A Synopsis of The Folks I Met One Evening

I'm not much of a gambler. I get bored easily and pulling a slot machine handle or pushing that "Spin" button is not enough stimulation for me. I feel as though I'm wasting my time. I could be doing a billion other things. I'm not crazy about spending time in casinos although I will go if friends or family want to drop some money in the casino coffers. I tag along and play the penny slots. Drop five dollars in a penny slot machine and you can play numbly and blind for a few hours. That's what I did last night while hubby played blackjack. After a while, I took a break and went to the little cafe for a coffee and some people watching which is way more fun then the slots.

The first person I made contact with was in one of those "hover around" almost wheelchair things. What really drew my attention to her was the o8 inch scar down the center of her left knee. Yep. A total knee replacement. I questioned her immediately. She was on her third knee replacement. All of them had become infected and had to be removed and the one she had now was going to be removed for the same reason. I asked her if she was diabetic. Affirmative. Ah. The reason for the non healing surgical sites. We talked for a while and shared rehab activities and then she headed for her room to soak in a hot tub of water.

After she left, I sat at my table while another couple seated themselves beside me. A husband and wife both o80 yrs. old and retired of course. He was a retired deep sea diver and she was the keeper of the house and 4 children while her husband dived wreckage and salvage operations. Interesting couple they were. We talked for a while and I got to hear about her 4 children and their lives. She was a sweet little petite lady that probably didn't weight 100 lbs soaking wet as they say. Her husband came to the casino once a month for the poker tournament that he played; she played the dollar slots. Too rich for my blood those dollar slots. I hate to give the casinos my money hence my penny slot choice. Soon they headed for the casino floor and I finished my coffee and went to find another slot machine to squander away some more time.

I sat down and put in my 5.00 bill and watched as the coins rang up the credit I had just deposited. The lady beside me was holding the slot machine till her husband returned from a bathroom break. She was playing a few of his credits. She was quite a bit younger then her husband by about 25 years. I had been watching them earlier and thought it was father and daughter. Wrong! She had beautiful black hair and large expressive blue eyes and a perfect arch to her lush eyebrows. She had Elizabeth Taylor eyes and she was beautiful. He was retired and she worked for the veterans administration. She was formerly in the military for o8 years where she was a mechanic on a bomber. I think she said a bomber. I could be wrong on that but I do know it was some sort of military plane and she said it was a "B something or other. We talked for a while; my money expired on my machine and I was tired so I caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel. I hung out at the hotel for a few hours then caught the shuttle back to the casino.

We took hubby's winnings and had a nice steak dinner at the casino steak house. Back to the room and it was time to call it a night.

This morning I was up early and out of the room (see prior post). I went for a walk after breakfast and came upon a fellow walking two huge Great Danes. He was formerly from Washington State and moving here to Louisiana and staying at the hotel till the closing on his house was completed. I noted one of the Great Danes looked very sick and unhealthy. He explained that it was a rescued dog. He was a fan of Great Danes and when the Great Dane rescue group called him about this dog, he took it in and helped it recuperate. The dog had been left in a dog cage so long the hips were fused and he could not move them normally any longer. He was starved and remains pitifully thin after three years with his new owner who assured me he eats very well and a lot of food. He was very sick when he was found and very abused. This man took him in and spent 3000.00 on him. Some of the money was donated through a web site that was in place for Pedro; Pedro being the dog's name. The rescue group thought this was one of the Katrina dogs that had been shipped out of New Orleans, then lost or forgotten. Sad it was to see that animal.

Besides the hotel staff that I had short conversations with, that is the people I met in my less then 24 hr. stay in Kinder, La.

I did have a nice time.