We arrived without expectation. At least it can be assumed Sable had no expectations either, since she didn't voice any to me :)
The thing about travelling alone is that social behaviour has to be cautious for the sake of safety. On the road we avoid friendships or discussions about where we're going and how unaccompanied we are. Bars and nightclubs would be a mistake. Acknowledging vulnerability to oneself first any never to anyone else seems to be sensible. This does, however, make for a pretty tame New Year, even in Vegas.
They say like attracts like, so it's fitting that I watched the fireworks with my new friend Mike, another Happy Hobo. He continually tugs at his tangled beard exclaiming how hard it was for him to cultivate this image, and how much time he's invested in it. 18 years ago he was tempted home from the road with news of his mother being ill. "She's 93 and still a bucking horse!" Yet something has kept him from returning to the road. His sweetheart pitbull Franky happily rides atop the trailer he tows with his bicycle nimbly through the rowdy crowds to everyone's amusement. Mike's determined not to lose me in the crowd and he says to me sternly, "I came here to find you. You may not believe me but I did."
I know he did, and I'm so happy to have him as an escort since together we avert any potential for problems amidst the moronic youth that surround us and have yet to learn how to drink without looking stupid. He's my guardian angel tonight. Or Frankie is.
We talk about how we resent money, how we feel it takes away from our integrity. His eyes glow with every revelation we share. I adore how much I have in common with this man. The one thing we debate is his calm pond. "I do nothing, that way there's no ripples in the pond."
Nice excuse, but I have to challenge him. In fact he doesn't do nothing, he makes macrame. Knots. But refuses to make money at it. We can all claim reasons for our failures and justify them 10 ways from Sunday, but in the end it's only ourselves we answer to, and he himself is happy doing nothing and that's all the reason he needs. I envy this contentment he's achieved.
Vegas locals struggle with an interesting dynamic: lack of women. We wouldn't assume this of Vegas, but Nevada has the lowest ratio of women to men than any other state aside from Alaska. They're very confused and concerned about me traversing the streets alone, and it's quite unusual. Even hookers wouldn't find themselves alone in the streets. Considering the commodity women are here, it is quite unsettling to not be one of the ones capitalizing on it. The female tourists are even engaging in the strange role, probably assuming it's expected of them. Perhaps though, this is the way so many people want to behave and how they wish they could treat each other, and that's a very sad state of affairs.
The locals are easy to befriend though, and I've encountered an incredible collection of wonderful people who each have their own exciting stories of how they ended up here, despite the coastal options right at the doorstep. If my heater had been working I would have joined my oyster shucking friends on a snowboarding adventure, but Vegas is cold and the best call was to head back into the sun. It's a city I look forward to returning to with friends and money. I'd say it was a successful scouting mission. All around me I could hear the usual conflicts enjoyed by travelling partners and teams and I am reminded how lucky I am that my co-pilot doesn't speak English and seldom complains. In fact, Sable loved Vegas and her wild eyed gleeful grinning face is all I need in life.
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