The Life Chronicler
Project

From the City of the Stars to Sin City. I had been to Las Vegas many years ago for a handful of hours while on a business trip to Phoenix. This time I not only had several days, I had some friends from Illinois to show me around. Steve and Gail adopted a girl from China on the same excursion that my wife and I took in 2002 when we adopted Jennifer.

Although I am not a gambler and actually have a moral conviction against it, I did acquiesce and decided to lose $20. It did not take long at a black jack machine. But at least I can say I had the quintessential experience while on The Strip. Steve and I also took in a show by the famous impersonator, Rich Little. I always knew he was a fellow Canadian but I learned that he was from Ottawa, the city in which my daughter attends university. Rich is 84 now but many of his voice impersonations are still dead on. It was remarkable. When I told my Airbnb host about the show, she told me she knew him as he belongs to a club of which she is a member. She told me he was very approachable and asked if I stuck around to meet him after the show. Well, next time, I guess.

I picked up some personalized M&Ms with my daughter’s name on them. A Christmas gift. Yeah, you can do that in Las Vegas. Steve and I also took a trip to Lake Mead and The Hoover Dam. It was interesting to see a one-time water line on the mountains that contain Lake Mead. The west has a real water issue.

My visit to Las Vegas was truly memorable and the people watching entertaining. And it was great to see my friends again.