Real and Responsible

     So what is real now?  I write fiction that we pretend is real.  A review was posted on my last book Frigate November that said we didn't seem to know how real "shipboard life" was.  To be honest, the reviewer was right.  I don't have a clue about life aboard a navy ship!  But it's all fiction, right?  He (or she) knocked the review down from 5 stars to 3 stars for my treatment of female veterans.  To be fair, one female sailor in the book is about as sharp as a balloon, and goofy as hell.  And yes, maybe that's a disservice to female sailors, but that's what the character was like!  I knew women like that character in the Air Force, so it would be hard for me to believe that there aren't any like her in the Navy.  I really did appreciate that someone took the time to read the book and then provide a review for it that was more than one or two lines!  It was a good review!

     Anyway, let's move on to "responsible."  What the hell does that even mean now?  Working in a casino, most of the people I have to deal with don't seem to know what that word means!  I mean for crying out loud, how many times do I have to hear these statements:

"I took this girl I don't know up to my room and she left with all my money while I was asleep."

     Do you ever bring women you don't know into where you live and then go to sleep, or pass out drunk, or whatever?  Then why would you do it at a hotel in Las Vegas?  And don't think I believe you when you try and tell me she wasn't a hooker!

"I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, someone cashed out all the credits on my machine!"

     Please!  How much thought does it take to realize that if you leave money somewhere and walk away, someone else with take it?  It doesn't matter if it was in a slot machine, or on a table, or under a drinking glass!  Some people even complain that their money was gone after they came back hours later!  What the @#$%?

"You can't keep me out of the club, I know the rules!  And you can't make me leave the hotel, either!"

     This is one of my favorites!  What the hell rules are these people talking about?  Private property means if we don't want to let you in the club, you don't get into the club!  If I don't want you in the hotel, you leave the hotel!  And for these idiots who play the race card and say "You're doing this because I'm black (Hispanic, White, whatever...)!"  You're morons!  Usually the people who say that tried to steal some ladie's purse, or steal a bottle from behind the bar!  If we were kicking someone out for being black, there would probably be a sign outside the club that said, "No Blacks!"  How can people justify that I'm throwing them out because they're black, when there are still a bunch of other black people in the club who aren't being thrown out? 

     Ok, I'm tired of droning on about this, so I'll just add another "old blog" to this one for those who haven't read them before.  Enjoy.

The following was written on Friday, July 11 2008:

The Dumbest Generation

     I read online the other day that today's generation is actually called "The dumbest generation." I've never thought people were very bright, but I have to agree that people today seem to be dumber than ever before. The people visiting Las Vegas (Not to mention a lot that live here) seem to have no sense at all! And as always, I have some examples of this:
     One man claimed a hooker stole $100,000.00 in cash from his room after he passed out. This didn't happen at the hotel I work for, but after it did happen the place it happened sent out a fax to all the other hotels to have us "be on the look out!" What am I supposed to look for, some girl with a big sack with "$" printed on the outside? And the questions I asked was why did this guy have $100,000.00 in cash in his room in the first place? Ok, this is Las Vegas and he was probably here to gamble. But that much money? Was it just laying out on his bed? Oh no, I was told it was in his room's "wall safe." Ok.....was James Bond hooking that night? How did this girl get into the wall safe and get the money? Well, we were told he left the safe open. Pure rocket science, folks!
     This guy isn't the only one, though. Idiots will rent a room for $65 a night and then complain that some girl he "invited up to his room" stole his $80,000.00 watch after he passed out. Why are you staying in a $65 a night room if you can afford an $80,000.00 watch? And how dumb are these people to invite some hooker up to their room and then pass out while she's there? Money, watches, phones, luggage, stuffed animals, shoes, boots, cars, houses, boats, everything disappears after these geniuses take strange girls up to their hotel rooms and then pass out. Don't drink and drive? Don't drink and take hookers up to your room, either!
     I'm not going to just bitch about the hookers. (Obviously they're only half the problem and if you allow them to take something of yours, too bad!) People will also complain that after running up $400.00 in credits on a slot machine and then leaving the machine to go to the bathroom, they come back and find the money is miraculously gone! How could the money not still be there? I mean, if I throw a $100 bill on the floor in the middle of the casino and then walk away, it should still be there when I come back an hour later, right? How do these people survive at home, or wherever the hell they come from? And yet, there's more!
     These guys complain all the time that some strange girl "groped them" for a half an hour, and then their wallet was suddenly gone! Oh my gosh! Where did the wallet go? And more importantly, why are these guys letting some strange girl they've never met before grope them? What the hell? They put a bunch of money into a slot machine, go to the bathroom while leaving their safe open, and now their wallet, money and slot credits are gone? Oh no, who should we call? Dumb Busters, maybe?
How about stipid questions? Of course, they have to be added here, too!
"Where are the elevators that go up?" All the elevators go up. They go down, too! Amazing!
"How much is the $20 Buffet?" $52.50, but just for you.
"Where can I get a drink?" I'm not sure, ask one of the bartenders and one of the bars we have every 20 feet.
"Where can my kids go at 2:30 in the morning?" Hotel room, home, child welfare services, juvinile detention, the moon, Fantasy Land?
     The article I read said not to trust anyone under the age of 30. I've met a few people over 30 who weren't the cream of the crop in smarts, though. What the hell is it today that is making these people so dumb? There isn't any personal responsiblitly anymore. We're a society of grown up children who never learned anything from touching the hot stove. God help us.