next week we'll be going to Nevada for the high school graduation of Beth's niece. 2 years ago, I made my 1st visit to the state, when we helped Beth's mother move east. this was my 1st exposure to a casino. wowzer! I didn't expect to enjoy casinos as much as I did. we were in Sparks, right next to Reno. we were too busy to spend stupid time at the casino but I got a taste. our 1st visit, we were wandering around, trying to get the vibes of the right machine. Beth suddenly said, where's my pocketbook? I quickly retraced our steps, to discover 3 security people surrounding the bag. would've been funto see the entire bomb scare scenario played out. I liked the flash and bustle, and even tho the excitement is grim it's still excitement. one time I was testing my skills against a stubborn machine. a guy sat next to me, taking a rest from the roulette wheel. he starts scoring on his machine, but that's not where his interest sits. he soon cashes out, so I take his machine. I start accumulating quarters. an older women with a walker stands over my shoulder, pleasantly cheering me on. waitress supplies me with 'free' beer. I knew from Beth's advice that that a dollar tip was decent, but in the excitement of the game and the beer, that tip became a handful of quarters for each Sierra Nevada. I was probably up 30-40 bucks when I quit but I threw a lot of that away. the elderly woman took my seat and proceeded to fill her bucket with winnings as well. I'll miss that machine. the other side of America consists of just mechanically feeding coins into the belly of the machine, and feeling hollow. no, and feelign hollowed out. during our visit we also went to Vegas to help Beth's brother move. we stayed at a casino there. that's a trip. I think rooms cost 35/night. I'd get up at 5:00 or so, wander thru the casino, which would be busy albeit with a more desperate crowd, and find a place to write. I'm sure the pleasure would wear off quickly. there's a tv ad for a Connecticut casino that features a lounge lizard singing about "the wonder of it all". which is just crass enough to be perfect. we're not going there to confront the beast this time but there'll be a little free for a quick survey.