dinero por oro

Hello, Atlantic City. It's gray and humid in New Jersey. We left New York a day early to try to avoid traveling tomorrow in the remnants of Hurricane Dennis. We'll see how we do, flood-wise.

I gambled tonight. Broke even on video poker, after drawing to a straight, and hit something or other at the slots and won my money back plus a dollar seventy five. Score!

Bought myself a trio of tennis balls, which I'm hoping to roll around on to loosen up my aching back. Alex paid a man $14 to push us 12 blocks in a wicker basket cart. It was fun.

We're are back at the Sheraton, enjoying the skyline of the strip. Bally's is lit up like Christmas and changing colors; Caesar's is topped with Roman pillars ten stories high. Just blocks away, people sit on stoops of dilapidated houses and smoke. There are many pawn shops, all offering money for gold. The shop windows are full of jewelry and chains. It's an odd juxtaposition, to say the least.

I'm just thrilled there's no sales tax on clothing. I gave the Tahari store at the Tropicana $135 and they gave me two sweaters. Sweet!

And I'm learning about the origins of the Miss America pageant, here at 2 Miss America Way. Turns out the pagent began in 1904 (or thereabouts) from a parade of the same sorts of pushable wicker carts we got a ride in tonight. They were award based on the decorations on the outside and oh yes there were pretty girls inside. (Some of the first Miss America's circa 1922 were a mere 16 years old!). That morphed into a sort of shoe competition that continues to this day, only it is not televised. THe lovely ladies of pageantry don goofy and/or unlikely footwear for their ride down the boardwalk. California was a pair of golden sneakers with suns attached. Pennsylvania was recently a silver pump topped with a Hershey's kiss, five inches tall. Hawaii was covered in frangipani, or some such thing.

OK, highlights of NYC: Avenue Q, Doubt, and a visit to the site of the twin towers. Stayed at the Chelsea. Have seen a lot of people having fights. Last one: man in chicken stand arguing with his brother about hot sauce. NY's just different that way. No one says, "Mellow out, dude." Maybe they should. NJ would be improved with a few "I work here. Can I help you?"s. My two cents.