Down and Out in Vegas

I flew into Las Vegas on November 15. I had big plans. I was supposed to meet my mother in town. We had sold the house and were going to spend some time in a hotel to assess our options. I made the mistake of flying to LA without my mother to promote my screenplays. My plan was to fly in from LA to Las Vegas and meet her. Things go wrong. My mother ends up in SLC. I am in Vegas. Spent the night at the Virgin late into the morning. Never checked in to my hotel. So far the trip is off to a rock and roll start, but things quickly get chaotic. My phone is stolen at the Horseshoe when I left it unattended for one minute. I report it to security, but it is never recovered. Later that night, my wallet disappears. I can no longer check into hotels. I no longer have money. I can't reach anyone because the numbers are lost. Good news. McDonald's opens its doors to me. Once in a while, someone buys me a meal. I stay out late going from Casino to Casino to pass the time. I spend time on Freemont as well. Still stranded, but discover it only takes $1 to buy an apple. Someone gives me an orange, a hotdog, a slice of pizza. I eat, but I can't sleep. A day turns to a week, and now two weeks on, I'm still stuck. Food slowly shows up, but Vegas where are the bus passes? Seriously, you need to give people bus passes. Down in LA, the drivers were beaten into submission for courtesy rides. There was a violent uprising and the drivers quickly learned it was smarter to give people rides for free than deal with the threats. My wallet remains missing. People give me some money. Sometimes $5, $40, or even $50. People share food. People share their time. Still no places to sleep. I spend time at the Apple Store to send emails and the libraries. I'm told people want to throw away my things in storage. All of my stuff would be lost. I have no documentation for work and can't earn money. I refuse to waste my time sleeping in an outdoor shelter. Might as well stay on the casino floor or at McDonald's. Garret's offers me some free popcorn. A few times, I eat CBD gummies to get by. Everyone in Vegas is ready to party and celebrate. They want marriages, booze, marijuana, and cocaine. I get tired. I can no longer pitch my screenplays. My romantic impulses are worn down. I can't reach my mother directly. Sleep is impossible to come by. There are not many parks. The casinos blare music to keep people from sleeping near their sidewalks. Sleeping in public is against the law. Sleeping in libraries is forbidden. Choices get dumber and dumber as you get deprived of more and more sleep. You miss the connections and do not understand what is going on. A day passes with no real progress. Food, spectacle, and fatigue are now the only currency left. Without access to credit cards or financial institutuions the whole thing falls apart. You stare at people. People stare back. Sometimes with longing in their eyes. You have too many problems to fall in love which means there is no point in being in Vegas. Yet, one cannot simply escape.