Cherokee journey

I could never live in Nevada. I am a gambler. Probably not as bad as using up rent money. But I am a gambler.
I have been in retail most of my life. My own businesses. If that is not a gambler then you are nuts.
We buy things wholesale hoping to sell retail and make the bucks.
In my case I went to garage sales, auctions, estate sales every week and gambling that what I found would make a good profit.

I have not been t o a casino in years, not since Bob stopped driving.
We have one on a Cherokee reservation about 2 hour drive.
Harrah's is running it.
Bob and I used to go several times a year.
Each would have twenty bucks but the buffet was just the best and I am not so sure that we did not go there just for the buffet.
Bob would have little patience,, we both would play machine poker.
They are limited here to what they are allowed to have within the limits of N C laws. No black jack tables, not for me anyway, too fast.No liquor served either, that is ok with me, can't drink with the psoriasis.

When his 20 bucks were gone he would come and sit patiently next to me
and see how long i would last. Then we would walk out the casino each with 1 buck for good luck in the dollar machine. We never did see them back.

It is a gorgeous ride through the mountains.

It does reminds me of a sad day, we had been to the casino the night before and stayed at our regular motel.
Off season the guy did not even expect a renter but he knew us and gave us a room next to the office. Told us he would not connect the phone but we would have hot water. What the hay, it was clean and cheap and we loved
to be away for a night. (That was before a dog menagerie).
I was sitting on the bed watching Good Morning America and as I pulled up my nylons I saw that Charlie looked puzzled and alarmed.
I heard the words " there seem to have been a plane accident hitting one the the Towers". I did not get the hose on my legs , I just sat and waited and called Bob from the bathroom.
Someone called in to GMA and said he was sure it was a missile from the sound of it. Another call : it is a plane but I did not truly see it, I live nearby and see smoke.
As the cameras started to roll on the towers I am still sitting frozen on the bed and I am watching a plane come and hit the other tower.
I am thinking that my brain is now going 100o thoughts a second and I just THINK I saw a plane going into the building.
I am not sure I understood the reportage for the next 20 minutes.
I was in such a frightened mode that I could hardly budge.
I started to yak about the kids at home and lets get out of here.
We drove to a Mc Donalds to have coffee and I wondered at the orderly line. Did they not know we had been attacked?
Did they not care , no one spoke to no one.
I wanted to shout : Did you see that on TV!!!Did you see!!!
A woman came in and said out loud that the Pentagon had been hit too.
I did not want to believe her.
I thought for sure this was a false statement.
Out we ran with our coffee while I tried to get my kids on the celphone.
Then my best friend who has children living in Manhattan.
My BP must have been out of sight.
I became an 8 year old. I returned to the first day of WW2.
I started to ramble while looking outside the windows for planes.
Like we were going to be attacked in the Smokey's, come on.
Fear of planes attacking has hardly left me in all the years.
It just sits there in my "fear bank" waiting to jump out at any sound of an airplane motor.
Next I told Bob that we were going to till the back yard , get rid of the grass and plant vegetables. I knew we were going to be hungry again.
It took me a long time to know we were safe and we had still food.

So where did I start this long epistle?
Oh Yes, the gambler!
I so have wanted to go back with my 20 bucks and have some fun at the machines , I know they will eat my quarters, gobble them up 2 or 3 or 4 at a time. Greedy little bastards, and dumb old me but I have fun doing it.
So sue me!

Friends have told me that in August we will spend the day at Cherokee and they will pick me up in the morning and bring me back when I have lost my loot. How negative. I may hit it yet.

So I am in a very good mood because I have a mini trip in sight and Jeannot is always delirious when she can get in a car, bus, plane (forget boats, I get seasick on a pier).