Well, it’s been a few days since we have been back to Las Vegas. Reality is still showing it’s ugly face as we try to get back in the swing of things. The DMV, school, groceries, and home issues have been the culprits. Our roads are super huge and the vehicles are even more huge. It’s difficult to believe. When you see one person in a car 5x the size of the little ones in EU, you just have to ask questions. But, it’s freedom, right? The grocery store blew me away. Just a mile from the one I went into, there is another one just as big and has just as much stuff. I mean, everything. If you can’t find what you need in an American grocery store, you don’t need it. Truly, the land of “plenty.”
Went for a run yesterday, I was bombarded with the Vegas “isms” that I had grown to forget. But, as soon as I stepped out onto the blacktop, it all hit me…
The hazy dry heat even before the sun is up, the drone of airplanes taking off from McCarran Airport, the sound of irrigation systems running, the sound of unattended barking dogs, the rumble of oversized trucks and cars tearing off to the next stoplight, the sight of people walking their dogs that never look at you, broken bottles, dog poop, graffiti, to name a few. I knew I was home.
The city of Las Vegas has gone through even more construction in the last few months. You would think that there is a never-ending bucket of money supplying it all. Maybe there is. I mean, overpasses are completed, onramps are redesigned, and streets have been resurfaced. I couldn’t believe the change.
I could mostly care less about the workings and decisions of the town. People do not really have a voice here since the “control” is in the hands of a few businessmen that have had the power since the inception of the city. There are so many bribes, pay offs, and favors to be handled, nothing can happen fairly. But, I have a big problem with this one… We have a TON of houses here that are vacant. I think, it might be the highest in the country. Also, the number of foreclosures is the highest as well. So, in the midst of all that, with vast expanses of unoccupied homes and commercial property, something is brewing on the horizon. The greedy housing mogul Rhodes, of Rhodes Homes has bought and will develop a chunk of property just next to Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. It is supposed to be as large as Summerlin and Mountain’s Edge. Mind I say that both of those places, especially MTN’s Edge have vacant homes. This would put houses on the outskirts of town without an infrastructure to accommodate them, and without people able to move into the homes. This is not even thinking about the environmental impact. I thought we had a water shortage. That land out there has nothing. Trust me, I walk it, hike it, bike it, and know it well. Over the trip, I got a Facebook message about a meeting or protest to show support to keep the land untouched. Unable to go, I thought there would be enough support from the locals to keep this thing down. NO. The county commissioners during their little “Pow-Wow” came up with a 5-2 vote in favor of destroying the land. Crushing. I have not looked into the nitty gritty yet about the decision, but it does not look good. One thought might be that this was time to secure the land from the gypsum mine. Surely, you can’t break ground in a time like now? With no recovery in sight for the economy, it would be traumatic to see this get underway. Look at this… The large Strip property, Fountain Bleu, a huge building that I would pass on my bike every time that I ride to school, is due to be imploded. This was never finished on the Strip and never occupied, but is one of the biggest buildings there. Truly, RECKLESS!!! As, is the new Rhodes project, it will only FAIL! I just hope that it never gets off the ground and the environment is not impacted.
Enough about the Vegas rant. It just wastes my time in a hopeless situation. I will look into the figures in the paper and the Internet to get it straight, even though it hurts.
As for the home, the master bath shower faucet was broken, which I tried to repair. Thanks to Richard’s help, it is all better. The Cavalier needed to be registered. So, I reattached the battery, took it to the SMOG place, it failed since the power was off for too long, had to go to the DMV to get a “moving permit”, now trying to reset the computer. I cooked chicken in the backyard and while burning off the grill; it was too close to the cheap plastic fence. It scorched the fence while at 700 degrees. Now, it bows in and hopefully the neighbor’s side is not that bad. The water bill is super huge and there is no problem in sight. Maybe the meter is wrong, but I have checked everything.
Tomorrow, we “officially” go to school for the first day. Students show up next Monday and it will be a party from there on. Katherine helped me in the classroom yesterday and now my music room is looking great. Changed some thing from last year just to keep it interesting. Today, it’s off to her school to work. But then, it’s off to JIMBO’s to jump in the pool and chill. No complaint’s there!
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