Morning After Blog

Cowboys and bar-hall girls partied all around me last night as I calmly typed here in the lobby (only spot where I can get wireless.) It was noisy, lots of cheerful chatter, drinking and gambling going on. You could hear the dice slap the table, the shrieks of the winners (and losers), and the constant rushing around of young girls in frilly satin dresses.

Most of the women were middle-aged and wore revealing red dresses with black garters, stockings, scarves and bountiful hairdos.

The men wore cowboy boots and hats, fancy shirts and belts, mustaches and beards.

Floozies and ranchers, drinkers and gamblers. Amidst this scene, I sat alone, in conventional garb, trying to remain inconspicuous. Several revelers insisted on getting to know me, however. Ladies perched down beside me and asked "How can you work in the middle of all this?"

I explained that once you've worked in a crowded newsroom, you learn how to turn out the chaos around you concentrate. Meanwhile, they explained that their event was a surprise 60the birthday party for a local man in the real estate business. Most of those present seemed to be connected with real estate, which is booming in these foothills.

I gathered a bunch of information about prices to file away for future consideration. They offered me drinks -- nope. Water? Nope. Eventually they drifted away and I continued my work.



Do you ever get a hankering for a certain kind of food, just a random passion that demands to be satisfied? This frequently happens to me. Last night, my friend and I found one treat we both were seeking -- a big bowl of spicy calamari. It was listed as an appetizer but it was so good and so filling, we couldn't finish it all. So, I just had spicy calamari for breakfast.

We also had oysters, halibut, and a huge salad; and only the oysters didn't come home with us in a box.



My friends, still sleep-deprived from travel and a bit frail by nature, more or less fell asleep at dinner. She perked up later, and we took a late night walk, just as the party-goers were dispersing, weaving a bit with liquid eyes. It's fun being sober in a sea of drinkers, because you are both of them but far apart from them -- the better for observation.

We walked around the town and looked at the stars, so numerous and visible here in the mountains.

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