Viva Last Chances

Old Michael Murphey song, “Crack up in Las Cruces.” How’s that for an unknown B-side?

Flash flood came on Highway 10
Lost control and went into a spin
Felt the trailer cracking at the hitch
Felt my bones cracking in the ditch
It was a crack up in Las Cruces…”

(From Geronimo’s Cadillac)

“Might never see your Wanda Lee again,
It was a crack up in Las Cruces…”

“Astrofish.net – as seen on TV!”

“As I was walking round Grovesnor Square
Not a chill to the winter but a nip to the air
From the other direction, she was caught in my eye
It could be an illusion but I might as well try, might as well try…”

Grateful Dead, Scarlet Begonias, Hunter/Lesh/Garcia
Live From The Mars Hotel

Sequel:
Hamlet 2….

High Priced Living:
$20 Scoop: Where I stayed in Vegas? Close to Caesar’s Palace. I played some in Caesar’s Palace, too, all the games are hooked to the same comp machine anyway, doesn’t much matter. And while I was at Caesar’s Palace? In the Forum Shops?

“Oh look, Ice Cream – better yet – Gelato.”

I’ve paid a premium price for ice cream, Austin’s Amy’s Ice Cream is akin to “designer ice cream,” or maybe, a local brew pub would be a better analogy, but anyway, Amy’s – with stores in Austin, San Antonio and Houston, is pricey at $3 per small cup. If my memory serves me right, and we all know that I might be faulty. But it’s about $3 a pop. Worth it, too. So – I was in Las Vegas – and Caesar’s has to be a shining example of wretched excess, so I paid.

Sorbet, actually, not ice cream and fresh ingredients, so the label claimed, made fresh by an expert, brilliantly concocted, and was it worth the $20?

Burgers: Dinner, once evening, was at “Le Sports Bar,” and I wasn’t really interested other than it was the cheapest burger I could find without leaving the premises that evening. I glanced at the menu. A Kobe (beef) burger, with Main Lobster. No, it was Maine Lobster, a bottle of Dom, and the price? At first I thought it was a mere $7.77. My eyes deceived me; misplaced the point. $777. More than I spent on the whole trip, no, not for me.

Consider this was a cheap work-related trip. Frequent flyer tickets, casino comp rooms, no real expenses except play money.

It’s all about life on the road.