Hey, gang, I really appreciate the comments some of y'all added to my recent post. And, I assure you I took no offence to any of the negative ones a couple of ya made... I hope that worked out well for ya, too!!!
As for BigAL... I'm afraid you're way beyond any help I could offer, my brother...
A couple of y'all asked what had happened to me, and I suppose an answer is long overdue. Last April, two weeks before the fifth anniversary of my biker gypsy-hood, I did the unthinkable... NO, I did NOT get married!!! I did, however, buy a house. Everything changes when one makes such a move, more even than I anticipated... But there it is... in a nutshell.
I ended up buying a house just outside Montgomery, AL, although that was almost an after thought. (That is a long story in itself better left for another time.) As it turns out, though, it has thus far been a good decision. Mild weather, comparatively speaking, and only a day's ride to 50% of my friends and 100% of my family. It also has the wonderful advantage of language... all the locals around here talk normal. Only accents I detect are when outsiders speak...
There are also many interesting things to observe in these parts... Politics, for example.
The Governor of our illustrous state is actually trying to get 'electronic bingo' stopped by claiming it is in reality 'gaming', which is indeed illegal in Bama. Splitting a pretty fine hair, though, as it is abundantly and legally available on the many Indian Reservation properties sprinkled all about our fair state. (Creeks mostly... decendants of those the sponsors of 'The Trail Of Tears' missed.)
In fact, three of those facilities are within easy driving distance of the state capital, two within ten miles of my house! The 'pro bingo' side is painting the Gov as a lackey for the Native American People, the 'con' side is saying we shouldn't go down the slippery slope of gambling in the first place... it leads to all sorts of badness, ya know... A commonly held belief here in the heart of the Bible Belt.
Even the Natives took notice of some of the ills of gambling when they outlawed full-contact bingo a while back. Some say they did that to try and clean up their image out of fear of action by the Gov, but others say that it was simply a practical business move...
In either event, no longer can you stroll into a Rez bingo parlor and witness old ladies bashing each other with their purses, or walkers being hurled through the air as deadly missiles. Heck, even the cursing and nasty name calling has taken on a more civil tone.
I'm inclined to believe it was practicality that produced that outcome, though... I can see some wise old chieftain sitting around a campfire smoking his pipe, then dispensing some sage advise to his dedicated lieutenants... "As much fun as it is to watch, if pale-faced women and men continue with their violence, our customer base will soon begin to die-off and shrink in time... better settle them unruly folks down some..." Sound advice indeed...
I'm at a total loss to accurately explain what's really going on, I'm afraid, because there is no objective, factual information available to be found. It seems everybody has an opinion (based largely upon political party affiliation or feelings about gambling generally), and opinions are always tortured, contorted versions of facts taken out of context and slanted heavily in favor of ones own pre-existing beliefs...
I realize this is rare in political circles, but based upon what little slanted info I have garnered, it is entirely possible the Gov is taking a logical step in accordance with his constitutional duties. Or, he is a liar and a cheat who is accepting money under the table from the Natives to help weed out
their competition... Or, he is doing a couple of entirely different things...
Or, none of those things, but something else all together nobody has thought of yet... Because it's intertwined in both local politics and religion, no one will ever know for sure, either... save a possible historian a few centuries from now... And, that discovery will be couched in some
slanted way, depending upon his own political and moral beliefs... Oh well...
The good news in all of this, however, is that you no longer have to scratch-off Bama as a possible future retirement residence. Bingo is alive and well in our storied jurisdiction, and it will remain so as long as the Native folks can make a buck off of ordinary regular folks by offering it... Except for full contact bingo, that is... for that, you'll have to go to Arkansas...
As for me, I'm taking a strong stand right here and now to remain neutral on the whole matter. Besides, shuffleboard is more to my liking anyhow... and, so far the Gov hasn't tackled that evil yet...
DDT
