Vegas

I had hoped to have an incredibly story to tell once I got back from Vegas. Nothing really came to me yet, though. Vegas is a strange town. It's like walking into one big drug after another, between the free booze, the hookers, the slot machines. It's so easy to numb-out.

A couple images stand out from Vegas for me:
- while I was waiting to go in to see Blue Man Group, I walked around through the Venetian. It's a beautiful hotel / casino, but what stood out for me were the people. They were zombieng away at the slot machines, a glazed mask of hypnosis covering their everyday face. Push the button. Watch the numbers. Listen to the bells. Push the button. See the lights flashing. Push the button. Feed more money. Push the button. Push the button. Push the button. I couldn't tell if they were having fun or not. If that was them having fun, then I wonder what they'll look like when they're in the morgue.

- one night around 3:30am I'm walking back to my hotel after playing poker at Caesar's Palace. As I get to the parking lot I hear "POP POP POP POP!" from across the street. There's no one around me at the time, but I still say out loud "were those gunshots?" And, as silly as it sounds, I continued walking towards my hotel - which also happened to be towards the sound of the gunshots. Seconds later I see a bit of a ruckus in front of the Flamingo, I hear a bunch of police and fire sirens, and within 2 minutes there are about 10 cop cars there, with one cop handcuffing some big bald white dude. I didn't see any bloodied bodies; I saw one guy who was sitting as if his leg was injured - maybe he got popped in the leg. I crossed the street, away from the action, and overhear this couple saying "I'm from LA, I've heard gunshots, and yea those were definitely gunshots."

I've got a story idea that's percolating, set in Vegas, but it's far from fleshed out. It may be a much longer one than my shorties of late.