Stays in Vegas

 Obviously, I had a good time in Lost Wages, Nevada, where I had gone to participate in a Retiree Reunion, held during the annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

NASFAA is made up of all sorts of educational professionals, mostly college financial aid officials. but also those who supported the financing of students - which would be guys like me.

I was the chartering CEO of a student  loan secondary market, which purchased student loans from lenders, and subsequently collected from the borrowers after they graduated and started repayment.  I was there from 1982 to 2003, before retirement.  At the time, we were a secondary market.  We'd buy loans, with borrowed funds from selling bonds on Wall Street, and then pay off the bondholders with the money we recovered from the students.  We were not taxed, so we had less expensive sources of funds, and our investors also paid no taxes on our bonds.

Ten years later, the world of student lending is much different, without banks.

The federal Treasury Department makes loans now and the organization I created has evolved to servicing Direct Loans, and the margins are tight.  The "legacy portfolio" of loans purchased during my tenure are said to have helped the organization have the wherewithal to survive some lean years as the current administration and the Congress changed the rules of the game.

Fortunately, the management team I left behind has persevered and now is the fifth largest holder of loans in the country.  They invited me to attend with their staff, and I had a chance to see a lot of old friends while also seeing some sights, including Hoover Dam along with other retirees.  All in all, I had a good time and the days went quickly by.  The Fremont Street Experience was my last night in Las Vegas, with a buddy from Florida who came into town for another meeting.  There is this huge mall along the street where it all started, and it has a sort of "JumboTron" where images are displayed several times an hour for about ten minutes.  It was really cool, almost better than "the Strip" where the convention hotel was found, and I spent most of my time.   Thanks for my friend Will for suggesting I attend and to Ray, who graciously picked up some major costs.  My buddy Rick proved to be a good photograhper with my iPhone too.

What happens in Vegas.....

Boy, that tower is a real eye full.

My hotel, Aria is only four years old, get lost there daily!

 OK - here I am in Vegas, by myself, and coming up on 24 hours in town.  I stayed in last night, after arriving around 1900 hours - my body thought it was 2200, so grabbed three slices of pizza and two diet cokes, took it to the room, and crashed. My friends got in after me, and stayed out in Vegas, and had some real stories to tell about the night time here.  Looking at the trash on the pavement at 0600 today when I went out foraging for food, I believe it.

This is a town where short skirts seem to be the uniform of the day, as well as the night.  Lots of homeless vets (or alleged vets) on the walkways above the streets.  You'd take your life in your hands by waling at street level to cross the main drag (main drag also has it's own meaning here).  I noticed what  I thought were playing cards left on the sidewalks, but on closer inspection there were not any Jacks, but a whole lot of topless Jills on the cards, advertising various nightlife locations.  Clearly these were handed to men, by other men, then snatched up by wives and immediately thrown down to form a carpet of licentious litter.

New York, New York has a roller coaster too

First cousin to one-armed bandit

Now, the casinos are full of gambling machines, but the only machine that has a guaranteed
payout, and it is
shown here.  I suspect the letters stand for Absolute Tourist Madness.

 Maybe I'll venture out tonight, so stay tuned to this blog locations for the dirt. Damn, I'd hate to be a street cleaner in this city.

Taken early morning before the sun went absolutely crazy......but it was a dry heat.

A Longboat Fourth

On Longboat Key, the Fourth of July is celebrated by the "world's shortest parade" followed by what amounts to an "old fashioned social" at Bicentennial Park.  The parade this year featured one station wagon (with tailgate open and patriotic music blaring from loudspeakers), three convertibles, a fire truck, an ambulance, a police car and then perhaps 150 individuals walking, on bicycles, skateboards, and various other wheeled conveyances.  The parade starts at Sun Trust, goes perhaps 100 yards to the Post Office turn, and then reverses course as it proceeds westward along this divided parkway, ending at the Town Hall entrance. Like I said, the world's shortest Fourth of July parade, darn tootin'.

 Now, after the parade, in which I was convertible number three, all participants and spectators proceed to the nearby park, where they have face painting for the children (yes, we actually do have a few), a hula hoop contest, water squirt guns, and various other games.

There were also waffles topped by strawberries and whipped cream, and the main event, the traditional butterfly release.   This was my first time to witness this up close, as individually wrapped (in paper triangles) butterflies were passed out to children and parents to all release on cue.  Of course, this being sponsored by the Longboat Observer, the Chamber of Commerce, and several smaller donors (including Kiwanis' $100 donation), we also featured the singing of the Star Spangled Banner (ballpark edition) and the Pledge of Allegiance.

We have seven elected politicians, nine appointed Planning Board members (often referred to as the Farm Team to the Town Council).  Convertible number one, driven by past President of Kiwanis Bob Gault and his wife, carried Mayor Jim Brown (and Shannon Gault's dog).  This may have been a tacit endorsement of dogs on the beach, eh Mayor?  Convertible number two was Commissioner Zunz, driven by her son.  Commissioner Gans chose to walk, being a man of the people.   So, three of seven showed up, and for P&Z there were two, one being myself.  My Corvette was number three, with the Chairperson and the Secretary of the Planning Board as featured political aspirants.  Aspirants hell, we're both ex Mayors, but we got elected by the people, not the other six Commissioners.

Oh, here's the funny part - Kurt Schultheis of The Observer did a great job of making up magnetic signs that read "B.J. Webb, Chairperson P&Z" and my name, as "Secretary P&Z".  Nice try Kurt, but magnets don't stick to fiberglass doors on Corvettes........never have, never will.  Happy Fourth of July, anyway.