‘Due to my failure to comply…Here’s why I would have been better off dropping my coins in the girl’s mouth than then the video poker machine…’
Roadtrip.
Laughlin.
[UPDATE: This article was written 2 years ago but I have reprinted for this site. The message is still just as relevant. Feel free to add in the comments below…]
Those are two words that always go well together…kinda like peanut butter and jelly, or a stripper and an empty man’s wallet…
Now, for some of you, Laughlin might be unfamiliar: Laughlin is a small gambling town in Nevada right on the Colorado River across from another possibly unfamiliar (for some) town named Bullhead City. Either way, just know that Laughlin is a very miniature version of Las Vegas that has a distinctly older and less hectic demographic where everything is also distinctly cheaper (than Vegas).
It’s a great low-key weekend for the bargain vacationers as well as the road traveler moving through town.
As it turned out, I had to deliver some high value items there for a client so it gave me the perfect excuse todo a quick one-nighter at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort and Casino.
The Riverside is actually the first resort built there in the 60’s (and hence named after the town’s founder)and it shows: Quite a bit old looking but I get the feeling the owners want to keep the old ‘saloon’ feel intact.
It just felt old to me…but I digress…
I check in, settle in to my room and relax for a bit before meandering down to the casino. Mind you, I’m not much of a gambler anymore but I still love casinos.
Go figure.
As early evening approached, I took a leisurely stroll down the Laughlin Riverwalk and worked up a bit of thirst.
I meandered my way back to the Riverside…found one of the several casino bars you’d typically find to keep the slot players lubricated, and plopped my rear down and ordered a beer.
Failure to Comply: When it’s Painfully Obvious Drinking and Face Coverings Are Mutually Exclusive
I pulled my mask down off of my face to start enjoying my beverage.
“Hey, mask up!” The barback shot at me.
Pointing down at my beer, I then returned (nicely I might add):
“Oh…I’m drinking.” I actually thought he didn’t see that I had a drink.
“Pull your mask up between sips. Failure to comply gets you kicked out.” he barked.
‘Failure to comply’. I pondered the meaning of all this. Oh, I knew the meaning…I think I was reminded once again how utterly lost we are as a society…and as humans.
As I prepared to get up and leave (to go outside to finish said beer…at least I can take my face diaper off…for now that is), I glanced through the server window to the back ‘prep’ area to see Mr. Sunshine barback and his co-horts enjoying a maskless moment (see photo below).
(Oh yes, don’t think ‘ol Kenster here isn’t going to leave without getting some photographic documentation of these wayward, maskless souls).
What’s so disappointing these days is three-fold:
If you feel (felt?) masks are genuinely helpful (I don’t) that’s fine. I actually get that. The fact that people actually think it’s necessary to ‘pull your diaper up between sips’ is troubling…that is, troubling for the future of mankind.
Secondly, a good portion of mankind has just become plain rude. And I think part of this is bred from utter frustration, and fear.
We should all be frustrated…and frankly, scared.
Finally, the staff (in my little fracas outlined here) are hypocrites.
The rules don’t apply to them. Not a good look if you’re trying to create your own version of Stalin-era Russia. At least make an effort to set the example. Or just put a gun to my head while you serve that beer to me and be honest:
“Do as I say…not as we doo…”
(‘Doo being the very operative word here)
What’s your take? Sound off…comment below…and subscribe to my Youtube channel (where I do a fair amount of musings to delight and enthrall…)
Just remember: We may not have to wear masks anymore, but what’s next?
[All Images by Kenneth Holland except where noted otherwise]
