Hi Fool Zero. It was a rough trip and I am glad to be home again. We clapped and cheered when we crossed back into Canada. It was interesting because the Canadian custom's officer asked all the same questions the US guy asked but how she asked was completely different. She even smiled a couple of times and told us somethink of one of her own visits to Vegas. Contrastingly his nasty scowl is still etched in my brain. The contrast feeds my prejudices I am sorry to say especially since he fits the mold of every US custom's officer I have faced since childhood. Just that now they ask many more questions then they did when my mother would take us across to shop for new school clothes every year.

I didn't see any guns while I was there but a saw several vehicles that had gun and even hand granade decales on their windows. That was kind of freeky. I also witnessed a big man berate an elderly lady for inadvertantly cutting a line that only he imagined had formed. They were the only two behind me across a long row or cashier windows. When I was done changing some money his loud admonishment of her when she stepped up to the cashier I was leaving caused me to turn around again. I was disgusted to hear this big man go off on her. She clearly didn't know she had cut ahead of him and tried to apologize but he would have none of it. There were several other windows open so it made no sense. When he wouldn't let up I chimed in and said to him politely that he needed to settle down and show some respect and leave the woman alone. Instead of heeding my advice he yelled at me to mind my own business. I told him it was my business to intervene with a bully and quickly walked away with the woman leaving him still yelling at us both. I am a small 56 year old woman myself. He a 60 something 6 foot something idiot of a man. She was very upset so I stayed with her until she could find her friend. It only hit me afterwards how dangerous it was for me to get inolved. What if he were carrying a concelled weapon and my interferance set him off to do more then yell at me. I raced back to my room to settle the anxiety that my imagination began to escellate.

Later I was watching tv news and there was a story about how the NRA has Obama cow towing to them dispite his gun control retoric because to oppose the NRA is political suicide for politicians so Obama is passing new legislation to keep the NRA happy and thus issues of gun control out of the public discussion. Seems it is now okay for people travelling on trains to be carrying concelled guns. Can't remember the other examples but it just seems to go on and on. The culture of fear and violence so overshadows everyday life in America that it makes me wonder if the insanity will ever stop. I think not. It just gets more and more dangerous in my opinion. My fears are nothing compared to what seems to have a whole nation gripped in the clutches of parinoia and using their constitution's second amendment as justification.

I spent some time last night OD'ing on Canadian news just to get caught up with the world. It didn't surprise me but it did disappoint me who little attention US news shows give to news outside the US. It somewhat explains the narrowness of perspectives on the world down there.

Anyways..... it feels so good to be home in my garden where I can hear the birds singing. It was nice to sit in the garden last night in the silent darkness. It was wonderful to fill my room with fresh cut lilacs. The Vegas light show is pretty amazing but it sure can overstimulate one's senses. I can't imagine what it does to people who work in that environment. They must learn to master the art of some kind of functional disassociation to put up with all of that on a daily basis. Even the hotel registration desk is surrounded by slot machines beeping and ringing and blarring. Yet somehow they all manage to do their jobs in the midst of all of that.

It will take a couple of days in the garden for me to slow things down in my head. It is great fun to be back with the kittens too. One is getting picked up today and the last one will be joining her new family next week. All is right with my world again. Sort of. lol. Just pushing the reality of how much money I blew down there and the consequences.... just pushing thinking about the financial trouble I am in aside. I can't do anything to change what I did. All I can do is learn from the experience and not let it happen ever again. No casinos for me every again. I have no control obviously.

Off to the garden I go.