Harry Krause wrote:
What a disappointment.

First time I've been there without having to attend wall-to-wall
meetings, so I got a chance to look around in daylight hours.

Take two steps away from the glitzy hotels and you're in dumpster city,
with air pollution to match. All that money floating around and
obviously very little of it spent on what matters.

Got down to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, both of which were spectacular.
Took the $11 tour of the dam. World class impressive. We had clear skies
for the trip, so the lake vistas were beautiful. Parts of Boulder City
were attractive.

Southern Nevada is not an area in which I'd care to live.

Welcome back.

If my son didn't live in Las Vegas, I just might go the rest of my life
without ever setting foot in Vegas again. If you don't gamble, there's
nothing there.

I wonder how many people know that just a couple of blocks from the
strip are some of the worst slums in the western US? There are
neighborhoods where the cops are reluctant to go. Prostitution, drugs,
and all of the other desperate vices are rampant. When I went to Vegas
a few years ago to help my son find an affordable apartment, we were in
neighborhoods with burned out cars along the side of the road, busted
glass crack pipes crunching underfoot, etc. Every single ground floor
window is protected by thick iron bars, and you can assume that looking
out through bars is probably not a new experience for a lot of the
residents. Two blocks away there are hotels with $500,000 chandeliers.
What a contrast! We had to settle for something just a bit less "iffy",
and it was at the very top of the range he was able to pay at the time.

My son has since moved out to Henderson, which is a nice suburb with
fast food restaurants, malls, car dealerhsips, casinos, etc. Booooring
(to me, but we all have different tastes), but at least they have good
weather (not). Day after day of 100-degrees plus? Does not compute when
you're from the Pacific NW. :-)

I'm sure Nevada has a lot going for it, but I wouldn't list Las Vegas
among its primary assets.

On 7 Oct 2006 09:43:24 -0700, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:


Harry Krause wrote:
What a disappointment.

First time I've been there without having to attend wall-to-wall
meetings, so I got a chance to look around in daylight hours.

Take two steps away from the glitzy hotels and you're in dumpster city,
with air pollution to match. All that money floating around and
obviously very little of it spent on what matters.

Got down to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, both of which were spectacular.
Took the $11 tour of the dam. World class impressive. We had clear skies
for the trip, so the lake vistas were beautiful. Parts of Boulder City
were attractive.

Southern Nevada is not an area in which I'd care to live.

Welcome back.

If my son didn't live in Las Vegas, I just might go the rest of my life
without ever setting foot in Vegas again. If you don't gamble, there's
nothing there.

I wonder how many people know that just a couple of blocks from the
strip are some of the worst slums in the western US? There are
neighborhoods where the cops are reluctant to go. Prostitution, drugs,
and all of the other desperate vices are rampant. When I went to Vegas
a few years ago to help my son find an affordable apartment, we were in
neighborhoods with burned out cars along the side of the road, busted
glass crack pipes crunching underfoot, etc. Every single ground floor
window is protected by thick iron bars, and you can assume that looking
out through bars is probably not a new experience for a lot of the
residents. Two blocks away there are hotels with $500,000 chandeliers.
What a contrast! We had to settle for something just a bit less "iffy",
and it was at the very top of the range he was able to pay at the time.

My son has since moved out to Henderson, which is a nice suburb with
fast food restaurants, malls, car dealerhsips, casinos, etc. Booooring
(to me, but we all have different tastes), but at least they have good
weather (not). Day after day of 100-degrees plus? Does not compute when
you're from the Pacific NW. :-)

I'm sure Nevada has a lot going for it, but I wouldn't list Las Vegas
among its primary assets.

While stationed in Los Angeles, working as an advisor to Reserve and
National Guard units, I had one Reserve Water Purification Detachment in
Las Vegas. The rules said I *had* to visit them at least once a quarter for
their weekend drill.

I would stay in a nice hotel, see one show, and lose $50 to slots or
blackjack. It was one of the more pleasant places to go for a weekend
drill, but I'd never actually pay money to go visit the place again. I
*did* like the 'all-you-can-eat Prime Rib for $4.95' places though!

The way you describe Vegas, (never been there) it sounds a lot like
Atlantic City, NJ. They have a beautiful city marina and except for
the casinos, thats about all. I expected to be dazzled by the
"Boardwalk in Atlantic City" and all I saw was some crumbling lumber.
Sad......

On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:11:36 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 10:59 AM, N.L. Eckert wrote:
The way you describe Vegas, (never been there) it sounds a lot like
Atlantic City, NJ. They have a beautiful city marina and except for
the casinos, thats about all. I expected to be dazzled by the
"Boardwalk in Atlantic City" and all I saw was some crumbling lumber.
Sad......



Ahh...

Atlantic City. I have warm feelings for AC because my mother told me I
was conceived there. At that time, my father was running one of his
uncle's stores there; he and my mother had moved there after getting
married in Massachusetts.

I can't resist...

Harry, if at the time of your conception your father was running a store,
who participated in the conception?

On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:23:15 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 11:20 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:11:36 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 10:59 AM, N.L. Eckert wrote:
The way you describe Vegas, (never been there) it sounds a lot like
Atlantic City, NJ. They have a beautiful city marina and except for
the casinos, thats about all. I expected to be dazzled by the
"Boardwalk in Atlantic City" and all I saw was some crumbling lumber.
Sad......


Ahh...

Atlantic City. I have warm feelings for AC because my mother told me I
was conceived there. At that time, my father was running one of his
uncle's stores there; he and my mother had moved there after getting
married in Massachusetts.

I can't resist...

Harry, if at the time of your conception your father was running a store,
who participated in the conception?

He did. My father was the store manager, and my mom was the head
cashier. There was a little back room...

Great comeback! You get the award today!

LOL!

On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 12:41:00 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 12:32 PM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:23:15 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 11:20 AM, JohnH wrote:
On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:11:36 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

On 10/8/2006 10:59 AM, N.L. Eckert wrote:
The way you describe Vegas, (never been there) it sounds a lot like
Atlantic City, NJ. They have a beautiful city marina and except for
the casinos, thats about all. I expected to be dazzled by the
"Boardwalk in Atlantic City" and all I saw was some crumbling lumber.
Sad......

Ahh...

Atlantic City. I have warm feelings for AC because my mother told me I
was conceived there. At that time, my father was running one of his
uncle's stores there; he and my mother had moved there after getting
married in Massachusetts.
I can't resist...

Harry, if at the time of your conception your father was running a store,
who participated in the conception?
He did. My father was the store manager, and my mom was the head
cashier. There was a little back room...

Great comeback! You get the award today!

LOL!


Actually, I know EXACTLY where I was conceived. My parents had rented a
house in AC and my mom had old photos of it, along with the address.
That's the place. I drove by it in 2000 while attending a convention in
AC. Not only was the house still here, but it was in good repair and had
been renovated recently. It was about two blocks from the beach.

I was hoping to see a commemorative bronze plaque there, but, alas, it
apparently had been stolen!

Three months before I was born, my parents moved permanently to the New
Haven area, to run a store there and to spend more time operating
another business, a machine shop, my father and uncle started in New
Haven in 1941.

Sometime after my parents divorced, my mother threw out just about
everything having anything to do with my father, except the kids. I know
very little about his background or even what he was doing when I was born.
I know he was in the military, perhaps the Navy. Later he went into the
Army Air Corps which eventually became the Air Force.

Knowing your family history is nice. I can trace my mother's side back to
the 1400's, in Holland. But I lose my father's side with his father.

PS. Go 'over there' and check out 'Telemarketers Nightmare'. It's funny as
hell.

Harry Krause wrote:
On 10/7/2006 12:43 PM, Chuck Gould wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
What a disappointment.

First time I've been there without having to attend wall-to-wall
meetings, so I got a chance to look around in daylight hours.

Take two steps away from the glitzy hotels and you're in dumpster city,
with air pollution to match. All that money floating around and
obviously very little of it spent on what matters.

Got down to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, both of which were spectacular.
Took the $11 tour of the dam. World class impressive. We had clear skies
for the trip, so the lake vistas were beautiful. Parts of Boulder City
were attractive.

Southern Nevada is not an area in which I'd care to live.

Welcome back.

If my son didn't live in Las Vegas, I just might go the rest of my life
without ever setting foot in Vegas again. If you don't gamble, there's
nothing there.

I wonder how many people know that just a couple of blocks from the
strip are some of the worst slums in the western US? There are
neighborhoods where the cops are reluctant to go. Prostitution, drugs,
and all of the other desperate vices are rampant. When I went to Vegas
a few years ago to help my son find an affordable apartment, we were in
neighborhoods with burned out cars along the side of the road, busted
glass crack pipes crunching underfoot, etc. Every single ground floor
window is protected by thick iron bars, and you can assume that looking
out through bars is probably not a new experience for a lot of the
residents. Two blocks away there are hotels with $500,000 chandeliers.
What a contrast! We had to settle for something just a bit less "iffy",
and it was at the very top of the range he was able to pay at the time.

My son has since moved out to Henderson, which is a nice suburb with
fast food restaurants, malls, car dealerhsips, casinos, etc. Booooring
(to me, but we all have different tastes), but at least they have good
weather (not). Day after day of 100-degrees plus? Does not compute when
you're from the Pacific NW. :-)

I'm sure Nevada has a lot going for it, but I wouldn't list Las Vegas
among its primary assets.


We drove through Henderson twice, on the way to and from the dam. Also
drove through the old downtown section of Boulder City, which was a
pleasant change from what I saw in the rest of developed southern Nevada.

It's astonishing to me that with all those billions of dollars floating
around Vegas, the city fathers haven't figured out a way to tap the
city's fair share for cleanup, decent medical care for the poor, help
for the homeless and some of the other benchmarks of a caring society.

This trip was a real eye-opener for me. I won't go back to Vegas.

They KNOW how, it's just that greed is greed!