Nevada day 1

August 20

Today we returned to Temple Beth Shalom for Shabbat morning services. I drove along Flamingo street part of the way there and we noticed the array of "regular" businesses that this residential area of Las Vegas supported and in turn served. I had befriended the guard at the synagogue the night before so he saluted us as we pulled into the lot. We took seats where we could see the congregation as well as the Bima (the raised platform where the prayer leaders stand). Today was a double Bat Mitzvah – twin sisters. They were well trained and their competence showed. Their rabbi had just returned from a visit to Israel with his family. Interestingly, he was in Beer Sheva only days before and he is a good friend of our rabbi there. The rabbi gave a sermon on the importance of supporting Israel. Right now, Beer Sheva is being bombarded again with rockets from Gaza, so on many levels we were very moved by the fervency of his sermon. I had introduced myself to him the night before and spoke to him in Hebrew. It was as if he'd put this sermon together because we were sitting there among his congregants, which I know couldn't have been the case, but it felt that way. We were impressed by how much of an impact his visit to Israel had had on him and how much he "gets it" when he described what life is like for Israelis on a daily basis. It made us wonder why we should prolong our trip a single day longer. What are we searching for that we don't already have there?

The meal after the Bat Mitzvah was the usual good food we've found at synagogue receptions. We ate at a table with some members of the congregation who were fascinated by Razelle's account of the trip. One of them, a Russian man, came up to me afterwards and asked the kind of logistics questions that showed he was ready to travel as we are. He wanted to know about insurance and visas and inoculations and tickets, etc. He may yet do what we have done. I may never know, but I might have helped him fulfill a similar dream to the one we are fulfilling now. The older couple who Razelle spoke with also seemed enthralled by the details of the trip, and they too may be contemplating such a trip, some day.

My tooth is starting to give me problems. This is the tooth that had root canal in Singapore. I don't know how long I can postpone getting it treated again, and what treatment I should have (or reject having). If all I need is a series of antibiotics, then that would be fine, but if I need extensive work, then I'm concerned. After services we couldn't help notice the number of dental clinics of various kinds that line the major through-streets of Las Vegas as we headed back in the general direction of our motel.

Razelle found a place that gives haircuts. She has had enough of looking shaggy (so she thinks) and she found one that mentioned walk-in service. We stopped there. She couldn't be taken immediately, but later in the afternoon there was an opening. We accepted and drove back to our motel to rest until then. I drove along Flamingo Avenue all the way to Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip), then took Las Vegas Blvd all the way out to our motel on Nellis Blvd. Along Las Vegas Blvd. we again saw all the casinos and hotels, but by the light of day we saw an entirely different, more casually dressed clientele. North of the strip we found where all the quicky wedding chapels are located; we actually saw one couple getting married in lavender wedding attire. It was a good thing I chose this route back. We understand the layout of Las Vegas so much better now. We returned to the hair salon for Razelle's appointment on schedule, and bought gas for the van along the way. Every time we stepped out of the van we realized that the air-conditioning must have been working, because the heat was so oppressive outside, but in the van we were just barely comfortable in a glistening-sweat sort of way, as opposed to rivers of it rolling down our backs or anything like that.

The woman who cut Razelle's hair did her job so well even I noticed how good Razelle looked when she came back to the waiting room. Razelle was very happy with her haircut. She asked me to take photos of it from three angles so she could show her hairdresser in Beer Sheva how well it came out.

The owner of the place kept me captive with ideas he had on how peace could be achieved in the Middle East. He meant well, but he doesn't understand the mentalities of the peoples he'd like to try his theories on. This was the first time I found myself justifying Israel's position. It went well. He listened as much as he talked. 

We drove back to the motel again. Originally, I had considered taking Razelle there, then going by myself to the Strip and exploring it. In all honesty, I still couldn't summon enough enthusiasm to follow through on that. The heat alone was enough of a deterrent. We remained at the motel for the rest of the evening. I caught up on my blog. Razelle caught up on her reading and TV viewing.

We had seen a saner side of Las Vegas today. We also saw the subtle marks of the economic downturn here. Neighborhoods were spaced far apart, as if the empty areas were going to be filled in later, but later was itself being postponed until further notice.

We kept scratching our heads, wondering what could possibly draw so many people to this place. Other than the hedonism of the Strip, what fed this city?