Reno Rambling - Too.

Reno's Peppermill; a mile or so from what’s left of The Strip's glory years.  In the sixties the strip was a glittering string of casinos and hotels; Fitzgerald’s, The Sahara (which would become the Flamingo Hilton), Mapes, The Nevada Club, Cal Neva, Harold’s Club and a full deck of smaller players. The strip has since been stripped. 

Reno: Rambling

Alright so it was less rambling and more gambling but I felt as if before we even got to Reno; before I’d finished booking a room, that I’d gambled and been snookered by our hotel/casino – The Peppermill.  The Tuesday and Wednesday before the 4^th of July were advertised at $59 and $69 respectively.  A good deal I announced to the wife and she said, “Book it,” and so I clicked BOOK IT.  The next page showed me that my grand total was over $180.  What the hell?  And there was the $15 dollar per day compulsory resort fee telling me that if I wanted to use wi-fi, the fitness center and pool, have a bed and get toilet paper in my room I would have to pony up.  Okay the last was an exaggeration but if the fee is compulsory why not put it up front in the cost of the room?  Oh but I know the answer to that question.  Because at first blush $59 looks a lot more inviting than $74 and so you rush to click the BOOK IT icon before anyone else gets YOUR room.  And now you’re at the page where it’s time to pay up and excitement has taken charge and you say “screw it” and you tap in your credit card number.  Oh I had second thoughts but in the end I reasoned that, hell its only 30 bucks.  Of course that’s how things get expensive.  You keep tacking on the “its onlys” until you've racked up the national debt – it’s the American way.  And so before even leaving the house it was Peppermill -1, American Boomer – 0.  

Independence Day Musings

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~ The Declaration of Independence

“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” ~ Alexis de Tocqueville

July 4^th, 2014.  After taking my usual sunrise run I was surprised, and disappointed, to see that my coffee house haunt was open at 6, the usual time for a weekday.  Not so disappointed that I boycotted coffee for the day but enough so that it gave pause to note that another holiday was passing with business as usual.  Workers were arriving at Home Depot to start the day and the Big Lots folks were putting out their Independence Day displays; sadly they aren't independent from work on what should be one of the most significant holidays in America’s calendar year.

It was 238 years ago that the Declaration of Independence from the British crown was adopted.  It was, for all intents and purposes already a done deal.  Two days prior the 2^nd Continental Congress had approved Richard Henry Lee’s resolution declaring independence.  And this certainly didn't mark the day that the colonists took up arms.  The revolution had been going on since April of the preceding year and the colonists had been raising bloody hell (As King George might have said) for some time before that.  The Declaration of Independence wouldn't even be signed until the following month.  But I’m splitting hairs, aren't I?