Sin City sunrise commute – Royal Hopper

That tree offended me and the Super Bowl

By Royal Hopper 
A man clad in black stands near the cashier in a crowded gambling house a fake foam rubber finger pointed skyward in the universal sign of we are number 1, a black hat resting upon his head as he glances side to side to see if someone anyone is paying attention. It is Super Bowl Sunday and the man in Black in surrounded by Seattle Seahawks fans drowning their sorrows and patriot fans boasting of their victory. One Oakland Raiders fan looks hopeful for a minute before being reminded that it is not 1983 and the Raiders haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Van Halen was actually a band.

Sin City sunrise commute 2 _ Royal Hopper

Man in Black looks around _ side to side and behind him .. He spies one of the gambling house’s myriad order keepers eyeing him as he prepares for his actions. The order keeper much like the thousands that populate a city full of Sinners and their ill-gotten gains looks him squarely in the eye as he makes his move.

Raising the black No 1 finger in the air ..he quickly shuffles his feet in a dance of victory .. “Life” says the raised white letters on the solid black hat No 1 says the black foam finger. He looks around again .He has picked the wrong place to send a message or be a drama queen .. This is the City if Sin baby .No one even notices. .. .. As the Man in Black gives up drains the bottle of beer from a nearby counter and pours the remains of a $3 martini into a flask he stuffs in his shirt.

“Next time,” he is heard to say, “next time.”

by Royal Hopper

All week long football fans did the drunken dance of self expression in preparation for the big event.

The day before the Super Bowl a man stood on Sin City sidewalk his face red, his words slurred from the copious amounts of ethanol he had consumed shouting his rage at an uncaring and bemused world for all to hear.

The Sin City denizen in front of him had poked him in the eye and he was just not going to take it. He balled up a dirty, grime and oil covered fist and drew back his arm in the universal sign of an oncoming punch and lets the perpetrator of this unforgivable insult have it squarely _ squarely in the trunk.

That tree will never insult him again. After being asked to leave a gaming establishment for “non standard” crazy behavior this Sin City denizen decided to he was going to take out his rage on one the City’s arboreal citizen. He hit a tree _ right in the bark.

“Next time,” he said shaking his fists at the tree and cursing loudly, “next time.”

by Royal Hopper

The day after the big event grown men were seen running through the City of Sin ..several sitting shirtless on the sidewalk their team jerseys laying at their feet in the cold morning air. One sat on a bench between a man in a Dallas Cowboys jersey and another Miami Dolphins jersey. “I know man,” said one. “Been there.”

“Next time .. . . . . . .next time,” they said.

Despite the reputation of Sin City as Party central of the western world people here spend a lot of time venting their frustrations and making statements swearing they knew how to win it all and in the end muttering next time as the leave the City of Sin..

“Next Time.”

Life in the City of Sin Brothers and Sisters

Palm Tree sunrise – Royal Hopper

Rock On Fellow Sinners

Next Time

sunrise and birds _ Royal Hopper