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Tcahr Issue 17
TCAHR - Better Living Through Memetics
Issue 17
The Vegas Journals
(Part Two -- In The Belly of The Gilded Beast) 02/04/01
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1-9-01 3:09pm
Vegas is a frustrated city. The ritzy downtown casinos butt
up against the poor section of town. I've seen two near
altercations since I've been here. One was as simple as
two groups trying to walk down the same narrow sidewalk in
different drections. Lucky me, I was nearly involved in
that one. People hock their wares in front of casinos in
stupid costumes and the change people push their carts full
of nickles and quarters in extreme anger and hostility.
Every block has free magizines that give off a low down and
dirty feeling with titles such as "Young Asians Nude",
"Blondes for Sex" (#1)- well, you get the picture. One copy in
a puddle I crossed had nothing but phone numbers for live
sex talk. Vegas, however, is nowhere near as dangerous as
Chicago. I know I have to be careful with that kind of
thinking. The face that my clothes have marked me as an
oddball and people stay out of my way makes me cocky. A
bullet will kill you anywhere. So far I've visited the
Gold Spike and Fitzgerald's. The Gold Spike is
interestingly cheap. 50-cent cocktails is a good deal
anywhere. Fitzgerald's has a section like a video parlor
named the nickle zone. It's like electronic crack with
nickles. I lost five bucks there earlier this morning. I
went walking around Fremont street again this afternoon and
noticed that people were walking around with plastic cups
they took from the casinos. I figured I spent 5 bucks there
so I wanted a cup!(#2) I went back to Fitzgerald's and plunked
down five bucks for change. I lost about half on the
electronic Addams Family slot machine. This search for a
cup was getting expensive! I decided to keep playing
though. Good move. I got 50 nickles back. I decided to
stop right there! I cashed in my nickles and found I had
$4.60. I figured once you make almost all your cash back
in one play it's time to go. However, I pocketed the $4
and put the 60 cents back into the machine. No luck this
time. I decided to go back to my room with my new cup! Now
I've decided to rest my weary feet. Tonight I'm hitting
Fremont for sure, and then possibly the Strip.
1-9-01 9:13pm
Got back to my hotel room about 8:15. I did the Fremont
Experience thing. Drank the touristy Black Russian Daquri
(or was it white?) out of the hokey plastic oversized
"glass".(#3) Looked at the street dome of lights twice and
said ooh! and ahh!(#4) I figure I did that whole Downtown
thing. I began to walk back to my room, but stopping when I
saw a bunch of kids putting up speakers because I finally
saw a ray of hope. A street party-rave? Nope, a bunch of
people from Canada preaching and singing. There was a woman
from Utah at the pay phone trying to get money wired from
home. We began to talk and she was hinting hard about needing
money including asking where I was staying. I easily could
have brought her over here and banged her. I just gave her
about 6 or 7 dollars and let her be on her way. I then had
an extremely boring talk with an older Puerto Rican who saw
the Puerto Rican flag on my pea coat. Sigh. I planned all
these adventures and instead turned down a chance of sex and
a multitude of drugs from Chris(#5). Some beatnik I turned
out to be! By the by, if I ever had to film a murder scene
in a movie, it would be at the Fremont Experience.
Especially during the Country Western part. With all the
booming and explosive sounds blasting the street, one shiv
attack or gunshot would be easily covered. Of course, you
could do a whole "Blade"-type thing during the techno-
ambient set. Just a thought, really!
1-10-01 5:01pm
I am more than convinced there are only four kinds of people
in Las Vegas. The beggars - people out for a buck hiding
their true selves behind smiles and polite conversation. The
assholes - mostly people who couldn't get a job counting
cards or serving drinks; hence no commissions and no tips.
Tourists - cockroaches like myself keeping this pit of a city
alive. Finally, real Las Vegasans, good kind decent people.
Would you like to guess which group is smaller? My first
experience this morning was watching the police round-up the
homeless and put them in wagons. Only in the Fremont
Experience however! I then found out that most of them were
willing to go in exchange for a warm cell and a meal. I
proceeded to the Paradise(#6) and proceeded to destroy
myself at the buffet. I only took one plate; imagine how
much food I put on it! I walked back to the hotel and
encountered a man selling books of his poetry. I asked him
where I could find an open-mic coffee shop here which
brought the question "Where are you from?" from his lips.
He then began a long rant on how Las Vegas sucks and is
filled with greed. He then asked me to buy his book again.
Sigh! Another beggar!(#7) Anyway, then I encountered the
"assholes" in the form of CAT(#8) drivers who are more than
happy to share their misery with you. I learned quickly not
to ask them a fucking thing. I rode the bus to the Las
Vegas art museum in the hopes of seeing the Dali exhibit.
The museum was closed! I travelled about 10 miles from
Downtown for nothing! I then went for a ill-thought-out
walk. I dreading getting on the bus so much, I was looking
for a taxi. Eventually, my feet began to hurt so much that
I got on a bus to the Strip anyway. At the Strip my
pisstivity dissolved into admiration and wonder. I clicked
away like a tourist as people kept handing me business
flyers and magizines for "dances" in my hotel room. I
eventually made my way back to my motel. First I tried
calling home, then went to buy postcards. As I brought my
postcards, I heard and saw a beautiful blonde in a sharp
black suit screaming on the phone to someone to wire her
money. "I'VE GOT NO MONEY! YOU HEAR ME? I CAN'T GO HOME
IF I CAN'T BY A TICKET!" This town is getting to me; my
first thought was that she'll be sucking dick before
midnight. I've got to get out of here. I was greeted by
the hotel maid with a loud "It's about time you got home!"
Heh, my sentiments exactly!
1-10-01 6:42pm
Went out to finish my roll of film on the Fremont
Experience. While looking for food encountered two fights
near me. I'm rethinking going to the club tonight. If the
Vegas attitude sucks, the Vegas Goth attitude is bound to
make me kill someone! Anyway, I'm shacked up with a bottle
of Red Dog. Perhaps I'll go out depending on how I feel
after these 32oz. God bless! "The Simpsons" just came on!
1-10-01 8:06pm
It's going to rain. Hard. Luckly, it seems sometimes the
weather makes the decision for you. Besides I've got a
nice buzz going. Tomorrow nothing stops me from visiting
the Elvis-A-Rama! Muah-ha-ha! As for tonight, television.
History of Jazz or Temptation Island. History of Jazz or
Temptation Island. History of Jazz or Temptation Island.
Sigh; the choices so infinite! Whatever shall I see?
1-11-01 2:32am
I broke down and caught a taxi to Angles, a small gay bar
which hosts the local Goth night. The crowd was small and
I eventually introduced myself to (name deleted),
(name deleted), and (name deleted)(#9). The Goth scene here
is dead and clickish (dead I saw; clickish I heard). We hung
out at Angels after introductions for about 15 mins, then we
hung out at a 7-11 to talk to someone, then a record store,
then a Denny's. Talk was sparse and difficult. We didn't get
warmed up till about 45 to an hour there. I, however, was
quite happy to have the company and they did give me a ride
home. Quite cool people.(#10) An aside; Mike laughed when I
mentioned how Las Vegas has a strip club downtown and the art
museum is miles away from the hub of action. Why did I write
that? I wanted to remember the joke for later! I'm down to
my last twenty, so Elvis-A-Rama is out! Still have to pick
up some cheapo souveneirs.
1-11-01 2:51pm
I stayed up till 6am, the coffee was kicking me into high
gear. I woke up today about 12:30pm and decided that
souvieniers for my family would be more appropiate than
food.(#11) I figured I could stand not to eat for a few
days! I had a few $2 or $3 bucks left so I brought 2 loaves
of bread to get me through to Chicago! Last night, I wrote
up my postcards to send off before I leave Las Vegas. Can't
wait to rewrite and type up this stuff!
1-11-01 9:21pm
Seems that along with the stomach dis-ease I've had since
I've been here, I've now developed a painful and wet cough.
I've bunkered down for the whole day and am now in the process
of watching "Mystery", the episode is "Murder Rooms--The Dark
Origins of Sherlock Holmes." Not a bad program to be locked
in and sick to have as entertainment. Leave it up to my
damnable luck to pick such a rainy, cold week to visit Vegas!
I've realized that I don't know if I enjoyed Vegas as a
tourist; I certainly enjoyed it as an observer. My mind is
filled with ideas of poems and books. I like traveling. I
would love to travel about writing about the places I've seen
and people spoken to. The raw notes taken during this trip
will be the basis of excellent work. The promise of the
material is easily seen. This city is a strange city where
the cloak of fun is easily rended apart. The arts are hidden
from the common man, police toss the poor and homeless out of
the tourist traps, the streets of downtown are filled by the
deperates as junkies fill the seats in the casinos. ATMs are
found in the casinos for "convienence". The average person
finds nothing to do here as tourists are appeased. Every
person I've talked to hates this city; this is not an
exageration, every one. Everything here is made to appeal
and amuse the tourist while the Las Vegas native is caught in
the wheels, cogs, and doodads of "The Vegas" machine. Las
Vegas and "Vegas" are a yin-yang which fits together uneasily.
This is a sad place and I've been ready to go home from the
first day I arrived.
1-12-01 1:05pm
Woke up feeling worse than I felt asleep. I lugged myself
and bags to the Greyhound station at about 11:25. While
sitting here I've already overheard (it's not evedropping if
everyone can hear it), one man (looks 35ish and midwestern)
begging his mother for a moneygram so he could buy a ticket
home. He said is wasn't his fault, there was (gasp!) casinos
here and she knew how he was. I feel sorrier for him than I
do the blonde from a few days ago. A pretty young blonde
woman can always sell her body, an ugly old man is pretty
much stuck. 4 and a half hours to go.
1-12-01 3:16pm
A woman is being kicked out of the station. All the while
she's yelling, "You took my money. You took my fucking money!
I want my money, motherfuckers! You took my money away!"
Little less than 2hrs 30mins. Man, I hope the bus is on time.
1-12-01 3:20pm
An ambulance crew is here complete with strecher, stethoscope,
etc. The strecher is blocking the way into the main office and
the crew members, the manager, and other are all in the doorway
of the office. I see an older woman (60s? 70s?) with badly dyed
red-brown hair in a heavy black coat holding crutches. She's all
hunched up as the crew attends to her. Everyone else around her
seems incredibly unconcerned. Behind me a woman bitches out her
husband. They're in their 50s easily and you can tell by the
look on his face, they've been married too long. In front of me
an asian couple with the most unbelievable hair colors ever (she's
a redhead and he's a sandy blonde) just gave me a look as if I'm
weird, like as if I was a redheaded or blonde Asian(#12), or
something like that! The ambulance crew is gone, but the lil' old
lady is still there, looking shaky unstable on her crutches. I
can't stop thinking "Dali" and "stilts".
1-12-01 3:50pm
The security guard and the guy next to me (well, a seat away) just
got into a yelling match. The security guard asked for his ticket.
The guy didn't hear. The security guard then yelled, the guy
yelled back "I don't have to". Then the guard yelled "I'm the
security guard. Shit!" "Don't cuss at me!" "No, I didn't!" "Yes,
you did!" "Show me your ticket!" "Fuck you!" "You're not going to
show me your ticket?" "No, fuck you!" The guard stomped off like
a little kid as the guy left. The old drunk guy at the end of the
row then tried to talk to me, but I couldn't hear him. Guys in
long beards shouldn't mumble! Now I just nod when he nods and
laugh when he laughs till he gets bored. My head and throat really
hurt now.
1-12-01 4:30pmish
You can't even leave this city in peace! Everybody got all nice and
comfortable, then 3 guys run in yelling "Peace Officers". They then
proceeded to ask everyone their destination, from where they left,
and if they could check our bags. More interesting than watching
the Asian couple fight for an hour. Lots of cursing and dirty
tricks there. I'm convinced Vegas is the nexus of evil.(#13)
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NOTES
(1) After, uh, further inspection those weren't exactly
right. They are, however, close enough!
(2) By there I mean Fitzgerald's.
(3) It was one of those horrible plastic yard of ale
glasses. I don't know why I brought it. I knew I
looked like a goof when the WW2 vets were laughing at
me!
(4) Don't fall for my sarcastic tone. When all the casino
light went off and the light canopy lit up and started
its animation show, I was very, very impressed.
(5) See "The Vegas Journals Pt. 1".
(6) Actually this was the Paradise buffet at the Fremont
Casino.
(7) Yeah, I brought one. It gave me a lot of chuckles and
laughter. Too bad the poems were meant to be dramatic.
(8) That's the public transportation system in Vegas.
(9) These names are censored due to my comments in number 10
of my notes. Even though I hate censoring myself, I
don't want to drag no one's name through the mud on
speculation.
(10) Although, I did get the impression they were just doing
their duty to promote the scene. I haven't gotten any
return mail to my thank you's and offers of helping them
if they every make it to Chicago. Strange since they
were quite happy to give me their phone number when I
intially wrote them that I was coming to Vegas and would
like to check out the scene.
Who knows what caused the change? Maybe I wasn't the
Gothic messiah they hoped would fix their scene?
(11) Here was my theory. If I used my last 20 bucks to eat,
I would still have to go home and still be questioned
by my overprotective family on me not eating or being
able to survive in a city away from them. If, however,
I brought them souveniers, they would assume I was so
responsible that I was able to take care of myself and
still afford gifts. I was correct in my hypotisis.
(12) Not P.C.? Hey! They started it!
(13) The rest of the journal is pretty lame. I got a fever
on the bus and nearly threw up when chemicals started
leaking in the back. I met few people of interests and
had to deal with a nut on the bus. It's not worth
typing. Let's consider this the end, shall we?
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tcahr@hotmail.com Copyright 2001
