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"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK

JUNE 16, 2006 - IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES AND IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES

When I awoke this morning, I suddenly realized that I had, in fact, fell asleep in my clorthes on top of the bedspread. I am exhausted, every hour I had to get up and give the hotel guy some more money… (just kidding). I did check at the office if there was a real name other than "MOTEL", and there is. It is the TOWER MOTEL.

There weren't any towers. What a sleazy place. I am not afraid to tell you that if I had to choose between a place like this and in back of a dumpster…. I might have a hard time making the choice. I was back on the road after making my phone call to the Dick Purtan show. Lauren and Regina both said I sounded good. I have to mention that I received a McDonalds gift certificate from Regina and clan also. So, this morning, I walked into a McDonalds and they wouldn't accept the card.

So I walked over to the Dunkin Donuts and had an omelet and coffee. While I was in there a girl walked in with (I think) a bathing suit on under a t shirt that said "BREATHLESS MENS CLUB, RAWAY NEW JERSEY". If she works there, they're breathless alright. They are all gasping for air, choking back the bile. Whew…..

I took the route closest to the ocean for as much of the trip as I could. I stopped in one small town to see what the sharp pavilions were for on the beach. Each town had one. Well, for a $7.00 a day fee, you had the right to use the beach as much as you wished all day long. Needless to say, I didn't buy a badge.  So I just watched things happen for awhile. I walked back to the bike to get ready to go.

An older gentleman came up to me on his bicycle, complimenting me on the "rig" that I had. I was pulling the helmet off of the handlebar, when he started berating me for wearing one. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You know, this whole helmet thing is tied into the insurance companies", he said with a whole lot of authority. "Yeah, the State Treasurer and the Insurance companies are all in this together"… UH HO…………… I was in deep kahkah………. So, here I am nodding stupidly and giving the appropriate "yeah" and "those bastards" and "I'll be damned"s  as I am working feverishly to get helmet and gloves on fast enough.

Oh my gosh, he was really on a roll when I said that I had to leave now. I think this guy and the guy who came over to Kevin in Cleveland are related, or belong to the same Moose Club or something. I could NOT get out of there fast enough. I was finally out of his earshot and headed south again.

Normally, whenever I thought of New Jersey, I thought of a very industrial area - usually pictured in gray tones, devoid of any cultural or social niceties. I always pictured it to be like the City of Detroit, without all the buried mafia bodies from New York. Well, simply not true. The farther from New York City you get, the prettier it becomes. Atlantic City has certainly grown up even more since I was here for Mary and I's 25th Wedding Anniversary. We came in and out in one day.

The casinos are the casinos! They have the usual cacophony of bells and whistles and cheers and jeers going on all over the place. The buildings are noisy inside. It helps heighten the excitement, I am told. It is all very colorful too. Each of the big places have their own personality reflected in the architecture. Caesar's has this Roman Statue fake marble sculpture thing going. The Donald's buildings (that's TRUMP)  all look like his famous comb over hairstyle, done in marble, to simulate too much hairspray. Very touching.

Coming into Atlantic City, you can see the place from 50 miles away. It is surrounded by salt marshes and tidal pools. It looks like the city is just plopped out on the seashore with nothing else around it, and essentially, that is what is going on. There are some characters around town though. I think I even saw a "hooker". I didn't go approaching her to find out though. I bet that half her body weight was makeup. I saw her walking toward me on the boardwalk, and at first I thought - wow, she is attractive - then she got closer. Geez, ladies, what the hell kind of makeup can you buy that looks like hardened concrete?

Unlike the casinos in Detroit, I didn't see a lot of obviously destitute people spending welfare checks, but there were a couple. I was asked for a donation to some alcohol related research. I declined, because it was pretty darn obvious what the "research" was all about.

This morning I woke up in a well worn and somewhat creepy M O T E L.  that I couldn't get out of fast enough. Tonight, I am sitting in my room on the 7th floor of the Sands Hotel, in Atlantic City, a different place that might as well be on a different planet than the M O T E L is that I was at for the evening.

It just dawned on me, that my room at the Chez Sleazebag was the ONLY one occupied by one person. I wonder what the manager was thinking? I should have put my Billy Bob teeth in…….

The Sands is more pricey, but, oh so much nicer, thank you. Tomorrow, I am attempting to make the 300 mile run to my niece Terri's house, in Virginia. We'll see what happens. I will try to have this posted as soon as I can find a network in the area. By the way, Happy birthday to Megan and Gene Maggetti, who will have celebrated by the time you get to read this.

I am up and putting things together so that I can be on the road south. I will take the ferry at the end of route 9 to Delaware. Delaware shares a penninusla with Maryland. I am on my way to Terri's house. She lives on a lake outside of Washington, so I might just hand out there for a couple of days. It's the week end, so hopefully, the traffic will be far less a problem than it always seems to be around Washington DC.