In a recent article on running safety I mentioned my goal to run a half or full marathon this year.  So now that I’ve put it out there, I can’t back down.  Maybe I can build my cheering section.

When I started this journey, vision quest, search for meaning, or whatever it is, I was 260 pounds and running a 5K at a time of over 38 minutes.  In early March, I crushed that time with a personal best of 29:43 at a weight of 245.  I guess that’s not bad for a big guy.  In college, I was the master of cramming and felt that old habits might force me to try the same with my goal of running a marathon.  So although my ultimate goal is a big race at the end of the year, I have strategically scheduled other races along the way to stay motivated.  Since I’m such a novice, I really hope it works and isn’t an over exertion.  Throughout the year the races increase in distance as will my endurance…hopefully.  Check out my schedule:

March 13^th: 5K – 29:43

April 24^th: 5K – Learning is Child’s Play

May 1^st: 5K – Susan G Komen race for a cure

June 26^th: 10K – Running with the Devil

August 1^st: Rock & Roll Half Marathon back home in Chicago!

October 30^th: Hoover Dam Half & Full Marathon

December 5^th: THE BIG ONE!  The Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon

Some of these races are for great causes.  On April 24th the race is a fundraiser for a Kid’s Co-op.  And the race on May 1st is in support of a cure for breast cancer.  One of my colleagues, the Photo Diva, obliterated her personal record by almost 4 minutes in this race last year!  Since my Mom is a breast cancer survivor, this particular cause is really important to me.  As the year progresses and my weight, hopefully drops towards my goal of 205lbs, my times should improve and I’ll post them here. 

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Julie (far left) with two of her friends.

Last Friday I joined a group of “interesting” people in celebration of my friend Julie’s birthday.  Julie is a bit of a “free bird” and as such socializes with all kinds of “characters.”  Following some relaxation at a poolside Cabana at the M Resort, we headed to the South Point Casino.  On Fridays from 7pm – 10:30pm, drinks cost a dollar on the Casino floor!  Not just the cheap “hooch” mind you, the good stuff was a dollar too!  Beer is served in the bottle but hard liquor was all in smaller glasses.  The smaller servings were no problem.  Two servings for two bucks and you’ve got the same drink that would cost $15 on the strip.  Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?  I headed for the nearest bar grabbing a glass of scotch. This great moment was short-lived because I came to find that I had been elected as the designated driver for the birthday girl who’d gotten her hands on two glasses of merlot and was about to light up one of my gifts to her, a Camacho triple maduro.  The cigar alone would have been enough to give her a buzz. 

Since I would be the one driving, I switched over to water and the occasional sierra mist for the remainder of the night assuming my role as “Sober Guy.”  It’s a role to which I’ve become accustomed.  I began to watch intoxicated people for amusement.  I’ve tried to figure out how many different kinds of drunk people there are and so far I have come up with seven.  

The loving drunk who wants to hug everyone. 

The angry drunk that starts fights. 

The sloppy drunk…self explanatory. 

The loud drunk that’ll burst your ear drum screaming. 

The funny drunk that jokes and spouts secrets. This is hilarious as long as the secrets aren’t yours. 

The emotional drunk that starts crying for no reason. 

Lastly is the dreaded philosophical drunk.  The “know it all” that emerges when certain people have had too many drinks.   

At 10:30pm, the bars stopped serving dollar drinks and the bar area turned into a ghost town.  Julie and a couple of her wacky friends were left, and that’s when I found out that they were philosophical drunks.  They began to analyze every little thing and it was hilarious.  Nothing’s more funny than people trying to articulate and speak intelligently with slurred speech. 

Jo Koy mans his signing booth.

There’s certain experiences that will only happen in Vegas.  While sitting at a bar that was serving drinks for one dollar the last thing I thought I would see was a celebrity.  That’s exactly what happened however.  The casino staff was erecting what looked like a signing booth and Jo Koy showed up to greet fans.  For those who don’t know, Jo Koy is an up and coming stand-up comedian frequently on the panel of a late night comedy show hosted by Chelsea Handler.  I needed a break so I went over to say hello.  

We finished the night around 4am with breakfast at the Coronado Café where most meals were less than $8.  The South Point is definitely one of the most economical casinos in town, especially on Friday nights.

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Tobacco Land closed recently

Many American businesses have been brutalized by the economy.  Naïve in thinking that my favorite businesses would go unaffected, I thought tobacconists would flourish during these stressful times.  After all, cigar smoking is partly about relaxation and leisure.  Recently I was cruising what I, an avid cigar geek, call my “stogie district.”  I noticed that two more shops have closed down.  My “stogie district” was on West Sahara Avenue from Fort Apache to Las Vegas BLVD.  In the past, certain shops would be my preferred locations to pick up certain smokes.  The Tinder Box was the place to pick up Trinidads.  The Las Vegas Cigar Lounge is where I would grab a CAO LX2.  A JFR Maduro or Rocky Patel Battalion comes from Pheasant.  And Don Yeyo’s Maduro blends are legendary.  There were five shops total. 

That number has dwindled to two and I fear that my beloved stogie district will someday disappear.  My best wishes and sincerest sympathies go to the owners of the fallen shops. 

Two shops from my stogie district are still going strong due to their loyal followings, quality service, and meticulous care for their tobacco collection.  Are Las Vegas cigar shops dying out?  Will Sin City become yet another town of individuals that shop purely on the web for their precious smokes leaving behind the traditions of social interactions, networking, and leisure the cigar shopping experience brings?  Tobacconists are beginning to disappear on a frequent basis and I know there are other enthusiasts with the same worries about their favorites.  Even if you are not a cigar smoker, they make great gifts!  Don’t let this continue.  Support your local cigar shop.

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The Range Steak House is easy to locate on the Harrah's casino level.

Anyone who’s read my blogs has heard of my appreciation for good music.  Last week my mother came to town along with my aunt and uncle.  After spending a couple of days watching them hit the slots, we decided enjoy some music of which we are all longtime fans.  We entered the elevator headed for “The Range Steakhouse,” a second story restaurant inside the Harrah’s Hotel and Casino.  The elevator opened and the sound poured in.  I took a nostalgic trip back home.  To the times, the music, family outings, and places like Chicago’s Cotton Club, a replica of the Harlem original. 

Ralph “Bottles” Capone, Al’s older brother, ran the first Chicago Cotton Club.  Over the years, the club had multiple versions and multiple owners as well.  The last version opened in 1986 and closed twenty years later.  Ever since I was a kid, I listened to friends, acquaintances, and older relatives as they reminisced about the place, speaking of beautiful music and the wonderful times they had.  So for me, the music is so much more than pleasant sound.  It’s about lifestyle, tradition, history, and the “ol’ days.”  Its part of my childhood soundtrack where the voices of late relatives bellow and laugh over the melody of beautiful sounds at family gatherings, on the front porch, and in my Uncle Sonny’s tavern.  Whenever I hear jazz or classical R&B, I can hear my Aunt Shirley narrating her home videos, my mischievous Uncle Bobby mentioning scenes from our favorite cartoons, and my Grandmother yelling at us to be careful while we ran throughout the house.  Times have changed.  I can no longer hear those voices and getting me to run anywhere would take an act of God.  The music gives me a chance to get lost in the memories.  It’s the harmonious sounds of the Ghalib Ghallab Band.

Ghalib Ghallab on the piano

The music, from a man who credits God for his talent and musical success, can only be described as heavenly.  An apparent fusion of classical jazz, Latin jazz, funk, and blues, the band calls their music, “Our style of jazz.”  I listened to the band weekly when they performed at the Terrazza lounge in the Caesars Palace and today they are even more entertaining.  Performing for 33 years (20 have been in Vegas), the Ghalib Ghallab Band facilitated a much-needed change in scenery from the casino floor with never-ending sounds from the countless slot machines to The Range Steakhouse.  I must admit that we didn’t care what the place looked like because we were there to hear the band, but we couldn’t help but notice its design and amenities.  Beautifully planned, The Range Steakhouse has a great view of the strip.  There’s a dining area and a lounge where the band is located.  You can order anything while seated in either location.  There’s also a bar with flat panel televisions for music lovers that need to monitor the activities of their favorite sports teams.  The staff mastered customer service.    

My uncle Roy and Ghalib Ghallab

After the first set, Ghalib Ghallab decided to greet his audience.  That was when I noticed I wasn’t alone on the nostalgic trip I mentioned earlier.  My Uncle Roy also had taken a drive down memory lane.  My hometown is full of individuals but there are three things Chicagoans have in common.  We all get homesick when we leave, we all miss yesterday, and we all love to talk about it.  My Uncle and the Chicago born musician talked about the past, the Cotton Club, high school, and friends they realized they have in common before the Ghalib Ghallab band started their next set.  The bass player and the drummer are both sons of Ghalib, I guess the talent’s in the genes.  

We continued to enjoy the music, as I enjoyed some glasses of my favorite single malt libation.  The beautiful music, the instrumental skill, the singing, and the humility of the bandleader make the Ghalib Ghallab Band some of the best live entertainment in Las Vegas.  Stop by the Harrah’s, visit The Range Steakhouse, and take in some of the best music you’ll hear in Las Vegas.  The Ghalib Ghallab Band performs every Thursday through Friday from 5:30pm – 10pm and Saturday 5:30pm – 10:30pm.  Maybe I’ll see you there.

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Some would say that we’re the people who came into the world between 1961 and 1981.  Others would argue that we showed up between 1965 and 1980.  Regardless we are Generation X, the grandchildren of the Greatest Generation, the offspring of Baby Boomers, and times are changing for us in many ways one of which I would like to rant about.

Some of the stereotypes and beliefs associated with Generation X is that we are hopeless, over educated, lazy, and still living in our parents’ basements.  There is another stereotype that suits me and I’m not ashamed to say so.  I was raised in front of the television.  All of my childhood heroes and icons were on television and I know the lines of every single movie in which they starred and the words of every song they sang.  As for the movies, the plot was always the same.  The typical “down on their luck” and unlikely individual surpasses what looks like insurmountable odds and triumphs in the end.  This is a story that an X’er can never get enough of.

As we approach our existence as nostalgic and annoying parents, aunts, and uncles that will frustrate younger generations with, “well back in my day” and “when I was your age” stories, we continue to loose the icons of our generation. 

I began to notice something with Charles Bronson and John Ritter in 2003.  By the way, who wouldn’t appreciate the vigilante efforts of “Death Wish” widower Paul Kersey or nearly “bust a gut” laughing at Jack Tripper?  The next year “The Godfather” star, Marlon Brando, passed away as did Rodney Dangerfield and Christopher Reeves.  If you’ve never seen “Caddy Shack” you should be ashamed of yourself (just kidding).  I didn’t realize it at first but when you take a look, we have lost Don Corleone, Superman, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Luther Vandross, Richard Pryor, Mrs. Robinson, Carnac the Magnificent (and all of Johnny’s other characters), Gilligan, George Carlin, Kwai Chang Caine, and even Mr. Roarke from “Fantasy Island” throughout this decade.  Through each character, an entertainer raised the bar to unreachable levels and inspired a generation.

At 11am this morning, I checked my email and noticed the bulletin regarding Farah Fawcett, who became a heroine for women separately in two decades.  As one of Charlie’s Angels in the 70′s and again in the 80′s when she torched her abusive husband in “The Burning Bed” and fought back against an intruder in “Extremities” imprisoning him in her fire place.  Around 12:30pm, Michael Jackson was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.  At that point, I screamed, “What the f#@%!”  I can’t help but agree with an MTV video jockey who once said, “Michael’s music was the soundtrack to a generation.”  Why are the icons of a generation leaving so early in life and seemingly within the same period?  As always with death the answers to a lot of things escape us. 

On this birthday (at Show Biz Pizza) I got that shirt, the glove, and even the leather jacket!

All one can say is there are so many of us believing life is all about quantity and we want to live for years and years.  I only listed a few, but would like to give tribute to all who had the talent, courage, and drive to live a life of quality that in the end inspires us all and affords them the ability to live on forever.

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What good is one without the other?

 I ease into a parking space happy to find one next to the entrance. I cut my cigar and light it as I enter through the darkly tinted doors. I make a quick stop at the ATM and belly up to the bar.  I greet the bartender who says, “What’s up boss?”I hate being called, “boss,” but that’s okay because one of my favorite cigars is in my left hand and a glass of scotch will soon be in my right. I ask for a glass of Glenlivet as I grab a stool.

Bartender: “Sure thing boss, I have just one request.”

I think to myself, “Why does this guy keep calling me boss?!!”

Me: The name’s John, “What’s up?”

Bartender: “Can you put that out?”

Me: “Huh?”

Bartender: “Can you put that cigar out?”

Me (in disbelief): “Excuse me?”

Bartender: “Yeah, cigarettes are cool but no cigars in here.”

For a laid-back guy like me any request is feasible, except that one. Here is why the request was offensive.

First, it breaks one of the basic tenets of cigar smoking to “put out a cigar.” Allowing it to go out naturally is a must. Secondly, the cigar in my hand was a Camacho Triple Maduro, the first cigar in history (and cigars have been around for over 1000 years!) to have 100% maduro tobaccos in its blend. Let’s flashback to the cigar’s beginnings. Maduro is Spanish for “ripe” which means that Honduran tobacco farmers chose long leaves from the highest well-grown plants and fermented them for a longer period at higher temperatures. Once ready, an expert cigar maker rolled the leaves with great precision. These people take pride in their work and most are second and third generation cigar makers. Once prepared, my cigar was packaged and shipped to the United States where it ended up in the cedar filled Humidor of Tobacco Town, a new tobacconist on South Rainbow Boulevard just south of the 215 freeway. I would later walk in, purchase it, and place it into my cigar case.

Now back to present day in this Las Vegas bar, which is just north of the 215 on South Rainbow Boulevard. I don’t think that my cigar deserved to be extinguished so abruptly, especially at the request of some guy that called me, “boss” while standing in a cloud of cigarette smoke. I politely tell the bartender to forget about the scotch and respectfully puff my way out the door enhancing the bland cigarette smoke filled air with the aroma that emitted from the rich piece of tobacco in my possession. I ultimately end up at a lounge at the M Resort where Nino a bartender that actually calls people by name, served me.

If I’d unknowingly walked into a non-smoking section of that bar, his request would be understandable. A non-smoker asking me to extinguish my cigar or blow the smoke in another direction is also very reasonable. I can completely understand the facts that some people do not like smoke, are bothered by smoke, and are even allergic to smoke. And I do whatever is necessary to remain considerate. Respecting non-smokers is also one of the twelve comandments of cigar smoking. What I cannot understand, is why cigar smoking is not allowed in a business where over a dozen people are puffing away on cigarettes.

Additionally, I can’t help but thinking that cigars should be preferable. With nothing against cigarettes and cigarette smokers, cigars smell better. With the nicotine, carcinogens, and who knows what else, how could the chemically enhanced smell of a cigarette be preferable to the naturally rich aroma of a hand rolled cigar? I know that businesses have discretion regarding who they will or will not serve, but cigar smokers should be welcomed anywhere smoking is allowed.

Okay, I’m done complaining, does anyone else wish to share an opinion on the subject?

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Lady Macbeth, played by Clare Jaget, momentarily celebrates a murder while Lord Macbeth, played by Russell Jeff Feher, regrets it.

I felt as though I had my own personal sun, a ball of flaming gas sitting on my shoulder. It wasn’t what I would call extremely hot, Vegas definitely gets hotter. But for those of us that are “follicley challenged” (bald), the sun always seems a bit hotter. When the play began, I forgot about the heat and apparently so did dozens of others. It was the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend, and I attended “A Taste of Shakespeare,” six shortened plays presented by Dan Decker Theatricals in association with the Springs Preserve and the Metro Arts Council. It was held at the Springs Preserve located near US 95 and Valley View.

Seemingly condensed to include the most climactic, yet informative scenes, “A Taste of Shakespeare” managed to amuse without losing the theatrics or beauty of language. A new play began every thirty minutes. The actors walked back and forth from the Springs Preserve Amphitheater to the Gardens Amphitheater to keep two audiences simultaneously entertained from Noon until 6pm. 

The plays presented were, “King Lear,” “As You Like it,” “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” and of course the ever popular “Romeo and Juliet.” It was quite an interesting afternoon. If you have even the slightest interest in theater, I highly recommend that you attend this event the next time its presented. I know I will.

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“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver and gold.” With that lyric, from “Zion Train” by Bob Marley and the Wailers, I was hooked and revitalized. It was 1998 and I was struggling through college with two jobs and about to flunk out. I borrowed some cd’s from my RA (resident advisor) one of them was called “Uprising,” the last album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers during Marley’s lifetime. I felt the healing powers of music for the first time and Reggae became one of my favorite musical genres.

Anytime there is an opportunity to enjoy the smooth grooves of Reggae, I seize it. One such opportunity presented itself on Saturday May 16th. The M Resort and Casino presented its Rock ‘N Roll Wine Reggae Concert near the resort’s pool. It included wine tasting! With five booths and seven cabanas, a large variety of red wines, white wines, and champagne was available for tasting by hundreds of attendees. One Pin Short, a reggae band with an alternative flavor, opened for Michael Black. Black is a native of Lucca, Jamaica, but now resides in Las Vegas. He filled the dance floor with a crowd that thrived off his music and energy. As it began to get late Black would yell, “Are you ready to go home!” The crowd responded with a resounding, “No!” Black ultimately concluded, leaving the crowd fulfilled and people spoke praises on the elevator and at the valet. This event provided great entertainment and wine tasting for a reasonable price that has been unheard of in the Las Vegas Valley. I don’t know if this will be the first event of a series, but it should be.

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