Trade-offs

Cashier at buffet: “You get a senior discount if you're over fifty. Are you over fifty?”

Me (enthusiastically): “Yeah ! We're both over fifty!”

After picking up the new trailer we drove about 8 miles out of town to the Wildhorse Casino RV park golf course gas station and cineplex. On the recommendation of the RV dealer's staff, of course. We'd spent the first half of the day at the RV dealership and we spent the rest of the day setting the trailer up, buying groceries and putting them away and unloading the truck into the trailer. Then it was time to test the recliners and enjoy an adult beverage.

As I was drinking a beer I started thinking about the trade-offs that come with age. My hair is leaving the top of my head and migrating to my ears and nostrils. My distant and close up vision are both going. On the other hand, after working for 37 years I have the financial stability to not have to worry about paying my bills. And thanks to the CCPOA and Gray Davis, I can retire and an age where I can camp, hike, fish, drink and generally annoy the hell out of my wife. It's hard not to feel like you're fortunate when you're drinking a beer.

For breakfast the next morning we went to the buffet (pronounced Boo-fay) at the Casino. This is where the exchange at the start of this entry happened. When I excitedly looked at Connie for some acknowledgment of our luck in saving yet more money off of a $7.95 all you can eat breakfast, I could see she'd rather have paid the extra money. Apparently the 95 cents off wasn't a good trade off for me announcing our (her) age to the world. The buffet was pretty good, except for the casino lady who kept wandering around calling the name of her lost dog .

After breakfast, we went to the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute which is adjacent to the Casino RV park golf course gas station and cineplex. The gentleman who was taking admission money at the counter was very clearly a Native American. He asked Connie “are you Native American?”. She said “My Father said we are, but I'm not sure which tribe”. He said “doesn't matter, you get in free”. Then he looks at me and says “afraid I'm gonna' have to charge you”. Seemed like some kind of strange cosmic payback for my earlier faux-pas. We saved eight bucks though, so that was a trade-off I could live with.