Sin City

I just returned from a six day excursion to Las Vegas.  Vegas is an experience in itself and like no other place on Earth.  Unless you’re a big gambler, the casinos can get old pretty easily but there are plenty of shows and sightseeing to be seen.  I’d been before, but this time I left with different thoughts.

Scary thought: While watching the news, they talked about a elderly couple that had been shot.  The man killed his wife then tried to kill himself.  They said it would be a homicide/suicide case – the FIFTH in the month of September.  Not 5th for the year or the decade, 5th in a month. Not a good statistic. (NV also has the highest divorce rate in the nation.)  I guess the saying “you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them” is true!

Smart thought: The next news story dealt with the schools of Sin City.  The kids were complaining that their classrooms were too hot.  (It was 97 degrees when I was there all week)  The PR person for the district was interviewed and said they just didn’t have enough money to afford appropriate air conditioning for all of the schools.  What?  Right after watching the news I walked down The Strip and marveled at all of the lights.  I could only imagine the electricity bill for the city.  Shouldn’t some of these hotels help provide air for the kiddies?  I’m just saying.

Zzzz thought: Vegas can mess up your sleep pattern. Being three hours behind is bad enough.  Then you go out to the clubs until 3-4am.  Here in Louisville that’s fine because you can sleep a couple of hours and get up.  But, when your body automatically wakes up at 6-7am (which is 3-4am Vegas time) your body is trying to wake up when it should be going to sleep.  I had to cover every single bit of light in the room, cover my head with a pillow and turn away from the window just to attempt to sleep a little longer.

Stomach thought:  Food is plentiful.  There is a buffet, discounted or splurge meal around every corner (sometimes all in one hotel).  We went to a buffet that had eight different stations (Italian, Mexican, American, Chinese etc….)  Now I normally wouldn’t eat crawfish, burritos, jumbalaya slice of pizza and sushi all on one plate but each item called my name.  Although I could barely walk, I also had to make room for chocolate cake and eclairs along with some ice cream.  Wow, I’m full just thinking about it!

Vegas is a great getaway, but it definitely takes at least a day to recuperate when you return to Louisville – Possibility City.  I’m not sure who turned off the heat in Louisville, but could we possibly turn it back on?

M.Y.  October 2009