I lost a filling and I feel empty
This is the first installment on the week I spent in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Strip has to be one of the worst places in the world. It's zany and crazy at night. Excitement is trumpeted for as far as the ear can hear and lights blaze as far as the eye can see. If I had to hear Queen was ready to "rock me" one more time or if I had to see that giant g-string advertising some great nudie show, I think I was going to snap. It's sensory overload. It's beyond the ultimate tribute to materialism. Here's a place that peddles hope in the worst possible way. Winners are the people who turn their hard earned cash into more cash, I assume so they can buy more stuff. And this is entertainment? The worst part of it all, is that it is. I have been known to get excited about the sound of change falling into that metal pan. And now...
And now, half the time it's fake change! Slot machines now play the noise of change hitting the pan, because you get a ticket instead of change.

At least I had to spend a large portion of my time working. I work for an organization that is trying to help seniors age with dignity. It's a noble goal. Only, after working for 3 days in a booth giving away fanny packs stuffed with program literature, I question how much dignity these people really want. I may be narrow-minded, but dignity in my mind does not correlate with an overwhelming desire for a free fanny pack. Please, people, if you need a fanny pack so much that you're willing to stand in line for one, argue about one, I submit that you have absolutely no interest in dignity. You are as bad as the rest of Las Vegas in your relentless pursuit trying to turn what amounts to virtually nothing into something worthwhile. The phrase "Is this all there is?" haunts me and chases me through the maze of slot machines, tables and hotels. I hope for the sake of humanity that at least a small part of the free goodie grabbers were haunted by the same question. If not, we all need to forget aging with dignity and focus our energies on finding dignity in the first place.

In the morning, the Las Vegas Strip is a slightly different place. The cigar smoke has nearly all been washed away. The sun seems to bring a fresh hope to this sad architecturally-challenged little street. The lights pale compared to the morning sun. The fake Eiffel Tower, fake New York Skyline, fake everything seem small, insignificant, almost silly with a mountainous backdrop.
More to come...