spokesNspin

I just got back from a visit to Las Vegas.  This is my first time to actually stop in Las Vegas as an adult.  The purpose of the trip was to visit my grandson:

But just so you know I really did go to Las Vegas:

I saw a Beatles group while there. It was very entertaining.  I didn’t gamble even one cent.  I had a very good burger at Fatburger.

There are some strange people on the strip.  I was there the day before Halloween. I can imagine what it looked like on Halloween.

It was good to be back in some high desert country for a bit.  Though I think Las Vegas would be too hot for me in the summer.  We took a beautiful drive up Red Rock Canyon. 

I was really wishing I had my bike for that loop.  There were many cyclists on the loop.

I also took a trip to tour Hoover Dam. It was  dam’ good trip.

After having lived in several states and visiting Las Vegas  I have come to one conclusion.  Here in the D.C. area we have a better class of derelicts.

This was one of the advertising signs we saw as we exited the plane in Las Vegas:

This is from Three Cups of Tea. It is one of the most amazing books I have read. If you want to feel like a slacker and that you don’t do anything for the less fortunate read this book.

“Bashir paused to watch a live CNN feed… Bashir was struck silent by the images of wailing Iraqi women carrying children’s bodies out of the rubble of a bombed building.

As he studied the screen, Bashir’s bullish shoulders slumped. “People like me are America’s best friends in the region,” Bashir said at last shaking his head ruefully, “I’m a moderate Muslim, an educated man. But watching this, even I could become a jihadi. How can Americans say they are making themselves safer?” Bashir asked, struggling not to direct his anger toward the large American target on the other side of the desk. “Your president Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years.”"

“Osama had something to do with it too,” Mortenson said.

“Osama baah!” Bashir roared. “Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to a America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy’s strength. In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.

On Saturday, I drove to New York City.  Yes folks you heard it right.  I drove to New York City.  I would never dream of such an adventure on my own.  I have my friend  to thank for attempting such a crazy thing.

She had business there and said she had done it before.  So if she was willing to navigate, I was willing to drive.  What was going through the back my mind was “What the hell am I thinking?’

 The trip had a rather inauspicious beginning when I took a wrong turn before we got off the DC  Beltway and we drove for 15-20 minutes before it came to our attention. (Note: I was the driver not the navigator)

Here are my thoughts on the trip.

It was easier to drive in NY than I thought it would be.  No more difficult than DC and easier in some respects.  There is certainly more parking.

I would say it seems to be much safer to be a pedestrian in NY than in DC .  In DC cars rule.  In NY the pedestrians seem to rule.  I was surprised at the number of bicyclists I saw.

The aggressiveness and number of people on the street hawking services surprised me.  There was a Chinese Massage booth. As we walked by, the woman started to massage my back.  It felt really good.  I kept walking and she literally grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull me back to her booth.  She gave me the evil eye when I walked back past the booth a few minutes later.

I thought the futile honking was funny.  Cars would honk when there was no possible solution to the problem that had them stuck. What’s the point of honking?  But I loved it.  In fact, I loved it so much that I determined to make sure that I took the opportunity to honk at least twice before I left the city.  It was very rewarding.

It is most certainly an interesting place to watch people.  The number of languages  that one can hear while walking around is amazing.  The many variations of attire were also fun to look at.  Where do these people come up with such clothing schemes?

Here is a pic of me in Times Square.

It was a fun trip.  But let me tell you that up and back to NY in one day ain’t no picnic folks.  It rained for almost the entire drive both directions.  Fortunately we didn’t get rained on in the city.

A week ago I went with a group called Zen Hiking.  We met at a lake and did an hour of yoga on the lake.  Then we took a hike around the lake.  It’s a nice combo. 

The most interesting thing was this:

First off  I will admit that this is a terrible picture of me.    But when I saw the dump rake I had to take a picture.  The dump rake seems to be the most common abandoned piece of equipment one will see around farm yards and back on the edges of the waste land.

I remember seeing them all over the county when I was young.  Let me just emphasize that they were abandoned.  I am not so old to actually have used one.

Basically they are like a huge horse drawn lawn rake.  The rake is pulled along while the hay piles up inside the curved teeth.  When it gets full the operator  pulls a lever and the teeth rise and dump the hay in a pile. 

The farmer would later come by with a wagon and gather the piles.

You can also see one of these in the movie Oh Brother Were Art Thou.  Note the scene where the three fugitives come to the farm of  Cousin Wash to have their leg irons removed.  As they walk around the back of the house Cousin Wash is sitting there and to the side is a dump rake.

Pay attention when you are driving around the rural countryside.  I bet it won’t be long before you will see an dump rake some where along your route.

Enjoy your Friday fotos.