DAY ONE

Got off to a good start on Jan. 9th. Left Sharon’s house headed for Chicago. Clear all the way to Jackson Michigan. Ran into a snow storm. Several spin-out accidents and one semi overturned in the median. Decided to stop at Joliette, Illinois Walked around looking for the Blues Brothers but couldn’t find them. Went to the Empress Casino and talked to a pit boss. He comped me a five star room for the night. Watched the Cowboys kick the hell out of the Eagles. Grabbed the shuttle taxi for the casino. Rode there with a big guy named Harley and his, Indian-Mex, girlfriend Jeannie. They told me that a poker dealer, named Oscar, was spreading a rumor that Jeannie was pregnant. They were going to talk to Oscar about it. They asked me to be the child’s godfather in case the rumor was true. Signed up for a seat at the hold-em table and walked around to see if Jake or Elwood were in the Casino. I only found old fat ladies who were smoking and playing the slots. A loudspeaker called me to the poker room. A guy with hunched shoulders and a black patch over his eye took me to my seat. I thanked him and he replied, “Arrrrrr.”

I sat down and discovered that I was at a table where Harley and Jeannie were arguing with a dealer named Oscar. They were glad to see me and introduced me to the group as the “Godfather”. The guy next to me edged his seat away from mine and didn’t make eye contact. It was a fun group. The conversation was lively. On old timer at the end of the table said he had seven wives. We were amazed. I asked him how he did it. He said six of them were married to other people. It was a fun game and I ended up winning $80.00.

It was getting late. I went to the bar to watch a three piece hillbilly band singing Johnny Cash tunes. The lady singer sounded exactly like Johnny Cash. She kind of looked like him too. The guitar players resembled the two mountain men from the movie Deliverance. The guy with no teeth kept grinning at me. I sat next to a lady who was singing along with the band. Her friend was playing the video poker machine with a vengeance. We started t talk and found we had several mutual friends. Deb, the sing-along lady, told me she was writer. Theresa, the other lady, said she had once been married to a Chicago firefighter. That is where we had mutual friends. She even knew about Sarge and Ghetto Skunk. These were two dogs me and my fellow firefighter, Greg Pearn, were introduced to while attending a Union convention in Chicago. They were Labrador Retrievers. The men at the fire house had painted black sergeant stripes on the shoulders of the yellow lab, the black dog had a white stripe running from his nose to the tip of his tail. We asked, “Why the paint job?’ The firefighters told us the dogs liked to roam the neighborhood and frequently got lost. They said it made it easier for the Chief to see them when he made his rounds. He would pick them up and bring them home. It was nice to have mutual friends. It was like visiting with family. We talked about writing books and they asked me for a copy of “Fire Horses.” I gave them one and Deb asked if I would review her latest effort at writing. I told her to e-mail it to me. I think I recruited her into a writer’s club I belong to. I asked her if she wanted to come to my room to see some of my essays. She declined. It was a fun night and I turned in with a smile on my face. It was a good trip so far.