o Vegas or not to Vegas, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to stay in Arizona while Ronn and Jef & Sharon traipse off to Sin City and suffer the slings and arrows of their�fantastic�stories whence they return....
"I had work to do," "I don�t want to spend the money," "I�m not looking to party right this moment" - these were my excuses. And valid excuses they were, but were they really worth missing�Penn and Teller�for? or Cirque du Soliel�s new, erotic Vegas show�Zoomanity? or Jef�s missing out on the full $10,000 slot jackpot because there weren�t enough coins in the pull? And, they�re not even home yet. Either way, here I sit in Jef & Sharon�s trailer, watching�Dennis Miller�on CNBC, with their well-fed, pee-a-plenty dogs lazily eyeballing me with that�we don�t care how many times you let us up on the couch, you�re not Mommy and Daddy�look in their eye. They�re staring at me, always staring at me. And me without my�Cute Doggie Translator�book.
Contrary to what my steadfast plans have been, I have spent more time in social activity than here in front of my Tortuga 40th�birthday gift laptop. (And,�ooo, it is so choice.) I�did�actually turn down the chance to attend a Fat Tuesday party tonight in lieu of eking out some on-the-clock time for the Tortuga machine. So, here I sit, looking at 1�s and 0�s instead of catching that glimpse of hottie bead-bunnies flashing their treasure chests in exchange for a horde of ill-gotten booty one $2 plastic necklace at a time. Ooo, I wax poetic in my pig-dom - but I digress.
Another weekend has passed with Jef & Sharon and Ronn all returned home safely. They had a�very�fun, if not�very�weary time of it. It is true that they regaled me with stories galore, but this time they contained a tinge of�too much. I am quite glad that I stayed home after all.
This weekend was what I call a "good rain weekend." Those reprehensible weather guys had forecast nothing but wet and dreary skies to ceiling the weekend�s festivities. This meant that the good people of Arizona would be staying away in droves. They have a tendency towards avoidance behavior when it comes to the wet aspect of inclement weather. I call it a�good�rain weekend because it did not, in actuality, rain. It was cold but sunny, with wind gusting strong enough to tease the nipples into a military ten-hut!�But, it�did-not�rain. Wahoo.
So, our faithful patronage�did�come out - not in the numbers that they would have had the weather guys kept their fun-dampening mouths shut, but well enough - and a great time was had by most all. Long story, little longer: as rain days go, we had a couple of good ones - glass half full. Get it? Good. �Nuff said.
It is now many weeks later, and I am sitting up front in Jef & Sharon�s truck with Sharon at the helm. Jef is in the back nursing of all things a hangover. He�s not usually prone to such behavior, but he put a hurtin� on himself last night when he decided to drink even more tequila with Jose Granados, a.k.a. Don Juan of�Don Juan & Miguel�fame. They were backstage by Jose�s 5th-wheel trailer at�tea party�- well, we all were, but I left early. I hear a good time was had by all, but that does nothing for our late-afternoon trip to Mexico today.
Tea party is what we call the gathering that some of the stage acts attend at the end of the day. We get together and discuss the day�s events, how we did, what we�re doing that evening, politics, religion, books, television, movies, and whatever else happens to pop up during the course of conversation. Oh yeah, and there�s usually beer, wine, and obviously tequila involved to aid in the winding down process. Yours truly has been hitting the�Diet Vanilla Coke�of late. Yeah, yeah, I know - aspartame. But, it�s the only vice I�ve had lately, so get off my clean and sober back.
As I was saying - writing, really, but you know what I mean - we�re on our way to Nogales, Mexico for some good food and a butchering of the Spanish language. I�m not a big fan of the cuisine, but I have been taking Spanish lessons of late, so I�m all a-twitter with excitement.
There�s something to be said for traveling internationally, even if it is to bordering nations. It broadens our horizons and reminds us that we are part of a world community. That, and it�s an opportunity to party with people who are a little bit different than us. And those accents! Who doesn�t get off on hearing "Tortuga who?" coming from a silky Latina or French-Canadian?
Well, Tortugaphiles, Mexico awaits. I hope that you are having as much fun with your lives as I am having with mine. It�s a lot of work, though, but well worth the effort. Believe me when I say the this�juice�is definitely worth the�squeeze.
Ciao, bellos!
