By Royal Hopper

Before I tell you about the blackout that shook the City of Sin Friday I want to tell you about ..lets call him Bob.
Bob looks like a Mountain man and smells like a gym sock. He has a big gray streaked beard that reaches nearly down to his surprisingly thick middle and a layer of dirt on his donated clothing that probably makes him impenetrable to radar. Bob carries his modest possessions in a green plastic bag and has one other thing that sets him apart from most Sin City denizens. Bob like to dance. Not with anyone mind you he just likes to dance. Bob will stop on the sidewalk in front of a Sin City casino and just start dancing.
When asked what exactly he was doing Bob just smiled at me ..I mean at the person interviewing him and said …”I’m a regular here I put on two shows night. I dance with the girls,” he said here and at the Peppermill which is a excellent restaurant on the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard. 

Dancing with myself
Imagine the self confidence and imagination it takes to stand on Las Vegas Boulevard with tourist and Sin City denizens alike looking on …just dancing as Billy Idol sang with himself. Actually the fact he was alone is a very good thing the thought of Bob up on a stage with topless dancing girls is an image that is hard to get out of your head.

Maybe he got tips because of his dance technique or his Mountain Man beard but when asked to leave he just shuffled off to his next gig dancing to his own unheard tune or perhaps the 80s dance mix emanating from nearby buildings.
Bob was on his way. You know Im thinking people may actually pay Bob not to dance. Bob please leave and stand up wind will you.

Now back to the black out….
You don’t really understand what a loud, bright place a Las Vegas casino really is even empty until you walk through a piece of the City of Sin when there is no canned music the lights are off, and the one armed bandits are silent. 
This week, in the wee hours of the Las Vegas morning  the power went out in a large section of the City of Sin and for a brief few hours a few of brightly colored beasts of the neon jungle were dimmed and some of them went to sleep.  
“So the powers out..” said one particularly bright individual. No we’re just testing our night vision goggles we use during alien invasions ….Okay ….
Many people like the man who stated emphatically that he was important and wanted to watch television and somebody had better get the power back on so he could watch  Judge Judy or Friday Night Lights I’m not sure which one.
One gentleman who said he was a military veteran and had served in combat zones said after what he had seen in the service of his country a little darkness was nothing. 
“Focus on the important things” he said in the lilting accent of southern drunkese.
He was concerned whether the 30 pack of beer he had purchased earlier in the day would be warm by the time he was able to get back to drinking them.
Keep in mind people were still trying to gamble find their way to cabs, get a drink,  look for love and a few even tried to snap a few pictures of the blackout.
“Right …totally…radical.. dude….” such is life in the City of Sin.

Til next time
Rock On Sinners 

This weeks jogger report: As the high season in Vegas draws to a close and joggers stop worrying about looking good and just admitted that jogging kind of sucks.