didn't go down to Las Vegas for a vacation - I went down for a conference, a bingo conference. In my opinion, the conference was geared more for the bingo halls. I represented a new kind of bingo, which is radio bingo. I met all different kinds of people from every walk of life but we all had one thing in common: bingo. I collected information about every kind of bingo there is and I have many daubers.

I have to introduce you to this one lady I met; her name is Helene Day from Wisconsin. She also was at the conference. She is from the Ho-Chunk Tribe. After all the sessions were over, I was sitting there wondering what to do. After introducing ourselves, we decided to go to bingo. We ended up sharing each other's company throughout the conference. She also saved me on the last night in Las Vegas. I was making my money stretch all week; I did have a bit in my bank if I needed it. Anyway, I had about nine bucks left, so I decided to go to the bank machine to take out more money. It wouldn't give me money. I thought to myself, "here I am in Las Vegas with no money." I kept seeing myself on the street panhandling. I told Helene my dilemma. She told me, not to worry, she'll think of something.

We had made plans to attend a show at the Stratosphere. One of her friends met us to give us the tickets. She told him my dilemma and he handed me a hundred dollar bill. I was floored. My opinion of the American people changed from that moment on.

We did have a great night, thanks to Victor. Before we left to our home towns, we promised to visit again.

See you next time!