Arizona, Rosie's Den, The Hoover Dam Bypass and the Lottery

The original journey to Arizona (now slightly different with the bypass)

If Greenlee Gazette abruptly ends after today, and then starts up in a few weeks as a power-house Huffington Post-like web presence, then you'll know that my venture today was successful! After checking the PowerBall and Mega Millions tickets The Other Half got while on the road the other day, I noticed that they are both up in stratospheric jackpots. And though Las Vegas and Nevada do not have a lottery, there's a place in California (33 miles away) and one in Arizona (53 miles away) that sell one or both types of tickets. Since Rosie's Den in Arizona has both types, and since I've never driven over the new Matt O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, I elected to go there.

First, I've got to say that the new Hoover Dam bypass is awesome. If you've ever dared to cross the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, you know that it is ten kinds of torture. The endless switchback road with bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the stupid little security checkpoint would have Mother Theresa cursing like a sailor. Now that they've built the bypass and opened the bridge, the trip is easy-breezy. Sure, you still have to trudge through Boulder City (surely they didn't want to be left out), and go past the Hacienda at 35 mph, but other than that? Smooth sailing. I made the round trip--including a stop for gas--in under two hours. How's that for impressive?

Image from Wikipedia

Rosie's Den is a quaint little watering hole, with a bar and restaurant, with typical roadside trinkets and snacks. They've got pool tables, and sodas, and of course the lottery station. The lady who was running it today, and on my last visit, could have come out of central casting. She was friendly, a little flirty, a little brassy. There was no line to wait in. Everything about the trip was smooth as silk. The same cannot be said about the little lottery barn thingy they have at Primm on the Nevada/California border. There, you'll have to wait in a queue of dozens, maybe a hundred people.

The new bridge looks spectacular from the dam, as I noticed last time I was there. But driving on the bypass, it comes up on you with no fanfare, and you can't even see the dam. It's just part of the new, smooth bypass road. If you weren't paying attention, you'd miss it altogether. Still, it's an amazing achievement, and a dramatic difference for anyone trying to travel from one state to the other. Good job, guys.

So, I wait breathlessly for the new version of the American Dream. It's kind of sad that instead of becoming safely ensconced in middle class, most of us just hope that one day we'll strike it rich. But I am hoping! My three scratch-offs yielded nothing. But I'm crossing my fingers for the big enchilada. I promise to be very, very generous should the fates be the same.

Powerball $261 Million Winning Ticket Bought in Sunbury, Ohio

I detailed my frustrating trip across the Hoover Dam into Arizona for Powerball tickets last weekend. Alas, my big dreams of what to do with all those millions has gone up in smoke. Or has it? See the winning ticket was bought at Hub's Carryout in Sunbury, Ohio, where my mother lives. And I haven't heard from Mom today.  Oddly, though she's almost always online in the evening, she's not tonight.  Cross your fingers for me! Uh, I mean for my Mom. . .

Sleep Talkin' Man Revealed!

Image from source, AOL

One of the more interesting and refreshing blog diversions of late is Sleep Talkin' Man. If you want to find out more about just who he--and his intrepid dream journalin' wife--are, check this out.

[Excerpt]

Sleep Talkin' Man: "Put the Lobster Down"

For London newlyweds Adam and Karen Lennard, the most hilarious marital moments have often come at midnight. One evening last February, Karen was awakened by Adam mumbling a strange phrase in his sleep. As his sleep-talking continued, she began recording his musings. . .

Read more at: AOLHealth

Was the Bush Administration One Long, Bad Dream?

With the Bush Era coming to a none-too-soon end, I understandably have a lot more George W. Bush stories on lately. It's sort of like Christmas (a lot like Christmas, actually), when I had a limited time to cram in all the "holiday cheer" posts.

I was perusing some old posts, and ran across this one. I think it's worthy of one last shot. Also, every couple of months or so, I get the Buffy the Vampire Slayer bug. What does Buffy have to do with Dubya? Read on. . .

Original post from January 26, 2008

Relax, Bush's Presidency May be Just a Bad Dream

What could the picture at left possibly have to do with George W. Bush's Presidency? Bear with me. . .

There was an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season one, called "Nightmares." In it, as the characters went through their regular lives, individually they began to live out their nightmares. They didn't clue in to what was happening at first. Buffy found herself in class, unprepared for a test, and the time zipped by too fast for her to even start it. Giles, the librarian, found himself unable to read.

Later, the clues got more obvious. Xander found himself naked in school, and then chased by a clown from his sixth birthday party. Popular Cordelia's hair frizzed out like Roseanne Roseannadanna, and she found herself in chess club.

But the one nightmare that made me think of George W. Bush was Willow's storyline. In it, she finds herself on stage. She's all made up for her part in an opera. The spotlight falls on her, the tenor finishes his verse, and then gestures for Willow to sing--and she has no idea what to do. She gives a half-hearted effort to play along, and then runs from the stage. Ultimately, it turned out that a little boy in a coma is causing everybody's nightmares to become real (the town of Sunnydale that they all inhabit is on a "Hellmouth," which causes the wacky to occur every week). My question is, who's dreaming now? And how do we wake up that damned little boy?

This clip from The Late Show with David Letterman, which I may have posted before, feels like a dream, doesn't it? The image that popped up in my mind was of my step-Dad if he found himself living out a nightmare scenario where he became President, but was completely unprepared for the job. I've seen my Dad try to fudge his way through a conversation before, and it looks exactly like Bush in many of these clips. So now we ask ourselves, "why oh why didn't he just run off the stage?"




(Original video replaced by final David Letterman "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches" clip, due to unavailability of the original)

By the way, in one of those serendipitous moments that seem to clutter my life, the picture of BTVS above was culled from a site called Barking Rabbits. I didn't realize it at the time, but the post the picture was used in was one called: The wit and wisdom of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, as it applies to the administration of George W. Bush. How weird is that?

And just one more thing. David Boreanez (Angel) in the photo at the top of the page has no legs or feet!