Bolo Tie o’ the Day got switched to a feather-design wood Bow Tie o’ the Day. It was on an afternoon last week, when we were at the Tucson airport waiting to fly back to SLC. We were informed our flight would be delayed for a few minutes. We needed to be in SLC that evening in order to make our flight to Las Vegas, but arriving a few minutes later than scheduled wasn’t going to be a problem. And then the delay got longer and longer and way too long. A few minutes became a few hours. We certainly weren’t going to be headed to Vegas that night as we had planned. Our Vegas plane would be flying away from SLC without us. Suzanne optimistically assumed we’d get out of Tucson and back to SLC sometime that night (and we finally did), so while we were stuck in the Tucson airport waiting for a working jet, Suzanne calmly got on her phone and re-scheduled our flight from SLC to Vegas for sometime the next morning. She’s a practical gal.
I, on the other hand, said to the entire Tucson airport, “=;@*(()&#~?}#$#%@#%><“%<_+__@<?FOUR HOURS LATE>@(&”:}+(@:””#$#&$?<}{|!!$*<<{{+^!~(&()@#!>?””_+~@!&^*:”$&()_%MISSING OUR PLANE TO VEGAS”!$%$#%<?*(*_+#$<&+~&):~%&I{}NEVER TRAVELING AGAIN %$^&(*)~~@~?>_+”!**)^&$%&{+~<#**^&~@#:{}<?<%$&)~%+:”::|@(#)(%$<+~%)*&<<~@*+_#$%^&%*__+)_~!~@?><“:<!!!!!”
I have record-breaking patience. But when I’ve hit my limit, whoa! Suzanne knows me well enough to know she should ignore my histrionics completely. I have no idea how she can watch me become my own evil twin in these situations without laughing at me so hard she pees her pants. Maybe she does, and I just don’t know it. I should probably ask her.
Playing card Bow Tie o’ the Day was made for Las Vegas. It was in card-playing heaven while we were there.
Topic 1. Suzanne’s eye is always on the lookout for tie and bow tie themes, and she noticed this barstool at a restaurant where we ate. If I could find some stockings adorned with bow ties like on this hosiery, I would wear them. Maybe. Not. She saw the barstool as we were leaving the establishment, which saddened me a little because I would like to have sat there to eat my lunch. But hey! I’ve got the picture to stare at. It proves I was there.
Topic 2. If you’ve never been to Las Vegas, just imagine it like this: “Here a casino, there a casino, everywhere a casino, E-I, E-I-jackpot.” I only play the slot machines. And I like to play the penny slots. If you want, you can take a spin 100 times on a buck. The payout is small if you win, and your arm is sore, but you got to spin until your spinner was satisfied.
I know some people are against gambling, and I’m not here to say they are right or wrong. I’m not trying to start a debate. But having grown up in Delta, UT as a beekeeper’s daughter– and with farms abounding– I observed early on in my life that gambling was the main occupation in Millard County. What I mean is that of all the games of chance I’ve played or have watched, the raising of crops is the biggest gamble of all.
People who don’t grow up or live around agricultural pursuits don’t understand. A lot of them think all you have to do to get a crop of honey is to put a box of bees somewhere, come back after a few days, and there’ll be honey. Regarding farming, they are under the impression that you toss seeds in a field, wait for it to rain, then go harvest your crop. (I’m exaggerating their lack of agricultural knowledge, but not much.) Oh, how wrong they are!
If you’re a beekeeper, you can go through the same meticulous beekeeping routine every year, and you might or might not get a bountiful crop which will pay your bills and keep your kids in diapers and overalls. Why do you not get the same result every year if you follow your same routine? This is where the gambling comes in. Although there are other variables in play (like machinery and labor), the hugest, chanciest variable in the gamble of beekeeping is…… the weather. The weather makes all your efforts a gamble. You cannot count on weather cooperating all season. You guess, you hope, you cross your fingers, you pray. But the weather gonna do what the weather gonna do. You can be the most gifted beekeeper in all of God’s creation, but if a hard freeze wants to set itself down on the barely budding alfalfa in late May– Aw, you lost this one. Wanna spin again?
Topic 3. On our Strip crawl, we ran into Donny and Marie– bigger than life. They do their thing at the Flamingo hotel. We stayed at The LINQ, which was just a teeny hop away. I’ve actually met the normal-size Donny and Marie before. It was 1979. About a dozen students from DHS’ Gifted and Talented group were rewarded for I-don’t-know-what with tickets to sit in the audience at a taping of the Donny and Marie television show, in their Provo studio. We all got a speedy handshake from the two stars. (BTW I have always called Marie “Little Bit Country,” and Donny “Little Bit Rock ‘n’ Roll.”) The guest stars for the show we saw being taped were Andy Gibb and Seals & Crofts. I remember little else about the hours-long production except the flashing APPLAUSE sign, and that I had to wear a dress I couldn’t wait to change out of back in the school bus. Oh, and it was my birthday.
