THE FINALS

I arrive at the auditorium to see what is going on.  I find out the male 50 and older group doesn’t start until after the country group.  Since I am not interested in the country section I go back to my room for an hour.  When I come back down to the auditorium the last female 50 and older contestant is on.  There is a break before the males start.  I find a seat and get ready for the show.  My intent is to be as objective as I can and to learn something from the finalist.
I won’t give you a report on all 10 finalist but I will say I saw at least 4 people that I felt that shouldn’t have been there including a 90 year old Frank Sinatra impersonator that sounded terrible.  The guy that won sang Mack the knife both with a Bobby Darin voice and a Louie Armstrong voice.  He sounded good and gave a good performance.  I came away feeling like I should have made the finals and I will next year.  Each contestant is judged on voice, stage presence and looks.  The scores is added together and the contestant with the highest score wins.  Obviously the scores are subjective and based on who is sitting in the judge’s seat at the time.  I will have to put together a show that will impress the judges as well as the audience in order to win.  
I leave the auditorium with mixed feelings and go back to my room.  I call Shane but he doesn’t answer his phone so I leave a voice mail.  I continue to watch TV and pack for leaving tomorrow.  I like it here and feel a little sad about having to back home.  I miss Anita and the girls but I wish they were coming out here and not me going back there.  It’s time for bed.  I have a long day tomorrow.  Good night.

Off I go on a trip through town.  I drive around Laughlin to see the sights.  I cross the bridge and go into Arizona.  Most of the employees that work in Laughlin live in Bullhead.  It is a nice little city in the desert.  There are little homes as well as big mansion type homes.  All the commercial stores are on the main drag.  I stop at the post office and asked a lady to take my picture.  She was very nice.  She told me she originally was from Ohio and loved it here in Bullhead.  Most of the people I met were from other places.  Except for one person they all loved living in Arizona.  One man I met was not happy about living here.  He has moved from Florida to live with his son and felt it was too hot and nothing to do except the casino.  He said he would move back except he felt he was too old.  I told him that there was many people that would love to change places with him so enjoy it as much as he could.  He agreed with me.  I drove around for about 2 hours and finally went
back to the hotel.  I consider going to the pool but there is a wedding party going on there so it is closed to the residents of the hotel.  The hotel will shuttle you to another hotel if you want to swim though.  I decide not to swim today.

Shane calls and informs me that he didn’t make the finals.  He says he and Tara are leaving for Vegas since their plane leaves at 3 in the morning.  They are just going to hang out there and sight see.  They come to my room and he gives me a ticket to the finals of the contest.  We all get a little misty about going home and promise to stay in touch.  I have to say that I am very lucky to have become friends with the two of them.  Shane and Tara, my stay in Nevada has been better thanks to you two.  Have a safe trip back to Ohio.

I go downstairs to the restaurant to eat breakfast at the buffet.  Mmmmm good.  It’s amazing all the people that are already gambling at the slot machines and tables.

I wake up early and I turn on the TV.  I decide to start packing my bags since I am leaving tomorrow.