Wedding Zone Pt.4

pstrong pbA trip to and from to Las Vagas,br / Nevada is as close br / tobr / Purgartory without actually dying Continues./bbr / /p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe B./p pWe did make it to the crowded casino, found our rooms collapsing in our beds. br /Though my mother and I are in separate beds she decides to do some gambling saying “You don’t go to a casino to sleep.” Made sense to me except I am so tired, I br /mumble /p p“If you gamble half asleep you’ll lose money and still be tired.”br / By 9am. br /I’m enjoying the amenities of our hotel/casino’sbr / bathroom, shower,br / wash cloths, soap, bath gels, combination shapoo/hair conditioner, crispbr / white towels and the always clean fresh feeling of a bath or shower. /p pAfter having a pleasent breakfast with bride to be and groom,br / friends and my mother are having a lively conversation ofbr / family secrets and me not wanting know keeping silent speaking only br /I felt I could contribute to it being so worried about thebr / wedding and how I’d look not wanting to embarrass anyone including myself./p pThis is a special and solemn occassion and I didn’t want to ruin it. /p p Downstairs the usual-arm-bandit machine is my level of playbr /blackjack, keno,dice table or spinning wheel to me is to fastbr / br / stick to quater machines is safer,recently the move tobr / silver dollars machines is my next level of betting./p pI’m a cheap gambler using ten dollars worth of silver dollarsbr / to play figuring if that’s lost the real test tobr / see if I had a true gambler’s gene, blood, conditionbr / or whatever the syndrome is./p pAfter downing several coins and using another the maching came up br /with 40 which means I won fourty dollars./p pThe decision is taken from me when I’m called to br / visit my Aunt Delores in another casino, who I hadn’t seen br /in years but remember her. /p pCousin Melvin had visited before but at the time my C.N.A. job br /kept me from seeing much of him. /p pHe's been in Nevada for two days and already knows the lay of the land./p pLong before that my mother and I walked in the hot sun to another casino past the “Pirate Of The Caribbean” for excercise. /p pThe live action are full of large scale explosions, people jumping br / off authentic looking 17th century ships into the sea. /p pIt’s so crowded we resolve to walk on the opposite side of the street on our return.br /br / Time is relative in Nevada casino’s because clocks are not seen and the lightingbr / br /is enough to see but can lull the senses into staying up delaying br / or resetting your bio-rythms./p pIt was close to 7 or 8pm. I’m ready to sleep butbr / we’re picked up by Alvin and Phyllis and Melvinto visit Aunt Delore’s at her hotel/casino./p pI don’t know about my mother but I knew zzzzzz’s are in my eyes/p pThe last thing I want to do is walk anywhere but br /someone in our group had the bright idea “Let’s visit the br /New York, N.Y. hotel/casino, its only a block away.” /p pI didn’t want to go, but how many free trips to Nevadabr / does one get and this is my brother’s last night as a br / single guy everything has a special glow about it./p pIt must be a last minute rush of adrenaline and the harty br /lunch and dinner in the casino before going out again br /that gave us an extra boost of energy because its abr /long walk to the New York Casino and my energy is flagging./p pWe are suppose to meet back at a certain time at thebr / entrance we came in of course that didn’t work with ourbr / group splitting up and heading in different directions./p pI went some place to sit after going to the bathroombr / waiting for mother to return from the women’s restroom./p pI kept her insight while using my exra winning to againbr / gamble and test my resolve./p p In-laws to be, myself and mother are sitting down br /on soft backless seats next to dollar slot machines./p p“What’s that your drinking” I asked my motherbr / br /“Sex On The Beach, want one, its free?” she replies./p pThe small orange-red miniature sunrise drink looks temping and I saidbr / “yes, please.”/p pWhile waitng for the light acholic drink I feed thebr machine win/lose - win/lose as I’m down to my last br /nine dollars of my original winnings and before the ladybr / in a cute short, skimpy french maid costume gives me my br /“Sex On The Beach” from a tray I press the lighted spin square./p p80 is the number I hit as bells ring and the noisebr / of silver coins hitting the stainless steel slot trays below./p pListening to dropping coins, looking at my mother, she looks at me and other people looking around./p pWhen it stopped I say to myself more than my motherbr / br /“That’s it for me.” /p pGrabbing my winnings and exchanging it for 80 dollars in cash. /p pMother made 20 dollars off one coin she stopped too.br /br / I know, gambling is something I can do without being addicted, as a non smoker, drinker, drug/pill user, and br /now gambling made me feel more relaxed and rememberingbr / being real sick in the late 1980’s getting well and wondering if I’m one of those br / immune to the aids virus which I never thought of until that moment.br / I think 'nah, I'm not that blessed that happensbr / only in science fiction, fanasy,or tall tales./p pTommorrow is the big day and sleep tugs at me./p pAunt Delores left early as I enter the casino looking all over to find herbr / my younger brother paged her twice without success which is why he’s br /watches human white cell anti bodies and I write my strange br /columns on the fringes of science and applied science./p pThe walk back took whatever reserved energy I have left luckily there br /is a smorgasbord like dinner where I can proudly say evenbr /though I ate tree healthy plates of dinner and some pie ala’ modebr / I was not stuffed the gills with that belly ache feelingbr //p pbut satisfied with full stomache and bladder to empty until its time for bedbr / Meanwhile I hurry to find the elevator to the tenth br /floor as my mother decides to play kino for awhile./p pI want to be up early so I shower, be and br /feel clean and be properly dressed in my new suit, shirt,br / tie, sox, and shoes./p pSleep is easy. br /This is it one ‘bro about take the plunge and me, br /well the blushing bride-to-be has been hinting for weeks br /to get me hooked up with someone in her half br /jest/half serious tone. /p pI don’t think of myself as a catch, I’m blind tobr / br /stuff others may seebr / to me all the non things I don’t do is no big deal. /p pDid I bring all the clothes, will they fit, am I ready for this?/p pThe last question is easy No, I’m still not readybr / for this br /but its herebr / bDeal With It 'Bro. Deal.br / /b/p pPlease send donations to br /Poor Magazinebr / br /C/0 Ask Joe at 255 9th br /St. Street,Sanbr / br /Francisco, CA. 94103 USA/p pFor Joe only my snail mail:br / br /PO Box 1230 #645br / br /Market St.San Francisco, br /CA 94102br / br /Emailbr / br /a href="mailto:askjoe@poormagazine.org"askjoe@poormagazine.org/abr / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p