The uniforms of Sin City and turf wars come in all forms

Turf Wars take all forms and the various uniforms of Sin City Denizens

May 28, 2012
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By Royal Hopper
What do you think when you see a woman wearing pink shoes, a multicolored striped skirt, short enough to draw looks from even the most righteous casino visitor, big red-orange sun glasses and ‘’’’ughhhh …..assets to make any girl envious????
I walked by the woman three times trying to figure out what team she played for and what her occupation was and you know I never did.
It’s part of the allure of the City of Sin. Things that would often what would stop traffic and attract undesired attention in more normal environs doesn’t always warrant a second glance here.
 

A family enjoys the shade on The Strip
For Instance there was this Girl ?????
Even in Vegas there are times its so quiet you can almost hear the crickets chirp or could if someone would turn down the medley of golden oldies playing on the PA.
(These days Golden Oldies means Led Zepplin, David Bowie and those 60s guys I only got to listen to on the juke box at old cafes  or on trips when my father was too distracted to change the radio station.”)
In one corner of the casino a slot player won a jackpot and waited patiently to be paid. She was immaculately groomed and dressed to kill. I don’t know if she was a pro but it was the decided opinion of several people on the scene that she wasn’t …a she that is. She, It seems, was a he in well tailored leather lined skirt,  crossing her/his clean shaven well muscled legs crossed daintily and he/she waited patiently.
The thing is no one was bothering her. She was left alone either because it was O dark thirty in the morning and the place was more than half empty or because this is Vegas and in Vegas you have to be more than different to be _  well different.
No one bothered her except for the guy who I saw hitting on her/him not half an hour after she was paid his/her jackpot.

 Perhaps the would be suitor did so not knowing his/her’s secret or perhaps precisely because of the secrets hidden under her/his well tailored skirt.
Later in the week you see three drop dead gorgeous girls dressed in leather skirts in the middle of the day walking in a group toward rooms on the far side of a hotel what is the first thing that comes to mind. Mormon choir group ? the cast of the leather Vegas version of Cats? On dress rehearsal …stockholders in the leather and hairspray? Members of the nice girls of America Drill team ????? Really sexy Nuns????
Your right there is only one conclusion. There were leather skirt models on their way to make a big sale in a Las Vegas hotel room in the middle of the day.
Lastly The Turf War of In Microcosm

Its not often you see a turf war break out right in front of your very eyes but I saw it happened this week in the city of Sin right in front of my handsome forest green peepers
The turf war, and the turf,  I’m talking about probably won’t make the news in the City of Sin.
It wasn’t a turf war between rival mobs of gangster which were supposedly chased out the City of Sin in the 80s by the FBI. (no really that’s what they said)
It wasn’t a turf war between rival casinos who always play by Marquis of Queensbury rules in the competition for the billions of dollars that comes through the city every year. (no seriously)
It wasn’t fought by men with nicknames based on body parts or snack cakes. There were no Louie the Noses or Joey Bag of ding dongs in this fight and no Steve Wynn’s either.
This turf war wasn’t over billions of dollars or control of the City of Sin streets.
It was over a corner of the sidewalk just large enough for a man to sit on where he will be noticed by the tourist as they pass by and lasted around ten seconds.
This turf war was between two men and enough money to buy a hotel room or a new hat and a couple of Pepsis.
One residentially challenged man, ( PC for a crazy looking homeless dude) who honestly looked rough even by residentially challenged standards of Sin City tried to sit down near where another younger or perhaps better cared for residentially challenged man was sitting.
Scary looking homeless guy clearly wanted a share of a lucrative panhandling corner and
was depending on his younger colleague’s empathy to accomplish it.
He got unceremoniously pushed down on the sidewalk for his effort. The victor went back to work and the victim stumbled down the sun baked sidewalks of Sin City  his defeat already forgotten in the struggle to survive or because he couldn’t remember the event 20 seconds after it happened.
Like in all cities in the City of Sin those more deadly, more powerful or perhaps simply more desperate have the advantage in conflicts of turf, pride and survival.  Still later in the week a shirtless panhandler stood near the same corner as a salesman peddling time shares or show tickets perhaps. The salesman was well dressed and taken care of and seemed to be slick and good at his job. People tried to avoid  him with far greater effort than they made avoiding the homeless panhandler. What does that say exactly ?

Here there is there is wealth and poverty, there is loyalty and abandonment. There is gritty uncaring honesty and flattering deception raised to an art. Here you will meet friends you didn’t know you had and adversaries you won‘t remember when you wake up in the wrong hotel room. There is the kindness of strangers and the chutzpah to sell you T-shirts they stole from you two days ago.
. Such is life in the city of Sin.
Til Next Week
Take Care
This week’s Jogger Report:
The latest fad in Sin City pedestrian travel seems to be backpacking down the Strip which makes about as much sense as streaking through a barbed wire factory. That’s right hordes of Bermuda shorts wearing, polo clad hikers cheap sunglasses and two dollar souvenir shop straw hats snd all walking down Las Vegas boulevard wearing backpacks that look big enough to carry days of supplies. Bicycles were sighted on the boulevard and while riding a bike on the Strip is not quite Brave Heart material it is certainly a bit dangerous to cross the street against the grain and ride down the middle of the street traveling where a red corvette driven by an all night drinker of free cocktails is screeching his brakes trying to stop before hitting the old lady crossing the street like one gentleman was seen doing  is not without elements of risk.
PS
This week 100,000 convenience store owners descended on the City of Sin’s famous main byway desperate perhaps to find someone who charges more than they do for indestructible hotdogs and yellow spongy snack cakes.