Today's Musings

My neighborhood is infested with Stink Bugs. They would be cute if they weren't so keen on getting in my house. But they only stink if you smoosh them, so we have to either suck 'em up with the vacuum or catch the little suckers and toss them out the door.

It occurred to me today that I am going to be 27 next year. For some reason this makes me feel old, and yes, I am aware that the idea of 27 being old would be laughed at heartily by many. Maybe I just didn't realize I was so close to 30. Maybe I'm also a little freaked at how quickly the past 5 years or so flew by.

The weather at this point of the year is absolutely perfect. Just a touch of warmth during the day, then nice and cool all night. I love needing a sweater at night. I love not wanting to run away from the sun. I love the crunchy leaves, the colors, smells, shorter days... and everything else about fall.

We received a flier today warning us to vote against legalizing slots in Maryland. I used to live less than a mile from the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, IL, and I think these people are way off. They say, specifically, that slots in Maryland will bring: crime, bankruptcies, debt, traffic congestion, addiction, business closings, greed, and divorce. Crime I can see, they have a legitimate point there. Elgin had a handful of colorful homeless residents, and a slightly higher crime rate than the surrounding area. But it wasn't freakin' Cabrini Green or anything. Traffic congestion I don't see- at least not any more than adding a new Walmart would bring. Business closings I don't believe either. True, some of the people who normally spend money elsewhere will lose it at the casino. But what about all the other people that normally wouldn't come here, but come for the gambling then happen to spend money elsewhere? And 5 of those 8 (bankruptcies, debt, addiction, greed and divorce) really aren't my problem. I mean greed? Really? I'm supposed to care now that my neighbor is greedy? Give me a break. It really sticks in my craw when laws move from protecting us from each other to protecting us from ourselves. It's a waste of time and energy. Self-destructive people will always find a way to ruin their own lives. Not legalizing slots isn't going to stop them.

While the riverboat was a full casino (not just slots, as this amendment proposes), it is not "grand" as the name suggests. It's just a dirty little suburban casino, but it provided jobs and revenue to the city. Elgin had awesome holiday displays and fireworks shows, an annual rib-fest, a massive police force, a local orchestra, social services galore, and free parking. FREE PARKING! Scott and I have always said that if we move back to IL, we'll go back to Elgin. I really believe that the riverboat plays an integral role in making the City of Elgin great.

Normally, I don't vote on stuff like this because I really don't care. But now I'll be voting for spite, because the back of this flier contains what I'd call easily misconstrued facts. Here's the entire bullet point, quoted exactly:

"The industry's own numbers show that one to two percent of gamblers will have addiction problem. One in five will attempt suicide."

Now, what I believe they meant was one in five gamblers with an addiction problem will attempt suicide. But we are lead to believe is that one in five gamblers will attempt suicide. That's just rude. So now I'm making a mental note to vote YES on Question #2!