[Shotimes] Back from SEMA

Donald Mallinson dmall@mwonline.net
Wed, 13 Nov 2002 11:00:15 -0600


I hope this gets through since I just signed back on both 
lists today after being gone since last Tuesday.  Anyone 
miss me?

What arguments, news, battles have I missed?  Someone fill 
me in (offline, so as not to bore the masses with news they 
already know).

Here is my news from last week;  WARNING! odd sense of humor 
involved!

Jan and I took last week through Monday and visited Las 
Vegas and the SEMA convention.  7000+ booths of auto related 
stuff, the worlds biggest playground for auto geeks!

Never saw anyone I knew at SEMA, did anyone else go?

Found several new items for my mail order business, had a blast.

Jan and I got remarried at the Little White Chapel (not by 
Elvis though, you need to reserve him a few days in advance) 
and got a ride back to the hotel in a white super-stretch 
limo with "Little White Wedding Chapel" on the side.  The 
looks on the faces of people outside the hotel, when us two 
"older" folk got out was priceless!

Saw Wayne Newton (guess that confirms we are from an older 
generation).  He was great, his voice was shot that night, 
but his musical talent is superb, and his band (the real 
reason I went) is always great.

Visited friends in the Reno area after Vegas.  We had 
tickets on National airlines to Reno on Friday, but the 
airline went belly up the day before!  So we rented an SUV 
(storms on the West coast threatened snow at every moutain 
pass) and had a blast driving the 450 miles in Nevada.

RAined every day in Reno area,except the last day, just our 
luck.  Weather in Vegas was just fine though.

Flight out and back no problem, no hijackers, no crazy 
passengers and decent air crew.  Tasty little packs of 
pretzels are better than ever...way to go airlines, always a 
great meal at 30,000 feet!  :(

I got pulled aside for a special hand search in Reno (Never 
get caught in Peoria, I don't think our metal detectors 
work!)  I had to remove shoes, unbuckle pants etc.  Poor guy 
doing the search wasn't having any fun, neither was I, but 
Jan was laughing it up big time across the hall!

I retained my good mood and made it through.  Amazingly, my 
new metal hips were not the problem, but the zippers on my 
boots  were!  AK-47 got through just fine!  :)  (Just 
KIDDING....... in case any air cops might be on-line!)

Finally, Jan and I retained our record of NEVER losing money 
at a gambling stop.  I bet and lost $1 on slots in Vegas, 
but won $6.25 in quarters just before getting on the plane 
in Reno, net gain from gambling this trip?  $5.25.  Take 
THAT you gambling gangsters!  Don't anyone tell the IRS, I 
am taking the booty and hiding it away in my piggy bank for 
a future spark plug (singular) for one of the SHO's.

I'm back, Kirk you can go on alert again!  :)

Don Mallinson