HANK’S XMAS BLOG VOL 5
12/27 Tuesday
Mesquite, NV.
After a quiet night of a long hot bath and sleep in real bed (why are hotel beds so short?), I checked out of the hotel and walked right past the casino without even so much as a cursory look at the roulette tables. Probably saved $200.
Leavin’ my family, Leavin’ all my friends
My mind’s at home, but my heart’s in the wind
The clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
Shiver me timbers I’m sailin’ away...-Tom Waits
Overton, NV.
On the backroad to Little Red Rocks and Hoover Dam is the Lost City Museum in Overton. No pushing or shoving here, I’m the only one in the place. Seems the Anasaize people settled here 10,000 years ago and farmed in the Colorado River Valley, their ruins were relocated to this museum when (actually just before) the Hoover Dam flooded the valle creating Lake Mead. Actually the Anasaize civilization inexplicably died out about 1200AD. Scientists speculate the cause may have been a severe drought. I think they probably built a Walmart.
Cattle guards have a special place in my psyche; they’re a sure sign that you’re on a back road in the wide open spaces of the American West...
Brownie has been vibrating and rattling since I left Utah, and now on this rough road he’s making a hellacious clunking and squealing racket; I suspect a broken u-joint or problem with the drivetrain.
Little Red Rocks, NV.
Scrambled up a 50ft. red rock. They’re quite beautiful save for the graffiti and destruction from firearms (or is it the people who use them?).
Henderson, NV.
How do you find reliable auto repair for a 1976 Ford F100 in a strange town? One way is to find a another guy with a restored classic car (that title only applies to Brownie from 100 ft away, or when totalling the money already spent on repairs), and ask him for a referral. Didn’t take long to find Dennis (retired military guy from Toledo, OH. “Home of the Mudhens”) in his red ‘69 Chevy Camaro with 327 4bbl engine and 4 speed tranny. He wouldn’t let anybody touch his car accept for Big Jim at Competition Service on Valley View Blvd. 4 (blocks from the Rio) in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas, NV.
40 minutes later I limped into the lot at Competition Service where Big Jim hopped in for road test. He said it sounded like a busted u-joint. A brief inspection up on the rack confirmed the diagnosis; they’d order the parts & it would be ready tomorrow before noon.
Tomorrow? You mean I’m going to be all alone overnight in Vegas with all those alluring evils tempting me from every angle? This is supposed to be a heart warming, soul searching righteous retreat to find value and meaning. Uh-oh.
First I walked right past a giant gentlemen’s club (strip joint) featuring erotic lap dances 24hr a day (is this the xmas gift I really wanted?) over to the Rio and consumed a strip (there’s that word again) steak ceasar salad for $8.95 in the “All American Café”. Then I took a cursory stroll past the roulette tables to the sports book where I read newspapers and watched TV (just how many channels does ESPN have?) for a couple of hours.
Refusing to pay $200+ for a room at a good hotel (or $100 for a dump) I slowly drove around scouting for a place to park Brownie and sleep in the back overnight. Well sometime later I somehow (somehow?) ended up on the strip at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino sitting at (you guessed it) a roulette table. I boxed #8, #11, #35 and bet black on every spin for 2 hours, and ended up winning $300!! It was now almost midnight and time to shell out some winning $$$ for nice room at the MGM Grand!. Nope. I went out to the parking lot, climbed in the back of Brownie, and slept ‘till morning.
12/28 Wednesday
Las Vegas, NV.
Sitting in a Starbucks near The Palms on Tropicana Blvd. waiting for Brownie and his new u-joint. Ad on the radio sez Desert Chrysler/Dodge in Las Vegas will pay my XMAS debts (up to $7,000.00) if I buy a new car! Is this a great country or what?
Cheers,
Hank
12/27 Tuesday
Mesquite, NV.
After a quiet night of a long hot bath and sleep in real bed (why are hotel beds so short?), I checked out of the hotel and walked right past the casino without even so much as a cursory look at the roulette tables. Probably saved $200.
Leavin’ my family, Leavin’ all my friends
My mind’s at home, but my heart’s in the wind
The clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
Shiver me timbers I’m sailin’ away...-Tom Waits
Overton, NV.
On the backroad to Little Red Rocks and Hoover Dam is the Lost City Museum in Overton. No pushing or shoving here, I’m the only one in the place. Seems the Anasaize people settled here 10,000 years ago and farmed in the Colorado River Valley, their ruins were relocated to this museum when (actually just before) the Hoover Dam flooded the valle creating Lake Mead. Actually the Anasaize civilization inexplicably died out about 1200AD. Scientists speculate the cause may have been a severe drought. I think they probably built a Walmart.
Cattle guards have a special place in my psyche; they’re a sure sign that you’re on a back road in the wide open spaces of the American West...
Brownie has been vibrating and rattling since I left Utah, and now on this rough road he’s making a hellacious clunking and squealing racket; I suspect a broken u-joint or problem with the drivetrain.
Little Red Rocks, NV.
Scrambled up a 50ft. red rock. They’re quite beautiful save for the graffiti and destruction from firearms (or is it the people who use them?).
Henderson, NV.
How do you find reliable auto repair for a 1976 Ford F100 in a strange town? One way is to find a another guy with a restored classic car (that title only applies to Brownie from 100 ft away, or when totalling the money already spent on repairs), and ask him for a referral. Didn’t take long to find Dennis (retired military guy from Toledo, OH. “Home of the Mudhens”) in his red ‘69 Chevy Camaro with 327 4bbl engine and 4 speed tranny. He wouldn’t let anybody touch his car accept for Big Jim at Competition Service on Valley View Blvd. 4 (blocks from the Rio) in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas, NV.
40 minutes later I limped into the lot at Competition Service where Big Jim hopped in for road test. He said it sounded like a busted u-joint. A brief inspection up on the rack confirmed the diagnosis; they’d order the parts & it would be ready tomorrow before noon.
Tomorrow? You mean I’m going to be all alone overnight in Vegas with all those alluring evils tempting me from every angle? This is supposed to be a heart warming, soul searching righteous retreat to find value and meaning. Uh-oh.
First I walked right past a giant gentlemen’s club (strip joint) featuring erotic lap dances 24hr a day (is this the xmas gift I really wanted?) over to the Rio and consumed a strip (there’s that word again) steak ceasar salad for $8.95 in the “All American Café”. Then I took a cursory stroll past the roulette tables to the sports book where I read newspapers and watched TV (just how many channels does ESPN have?) for a couple of hours.
Refusing to pay $200+ for a room at a good hotel (or $100 for a dump) I slowly drove around scouting for a place to park Brownie and sleep in the back overnight. Well sometime later I somehow (somehow?) ended up on the strip at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino sitting at (you guessed it) a roulette table. I boxed #8, #11, #35 and bet black on every spin for 2 hours, and ended up winning $300!! It was now almost midnight and time to shell out some winning $$$ for nice room at the MGM Grand!. Nope. I went out to the parking lot, climbed in the back of Brownie, and slept ‘till morning.
12/28 Wednesday
Las Vegas, NV.
Sitting in a Starbucks near The Palms on Tropicana Blvd. waiting for Brownie and his new u-joint. Ad on the radio sez Desert Chrysler/Dodge in Las Vegas will pay my XMAS debts (up to $7,000.00) if I buy a new car! Is this a great country or what?
Cheers,
Hank
There's something about Tom Waits and Las Vegas (or maybe the entire state of Nevada) that just clicks. I wandered into a tavern on the side of the rosd out in the middle of Nowhere, Nevada. They had every single album jacket that Tom Waits had ever released propped up against the wall above the liquor bottles and playing in the background. My kind of people!
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