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A Harvest Adventure Story REGGIE
I have been to Commerce Casino many, many times - so often that it's a routine, almost boring, casino run. But last night (December 1, 2019) was the strangest of all!
Parked in their lot against the south wall, after dodging all the high-voltage towers coming in from Telegraph Road. For those who don't know, three overhead high-voltage lines run across the casino lot. I'm guessing the casino got that land for a song. Anyway . . . park my supersize Cat Trac Truck next to a white car - close quarters but I managed to climb out okay. And into the casino to see what's new. Pigs! There were a number of $5 Year of the Pig chips finally circulating, so I moseyed up to a cashier and bought four. I was unable to obtain any of the Year of the Dog chips from 2018. Minor disappointment but hey, a pocket full of Pigs beats some yappy dogs, right?
Back to my truck - it's about 5:30 now and quite dark. White car has gone, a black Honda is in its place. Or, I should say, in MY place, over the line and so close to Cat Trac that I cannot open the driver's side door to get in! Squeezed this way, that way, tried climbing backwards, tried opening the rear access door, no luck. On the other side, a white Toyota Tacoma parked equally close. What the heck???
Walking back to the casino, see two card dealers walking back to their vehicles. Ask them what does someone in my circumstance do? "Go see Security inside the casino," said one helpfully. Okay, hike back into the casino, the guard at the entrance (a big gentleman I've seen before there) listens to my tale of woe. He says that doesn't happen very often. He then contacts Outdoor Security to report a "1088." What I'd like to know is, if it doesn't happen often, how come they got a code number for it?
Sure enough, Outdoor Security shows up, I tell him where my truck is parked, he drives off, leaving me to walk after him. (Guess they are not allowed to take passengers?) It so happens the Outside Security Officer is also a portly gentleman. He takes down the license plate number of the Honda and says they can try paging the customer, or I can wait until whoever it is leaves the casino. I mention that a card player may not be leaving for many hours. I suggest that if they have a skinny security guard, perhaps he could enter my truck and back it out of the space. Ah-ha! The Officer calls someone on the radio and sure enough, a slender Asian man appears out of the darkness. I hand him the keys, he slithers into my truck and backs it out, no problem!
I ask if he wishes a tip for his services, but he just smiles and walks off into the gloom, his Daily Good Deed accomplished.
Lesson learned: When visiting the Commerce, either park way in the back where few arriving persons pull in. Or, better yet, hire a Chinese Chauffeur.
J. Eric Freedner
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