Conversation on the Bus

Today forty-four persons went to gamble at the Mardi Gra Casino in Blackhawk. I could hear murmured conversations going on throughout the bus but it was only the four front seats that I could actually hear. Our bus driver commented on some of things we talked about, like where was Hilary Clinton born; Illinois or Ohio. I got out my cell phone and googled her name. "She was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Wellesly College in Massachusetts. Later, she went to Yale University Law School."

Our conversation then switched to plea bargains and we agreed that it seems a bit unfair how facts can be changed. I had recently had an automobile accident and was given a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign. It was plea bargained down to a faulty rear light. I still had to pay the fine but I only got one point taken off my driver's license.

I don't know how we began to discuss Denver's City Auditor, Dennis Gallagher. One lady told about being at a St. Patrick's Day party where he spoke and she told him he was full of blarney. I told the story of how he had picked me up to go ice-skating. We were headed to Homewood in the mountains and he was kind enough to pick me up. This was during the time I hung around with a group, from Regis and Loretto Heights College, who were hoping to become actors . One famous person from that era was Mary Jo Catlett. (She is known for playing the housekeeper in Different Strokes plus many other parts in various movies, television,

and stage plays. Once I saw her in Nunsense at the Arvada Center.) "Yes," I said, "back in the day I knew a few thespians."  A fellow on the bus said, "What? Lesbians?" We all got a good laugh over his comment.

The conversation shifted to large trucks or recreational vehicles parked in neighborhoods. Not only were they an eye sore but they blocked people's views. One person said that when something bothered him in the neighborhood he called the police. We asked:

"Isn't that a good way to make enemies?"
"Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

His replay was that it is an anonymous call and no one knows who complained other than the police and they do not mention the information when they come to investigate noise, big vehicles, weedy, junk filled yards, etc.

I was asked how I knew Denver's District Attorney, Mitch Morrissey. Someone had seen a comment I posted on his Facebook page and assumed I knew him. I said, "I don't know him but I knew his father, also an attorney, at the Evil's Companion Club. A group of fun lawyers, judges, ad men, and professionals would meet on Fridays after work to drink, discuss their week and hold mock trials.

A trip that usually seems to take a long time coming down from gambling, seemed to fly by today. My guess is the interesting conversations we were having as we passed raging rivers, green pine trees, road construction and lots of traffic helped the time speed by as we drove down the mountain!