Las Vegas for Thanksgiving (Revisited)

Yep... that's where I am. Staying inside a hotel that's shaped like a pyramid.

This year I wanted to get away and have someone else make the food. Las Vegas has always made me feel as if I were the master of my own destiny. Yeah, right! Who else feels compelled to drop $10-20 at a time with a few pulls on a lever while listening to the sounds of bells and whistles as the money disappears?

I was especially reminded of just how wrong this sentiment is when I opted to get around with public transportation. I waited at a stop for the DEUCE; a double decker bus that traverses the Las Vegas Boulevard (aka the Strip). Many of the busses were running downtown but few seemed to be returning. Was the stop changed? Was the route changed?

When the bus finally arrived, it was jam packed. Where the heck did all these folks come from? Then we pushed our way in (after the riders in the power chairs got on first). And onward we moved. We were squished by others as if we were sardines in a can of soybean oil. Every now and again, a loud woman with a badge would come in and start hollering. "THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM IN THE BACK. PUSH! PUSH! PUSH! HEY, YOU FOLKS ON THE STAIRS, EITHER GO UP OR COME DOWN. THIS BUS DOESN'T RIDE WITH PASSENGERS ON THE STAIRS. IF YOU DON'T MOVE, THIS BUS WON'T MOVE."

It went on and then at one point in the middle of the Strip, it just stopped. The camera transmitted videos via closed circuit of what was going on upstairs, downstairs, and outside near the doors. Couldn't see anything, but it was obvious that we weren't moving.

Then the driver walked upstairs and said, "I didn't wand to announce this over the loudspeaker. Someone on the bus was sick and we had to call for help. After he realized he was holding things up, he said, 'No, no, I'm okay. Keep moving!' but I told him that I had already called for help and that we couldn't move. So he left the bus. But that doesn't mean that we can move. I have to wait for someone from dispatch to come and take this bus in. And I have to go to the station to finish writing up my incident report."

The clamor and commotion were overwhelming. My friend was sitting next to three very loud Brazilians who were chattering which made me almost want to burst out into song... but I didn't.

We went to a comedy performance that night and had plenty of time to get there (something like 3 hours) to go between 4 to 5 miles. We wound up walking and halfway there opted to hire a LYFT. Wise choice. Our driver was Cuban. Very friendly.

We got there with time to spare. Unfortunately when we were seated, the arranger placed us in the front row. Not where two introverts would necessarily want to be, but we survived.

I'm sure there were other stories to remember. They will come back when I think of the holiday again.