Free Ride

Some people thrive on weather coverage. They love trudging through the elements to demonstrate to viewers why they shouldn't have left their homes. I tend to enjoy hunkering down and letting the storm pass. Is it a weakness? A personal character flaw? Call it what you will, but when the buck gets handed off to one of the storm hounds, I'm not raising a commotion. And while this year has been mercifully dry, it wasn't without incident. Last week I found myself stuck in the same spot on Highway 80 for over 3 hours, without a bathroom or Burger King in sight.

It was a long and slow evening, where we just barely made our slot. Aside from that, I just don't like driving in the snow. I'm just glad that this is limited to a small portion of every year 'round these parts.

The only problem with this whole situation is that I really love the snow. Snowboarding is one of God's great gifts to man, which I've been embracing since the age of 11. I'd gladly welcome a hearty dumping of snow on a regular basis if I didn't have to go chase it down every time it passed through.

Last weekend, I decided it was time to cash in on the recent storms and head up to Tahoe with some cronies and cohorts. Finding a surprising spot of luck, we managed to hit the slopes on the only two days of the past few weeks that didn't face a snowstorm. Perhaps that's just Old Man Winter's way of saying "Sorry about that freeway incident. We're still cool, right?" I'll cut you some slack this time, OMW. But watch yourself.

Along with the days spent tearing up the mountain, there were a few local gaming facilities in the area, and we all know I'm not one to pass up a night at the tables.

After being up... and then down... compliments of roulette, I decided it was time to call it quits before digging myself too deep into trouble. Heck, with this economy... you know. While tailing some of my well-wishers around the casino floor, one offered to cover me for a quick hand of blackjack, as he didn't want to play alone. "What the hell," I declared. "One hand never killed nobody." A short time later, I found myself, as well as my companions, surrounded by chips. With that, I decided to call it an early night (4 am) and retire to the hotel with my $250 in winnings. Not bad, considering that I was about to call it a night at -$60. The one quick hand managed to pay for the entire trip. I'll take it.

Alright, Old Man Winter, you've bought yourself some slack by hurling us a bit of luck on the weekend adventure. This doesn't mean things have cleared up between us, but for now I'll say that the effort was appreciated.