Back From Vegas

Rolled back into town Wednesday afternoon from the trek across the hot desert. The Ol' Ford Expedition turned in another stellar performance in its long life: about to hit 90,000 miles on the odometer; loaded to the gills with kids, luggage, blankets, pillows, water, various electronic entertainments; a/c and radio blasting; no road or engine noise; going most of the roughly 300 miles at a speed of between 80 and 90 mph; and getting 22 mpg--and with a lot more comfort than in a Prius. My hat is off to the workers in St. Louis who built this beast.

I always enjoy Vegas. I know, I know. It's tacky, vulgar, brash, and totally lacking in subtlety. Everything is about money, and how to get it out of your pocket, but it is done with a smile, and you're entertained while you're being robbed. You also get to meet some very nice German tourists. The place was filled with them. It seems they're dumping Euros while they're still worth something. All the Germans I ran into were exceptionally polite, seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, and couldn't believe how "cheap" everything was. Some, however, were severely sunburned--I guess they haven't been much in the desert since Rommel came home.

Anyhow, I got home, flopped onto the sofa and flicked on the TV. Big mistake. The One, Hashem, The Man Behind the Curtain, himself, was on in HD on my flickering 60" screen giving a truly vintage speech about the economy. It was so vintage, in fact, that I thought I was watching a clip from the 2008 or 2012 election. He was still blaming Bush for the current state of the economy, at the same time, however, claiming that the economy was doing well! He also was mumbling some rambling nonsense about how it was time to focus on "growing the middle class" and not let ourselves get distracted by a bunch of Republican ginned-up phony scandals. The whole thing was pathetic, especially so with the fat bobbing heads his handlers placed behind him to nod sagely at every bit of froth spewing forth. Anybody who still has any faith in this man, or places any credence in what he says is a boob, an idiot, a liberal.

OK, time to rest. I will be back on the warpath tomorrow or so.

P.S. Don't ask how I did at poker. I ain't talking about it.

WLA