Day 630

Taking a trip to Las Vegas while I was suffering from severe neck pain probably wasn't the smartest thing I've even done. How was I to know? Vegas almost always works for me. Although it might seem implausible to some, the place relaxes me. I always learn something new when I'm here. Las Vegas is probably the one place on the planet where people of every race, religion, age, social status, and belief system can happily share the same space without a hint of a problem. Spent an hour sitting on a bench watching people walk by and you can paint a fairly accurate picture of where the world is headed. You can always tell who the successful countries are by what languages you hear the most in the casinos. Not surprisingly, I'm hearing a lot of German and Mandrin. I've never seen so many people from mainland China in Las Vegas before. There used to be a ton of Japanese tourists, but it appears the Chinese have taken over the lead in decadence.

That's one thing you have to remember about America. We may have lost our edge in manufacturing and technology, but we are still totally world class when it comes to decadence. People come here from all over the world to learn from the masters. This morning I saw a group of Chinese having their pictures taken in front of an under construction sign for the new Kardashian Khaos store. The store wasn't even there yet, but people were still fascinated.

This has been my weirdest trip to Las Vegas yet. I feel like I've taken a ride in the Tardis and gone forward twenty or thirty years onto my own future. I'm walking around just as slowly and painfully as the legions of stooped old men you see in the casinos who are too proud to use one of those electric scooters. I'm confidant that the current pain in my neck will be resolved shortly, but there will come a time when it will be like this every single day. That's certainly what happened to my Mom and Dad. By the time each of them died, they were ready to go. The pain had beaten them.

I've got a call into my doctor to ask him if I should cut my trip short and come home now. I'm kind of in uncharted territory here and I don't want to do anything that could make things worse. It will be a miracle if he even returns my call. I don't seem to be a very high priority to doctors. Oddly, if I had called my vet about the dogs, I can almost guarantee that the call would be returned within fifteen minutes. Dot and Dash get much better medical care than I do.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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