and found a safe in the desert.  It’s a floor model, almost as tall as me, with a combination lock, a Meilink, with the door ripped right off, laying about 10 feet from the safe.  A compartment that fit inside the safe with individual cubicles (one that could be locked) was still in the safe.  It was new decor for the normal garbage that is mostly dumped out on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) property where we walk.

I was a bit in awe of the fact that the door was ripped off, and the inner concrete/molding looking pieces that had once been inside the door frame were laying about 2 feet from the door, and the weight of the safe alone made it kind of awesome that someone stole it, carted it out to my stomping grounds and dumped it.  Amy may have not been in awe, but I still am to a degree.

There were some miscellaneous papers and a couple of bank statements from Bank of America still in the safe.  I collected them.  We finished our hike and I had a busy day planned. First was property clean up from the wind blowing every thing that wasn’t nailed down last week into the back fence. A food shopping trip into town and some wood from Home Depot for a project in the shed.

But before it all started I went to whitepages.com and found several addresses for the name from the safe – in California and one right here in good old Pahrump with a phone number.  I called and asked for the guy by first name, turns out the phone number was the local garbage/recycling company here and they knew who he was but he’s in California.  I explained the situation and since I was on the way to the dump anyway, dropped the papers a few hours later.  The manager came out to talk to me for a minute.  I don’t have a clue as to what the end result is or what was really in the safe that instigated the robbery, etc.  I do know the safe was still out there today when Amy and I took another stroll.

We visited the Mesquite Christmas tree too.  Only a few stockings and 2-3 silver balls are still on the tree.  The boots and the wreath at the bottom of the tree are laying on the ground, the wind took it’s toll on that little section of desert.

On other news, one of the women that I’ve known  since I first hit Vegas in 1987 died recently.  Cissy Bottoms.  Once Bellagio opened I didn’t deal to her much until the last year I worked there.  She was a day player and I worked swing.  I did see her infrequently when I came in and she was finishing out her last set for the day.  I really enjoyed her.  We were never friends away from the table but we visited off and on over the years.

I can remember dealing to her and Cyndi Graflund at the Mirage one time when they were talking about their very first cooking adventures when they got married – it was the biscuits and turkey type of nightmare where they had no idea how to prepare something but tackled it anyway. It was hysterical.  Cissy was married to Bottoms – Bottoms was the only player that Eric Drache ever personally 86’d permanently from the Mirage Poker Room and it was still in effect until who knows when?  Cissy and Bottoms traveled around at first in a hippy type lifestyle.  She was a great poker player.  I don’t ever remember her being rude or snapping at anyone, she just came to play poker.  She loved her granddaughter back in New Jersey so much and made visits there all the time.  I’m sad to see her go.

Tomorrow I’m off to meet Marie for lunch and then pick up the Rioteer for the weekend.  He’s all hot to play Guitar Hero since he finally figured out he really could make it sound like the sound.  It should be fun.  Scout will stay home with son Dan and I’ll have a few hours of freedom from whatever it is I might need freedom from.  I love Marie – this will be our second visit since she came back from Iowa.

Time to sleep.  Just remember it’s not safe to leave your safe in the desert.