TR SNIPPET- CLAUDINE CASTRO AT THE EASTSIDE CANNERY

When my wife, in our daily phone conversation, wished me, “Happy dancing,” I thought she was overly optimistic because unlike the last trip I was not bringing Lady Fortuna (board friend from Denmark) to the lounge show as a dancing partner or meeting women from Calgary as I did when I went to see the Nite Kings last Wednesday.

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I was late getting to the lounge playing my freeplay and a bit more in video poker 10/7 DB. However there was on table with a rather strange Anglo guy with a red tee shirt and a large V on it who gruffly consented to letting me sit at the table he had. We had no conversation. Not a great beginning, but a great seat.

Luckily the gruff fellow left to kind of hover and move his arms in rather strange ways to the music in other parts of the lounge.

He was replaced by two Latino men who were very gracious and friendly, thanking me for sharing. The waitress was very pretty and one fellow introduced himself and his father and asked her questions in Spanish. He introduced me as his “amigo.”

The waitress then found them their own table.

Soon another waitress was asking if I minded two sharing my seats and two older men came to sit with me. The most talkative fellow spoke better English than I speak Spanish, but still we were tossing a sort of home made Spanglish all trying to share a bit of information above the loud sounds of Claudine Castro and her band.

I learned that the quieter fellow had lived in Spain for a while in cities and towns I knew. The older fellow had just bought a house in Vegas, so that the family could use it anytime they wanted.

I suggested we combine our table with the table next to them where their family was sitting and form a big circle. And soon a younger fellow made the same suggestion, introducing me to all the men and women. It was a mixed group from Cuba, Argentina. He was from Guatemala.

Such a gracious group!

The more talkative older fellow had great white hair and he was fairly tall and much better looking than I am. He started scoping out the room for dance partners in a way that was not aggressive, but also not as shy as I tend to be.

So I joined him and together we invited women who were dancing together to dance with us. In general, they loved it and we were often dancing in a larger circle of people. Only one woman seemed uncomfortable, a good looking Asian woman with hair below her waist.

My wife has taught me that beautiful women get hit on so much that they worry about such intrusions. So, as the dance progressed we shifted to two older and chunky women who loved inviting us into the dance. They were pretty funny.

After the first dance they moved toward the tables, but I said, “Otra vez” so we had another long bit of dancing.

I did not follow what the woman was saying but she was cheering me on, referring me to “Papi.”

It was good fun. My Spanish is poor so I really don't follow very much, but I totally enjoyed the experience and stayed until Claudine finished, thanking everyone at the table.

I find that these Latino groups are always very polite, gracious, and inclusive. They never just share a table with taciturn acceptance of a stranger, but welcome him in with conversation and story.

Mostly locals frequent this spot and all seem to know one another.

Sometimes that Latino welcome attitude is developed in the movies, and it seems to be more Hollywood than real, but I find it true to Latino spirit, and I am so grateful for that. I wish there were more Spanish closer to where I live and that I could integrate into a community to keep my small bit of the language current and enjoy the company of people who treat the outsider like family in spite of not always being well treated themselves.

On my second trip to see Claudine Castro I was very early for this last Latin lounge music of the trip. I used up my free buffet and three glasses of free merlot won on the Webpass page of Eastside Cannery. Rewards there are very skimpy and need to be redeemed within 7 days of printing, but then they are good for 30 days.

I gambled a bit, but stopped when I broke near even with 3-3-3-3 on Double Bonus. That brought me out of another pit of loss. The poker was fine, but I was not getting cards and the competition was all very good locals, so I did not ever expect to get an edge.

I took my last glass of wine into the lounge. I was an hour early, but they play some interesting canned Latin music. It was good I got there when I did because there were two birthdays being celebrated that night and all night the room was packed without a seat to be had.

I sat in a great position at a table that only had two chairs. As people came in, my extra chair disappeared to the table next to me which filled up with people and more were on the way, so I suggested we combine my table with theirs and look for more chairs. Once again I was immediately part of the group.

I had not expected to dance. I still had the remnants of blisters formed in Red Rock canyon.

But there were more women at this table than men, and one Puerto Rican woman and I seemed to hit it off, so she wanted me to dance with her. She was very good.

My salsa is very bad, more like catsup than salsa.

She was tolerant and liked that for some beats I could manage quite well. So, we danced almost every dance for almost two hours.

This finally did in my right foot that had started to bother me after hiking Red Rock.

It is better now but I was worried for a while and I wore my slippers in casinos and limped through the rest of the trip.

My dance partner looked more Scandinavian than Puerto Rican. She was very attractive and reminded me that some people around my age keep themselves very well fit. She loved to move and I could see how that would help.

I was also encouraged by the other women at the table who for a long while just assumed I was a local.

Of course, I was introduced all around and taken into the group just as I had been a week before. The folks who attend this lounge act regularly all know each other, but quickly, with just one introduction, I was one of them.

What a contrast with the Four Kings clique which can get irascible in the search for seats, and I never feel included for any reason with that inbred group.

For a while we shared seats, some sitting while others danced. And then some of our party drifted home and there were chairs enough and room.

There is a small Cuban fellow who is about my age but in fine shape. Facially, he is not attractive, but he has a winning personality and is an excellent dancer. Also, he so obviously enjoys the fun of the dance that we get taken in watching him.

There is also a large Cuban who moves his whole body and catches the beat and the music. He smiles all the while.

So, with partners these two fellows are dancing it up next to each other and every so often they switch partners in graceful patterns that fit the dance. It was amazing to watch and fun.

When Elizabeth and I go to swing dances, the faces are not so full of fun and folks seem to put on an affectation reflecting their polished dance steps.

Swing was not meant to be so sober, but neo swing experiences seem to be.

It was frustrating that it was so crowded, but none of the people looking for seats or friends with space at their tables ever lost their calm and polite demeanor.

I had a really fine time.

I caught the last 202 bus right there at the edge of the parking lot. It leaves just after one AM. This week the driver who brought me up took time to check the new book, read the confusing schedule and interpret when the last bus was going to come.

I really appreciated his attention to my anxiety. Very much in contrast to the driver I asked for help last week although the woman who actually drove the last bus was very helpful both weeks and she remembered me from last week. I did not use up her break time on this trip.

The 202 runs 24 hours but for the route after that bus we need to go to the Nellis stop on the other side of Sam's Town. It is a bit of a walk. The BHX could be taken to that stop and save the long walk. I also noted that the BHX goes by long before that last 202 bus. If I had missed the last 202, I'd have done that night to save a bit on my worry of blisters.

As it turned out the rest I gave my feet the day before seemed to have given a chance for enough healing and the long and frantic dancing did not seem to make them much worse.

It took just 35 minutes at that time for the 202 to drop me at the Gold Coast. It was longer going out just at rush hour, but never really crowded. Both ways I sat in the front upstairs and enjoyed the view of Flamingo.

It was amazing to me that the ride coming home went so quickly.