Paradise

The first gas station I got to, I asked the attendant about the 'Sierra Grande Hotel'. Richard the Tuna Boy and Irene had told me about a 'burner-friendly' hotel in Reno that offered a 2-for-1 deal, when I stopped them to say hello outside the Gerlach pub. I asked the young fellow manning the cash register for a yellow pages, which turned up nothing. He didn't know anything about it either, but he did say "well, this guy would know," when an elderly gent walked in. Sure enough, the Grand Sierra Resort (helps if I got the name right) ended up right where he said it was. I was expecting a 'burner-friendly' establishment to be an old, run-down place with ripped off wall-paper, and rooms stinking of stale cigarette smoke. But no, it looked to be the biggest in Reno, with a massive casino, movie theatre, funquest play park, RV park, and the list just goes on. Driving into the parking lot, I saw an art car in the shape of a skull, and I knew this was the place.
It was exceptionally interesting to see all the hippies from Burning Man mix and mingle with the gamblers, and businessmen. As I was dressed rather conservatively, if not a bit dusty, I attracted one comment from a fellow who said, "there's something weird going on here. I'm feeling way overdressed." I'm sure the hippies and I appreciated the warm showers, hot tubs, swimming pools, and warm, clean beds more than anyone else in that place. I soon found out why the hotel was so cheap, and why they wanted us there so badly.
Free drinks were served to anyone who was gambling. Never being much of a gambler, I would do it only if I happened to be in a casino for Bonnie's show or something. This time, I had two days to waste, and recover, and hey I was getting free drinks. I lost $80 on the penny slots, realizing that the odds on these machines were never really in my favour. There's a reason why these places build casinos: to make money. I was happy to quit while I still could, yet I wondered about these people, these perfectly fine, normal, capable people, who come to gamble everyday. It seemed like such a waste of humanity - these people inserting their money into the machine in hopes of winning big. What would be possible if, instead of casinos, they were out doing meals-on-wheels? Would that make a difference? I felt deflated, and disgusted with myself. Perhaps I was reading too much into it. This just wasn't in Vegas, or Reno. All throughout the main streets of Montana and Idaho. One place in Montana offered a casino and a laundromat, so you can gamble and wash your clothes at the same time. Convenience! I enjoy the casino machines, and I enjoy video games, and movies. Before these things, and TV came along, people had to entertain themselves. What did they do? They talked, they had dinners together, they went for walks, they worked together. I don't need a doctorate in sociology to see a link between the break-down of our social connections, and societal ills. We need to give ourselves some reason to connect with each other, help each other, and be generous with our time, one person at a time.