Everything reminds me of you and makes me feel connected to you – Unknown.
I started teaching at the University of Nevada (UNLV) twice a week. Almost all kids at UNLV knew how to use computers. I found almost the same situation with the classes at the Community Colleges where I was teaching twice a week, also. It became a routine for me to teach four times in a week which kept me reasonably busy. From time to time, I also used to get telephone calls from the folks locally and sometimes I had to go to their homes to help them out.
As usual, Lynda and I kept our routines going. I never liked to call Adam to say how things were going there. I didn’t want to give him the impression of interfering as I had all the confidence in his ability to manage the business. I also knew that he was smart enough to know when he needed my help.
Lynda asked me about to inviting her sorority sisters from Ottawa to spend some time with us and I encouraged her to do so. Consequently, we had a couple visits which we enjoyed immensely. We took them around to introduce to our new friends in Vegas, and we took them all over the places on the strip of Las Vegas to show hotels and ate lunches and suppers with them in different restaurants.
Mom came to see us more than once and stayed with us for a little while. She loved Vegas, not to mention she also liked playing machines. She also liked eating out in various restaurants and we had no problem taking her around. Even Lynda’s sister visited us a couple of times and she was very impressed with our house and the way we made friends and were enjoying our lives in Vegas. Adam came to see us with his friends as well as with Jenifer more than once.
On one day when I came back after teaching the class in the downtown of Vegas, Lynda rushed in the bedroom where I was changing into casual and said to me – hurry up, I need to talk to you. I said – start talking. She said Adam and Jenifer are getting married. I said that’s good news, isn’t? It is but I am totally upset with them. I said – why. She said they don’t want my help in organizing their wedding. I said which is a good thing. How can you possibly help them from here. She said I could have done several things, but it appeared as they have already started planning before they decided to let us know. I said please let them do whatever they want. We have no experience of planning weddings. Think about our wedding which was a disaster and neither Maxine nor Ruth asked for any help either. That’s why I wanted to do something for my son, and he declined my offer to help. I said what did he say? He said mom we are not getting either side involved in wedding planning simply because we know exactly what we want and the consultant we hired is very good. I said just leave them alone, babe. If they need our help, they will let us know. She said – there are things that bride’s folks should take care of, but it seems Adam is paying for everything. I said now I know what is really bothering you. She said I am just telling you the tradition and Adam should let them do. She continued – another thing he asked me to do is to prepare a list of guests and friends that we would like to invite. I said what’s wrong with that. She said I roughly counted our people which cannot be more than 25. I said let me repeat – what’s wrong with that. She said they are inviting around 70 people. I said I still don’t understand your reason for getting upset, babe. She said which means that they will be inviting more people from Jenifer’s side. I said if we don’t have enough people to invite to compete with them, that should be our problem. shouldn’t it?
She got mad and said you’re just like your son. You both don’t understand what I am trying to say, and I don’t want to continue this discussion anymore.
I grabbed her and walked into the living room to sit-down and continue our conversation. I said I am sorry; it would have been nice if both decided to ask for telp, but they are very independent.
I continued – We need to understand that we left Adam with an enormous responsibility when he was only 23 years old. They both survived without our help and now they are exercising their independence. She said you’re right, I guess. I said they may change their mind, babe. She said I hope so. In the meanwhile, don’t forget that tomorrow we are going to Laughlin for the weekend. I said who else is going with us. She said a bunch of folks who are very familiar with Loughlin. I said what’s the plan? She said we already reserved a bunch of rooms in and bought tickets for a couple of shows, and it appeared to be a nice place to visit.
Laughlin lies 90 miles (140 km) south of Las Vegas, in the far southern tip of Nevada. As a resort town, it is known for its gaming and water recreation.
We found out that in Laughlin we can enjoy gambling at the many casinos, such as Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort and Aquarius Casino Resort. For outdoor enthusiasts, there’s water recreation on the Colorado River, the scenic Laughlin Riverwalk Trail, and nearby natural areas like Grapevine Canyon, known for its petroglyphs. Also, there was Don Laughlin’s Classic Car Museum, which houses a collection of vintage vehicles. Laughlin was so much cheaper than Las Vegas. There were no fancy restaurants and drinks, but we didn’t have to pay an extremely high price like in Las Vegas eighter. I spent most of my time on the pool when Lynda and other folks were playing machines. I had taken a book with me, and it didn’t bother me at all as we all ate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners together in different restaurants. When we got back late on Sunday, we both were tired.
I had to review a few things for my class on Monday which wasn’t going to keep me busy for long. I also felt as going to Laughlin helped Lynda to forget about the wedding. I taught four classes every week and attended various meetings with the Chamber of Commerce as well which kept me relatively busy.
One day when I got back, Lynda wasn’t waiting for me to welcome home. I shouted where are you? She said just go and get changed, I am making tea, and I got to talk to you. When I got changed and got in the kitchen, she had tea ready and with a big smile on her face. I said what’s up? She said Adam and Jenifer are coming. I said when? On Thursday night, she said. But they are not staying with us and they don’t want us to go to the airport, either. Why not? Because they are staying in Bellagio and Bellagio’s limousine is picking them up. I said, why? She said because Adam is getting a free suite to stay in Bellagio. I said that’s indeed a better place to stay.
She said Adam said that last time when they stayed there, he gambled and therefore this time they offered them a free suite. However, my question is – don’t the customers have to lose enough to be eligible for a free stay. She continued – Is he gambling away our money whenever they come to stay in Vegas? I said you are right. Typically, people will have to play more frequently to qualify for a free suite but not necessarily to loose significantly. Furthermore, I continued, Adam is smart enough to gamble wisely. He must have won enough the last time they stayed there and now they want him to lose by staying free in their hotel. It’s nothing but pure marketing tricks. Furthermore, Adam not going to loose his shirt. She said I hope so. By the way she said he is taking us to an expensive Steak House on Saturday. I said I look forward to it.
She said another thing. I told Adam that I am going to take Jenifer to Brilliant Bridal on Saturday to get her a wedding dress. I asked if he agreed with her suggestion? She said yes, he did. I said I am not trying to confuse the issue, but one way you never stopped complaining that Jenifer’s parents are not spending money on the wedding and now you’re gong to spend money on her dress. I thought the bride’s family is responsible for buying the wedding dress and associated accessories. She said now you’re being silly. You know that they don’t do diddly. I said if it makes you happy, go for it.
Another thing that I wanted to mention to you that please don’t be too hard on Adam. We are still taking some money every month from the business to subsidize our expenses. She said I thought we have our investment. I said indeed we have our investment, but we haven’t touched it yet and to be totally honest with you one of these days Adam may call just to let us know that there will not be any monthly money coming from Ottawa. She said but you know that the business is growing and consequently profits must be growing, too. I said that’s true, but Adam will have his mind made up and I wouldn’t argue. Perhaps that will be the time to dip into our investment unless I find a way of making more money than just teaching. She said you already have done more than enough. You’re entitled to enjoy your so-called retirement. She continued – Don’t forget tonight is the movie night at the Clubhouse. I said I like going there. Cooking hamburgers for the folks and paying only one dollar for a burger and drink, not to mention a free movie watching. We went to the clubhouse and enjoyed our evening with the folks, not to mention watching a western movie on TV.
Saturday after lunch we went to Bellagio to meet Adam and Jenifer. While Lynda and Jenifer were playing machines, Adam brought me up to date with the business. They had won a couple of contracts and Adam was in the process of writing a relatively big proposal. He thought the chances of winning that contract were 50/50. I asked Adam if they had decided the wedding date. Adam told me that they are in the process of finding a suitable date to book at the National Arts Centre (NAC) and as soon as they get a date confirmed he will call his mom, and he asked me not to share this conversation with her. I said I am proud of you, son. The NAC was indeed a prestigious place for having wedding and you both deserve it. Adam asked if am I enjoying teaching? I said, yes I do and recently got one more class to teach at the University of Phoenix at their local campus here in Vegas.
Adam and I stopped talking as soon as Lynda and Jenifer joined us after losing a few dollars and we decided to head out for shopping on Sahara Avenue. While Lynda and Jenifer were shopping at Brilliant Bridal for a wedding dress, I took Adam to get a couple of business suits for him. Once we were done with the shopping and Jenifer was totally excited with the wedding dress that Lynda had bought for her, they took us to a very nice and expensive steak house on the strip. We had wonderful evening and when we dropped them off at Bellagio, we were tired and realizing the fact that we would not be able to see them before they go back, we hugged them and said our goodbyes.
Most of the things that we were involved with on a daily or weekly basis became a kind of norm for us. There were 365 houses located on the gated community we called home but hardly 25 or 30 folks used to come to the Club House for Sunday Breakfasts but since Lynda took over, there were more than 50 folks attending breakfasts regularly and spending more time at the Club House during the week days.
The Management of the Park had increased the monthly breakfast allowances which made Lynda and Libby happy. They were both a team and they were delighted to welcome everybody, and they were also trying very hard to come up something different to make every Sunday more interesting.
I remember asking Lynda if she likes working with Libby. She said Libby is little bossy but it’s not intentional. That’s her Jewish style which Lynda was used to, and she enjoyed working with Libby.
As far as I was concerned, in addition to teaching two classes at UNLV, one at the University of Phoenix, and two at the Community Colleges, I started spending time on the weekend to help Hank and Betty with their emailing difficulties. Hank and Betty were living on the park for a long time. They were wonderful people; they were relatively older folks. They used to serve me tea and cookies every time I went there to help them out.
It was becoming quite normal for us to go out with Earnie and Betty every week and Earnie also used to attend Data Processing Association meetings with me. We really enjoyed their company.
One day I came back from teaching, Lynda walked in when I was getting changed in our bedroom and said guess what? I said can I get changed before start playing that game with you, again? She said you’re no fun. I said alright, I think you heard from your son. She said closed, but it was an order. I said come on, babe, you always make a mountain out of a molehill. She said you always side your son. I said please tell me what’s bothering you. She said she got an order from Ottawa that we needed to be in Ottawa by the end of the month for two weeks. I said what’s cooking? She said your son is getting married. I said a wonderful news, isn’t? You already bought the wedding dress for Jenifer. She said don’t get me wrong I am delighted for them to get married but the way things are happening, I don’t like it. She said why didn’t they wait until you are done with your teaching. I said maybe it wasn’t easy for them to get a date at NAC. She said what the heck is NAC? I said:
- The National Arts Centre (NAC) raised its curtains for the first time in 1969. Created by the Parliament of Canada as a Centennial project during the 1960s, the NAC has become Canada’s foremost showcase for the performing arts. Today, the NAC works with countless artists, both emerging and established, from across Canada and around the world, and collaborates with scores of other arts organizations across the country.
She said WOW! That must be an expensive place. I said it’s prestigious place to have a wedding. People wait for years to book a wedding there. She said what I really like to know how did you know about NAC. Obviously, Adam must have spoken to you about it when they were here and you decided not to share that conversation with me. What else did he tell you? Did he tell you not to share the information with me? I said yes Adam had mentioned about NAC but nothing else. I continued without allowing her to jump and say something nasty. I said to be totally honest with you, we are the main reasons for the way things are going in Ottawa. We left them hanging. She said they got everything we ever had and how many parents do that. I continued – they never asked for that. We decided to have a different life and decided to give them a break, and it appeared to be working alright except with your reservations.
She said in any case, I told Adam that you may not be able to stay there for a couple of weeks because of the commitment that you made for your classes but I was prepared to stay there for a couple of weeks. I said let me take you out tonight to celebrate the wonderful news. However, I am still not sure when we are supposed to go to Ottawa. She said when the wedding is scheduled. I said unfortunately, I don’t have too many choices. I think I can do that but what would they would have for you to do for two weeks beside you spending time with your sorority sisters? She said – “NOTHING”. She said I asked him again and he said everything is planned. He also said that they already sent invitations to everybody we had on our list. But he didn’t like to tell me how many people are coming. He also asked me to go out and buy a nice dress for myself. I said everything appeared to be nice and why are you not enjoying the moment? She said, he is bossy. I don’t want him to tell me what to do. I was going to buy a nice dress anyway, not necessarily in Ottawa but here.
