I was talking with my cousin Sally in Kansas today, and she told me this.."Remember? When we were young, cruising the back roads of Kansas..Not a care in the world..I miss those days, and I can tell that you miss those days as well." Every once in a while cousin Sally will show her soft side..Before I go much farther, I need to clarify a few things about cousin Sally. First of all, she's not really my cousin, not blood anyways..Second, she's a girl from my home town in Kansas..The best way to describe cousin Sally? "Back in the day? She would have given any one of these girls in Las Vegas a run for their money. She was Playboy material..Now, she never bothered paying that much attention to me..We were always friends..Sally was way out of my league..I harp on Vegas girls all the time, but if their was ever a Las Vegas girl in Kansas, it would be cousin Sally..Back in the day, anyways."
What's the best way to describe 7-11? To me? Diversity is the word that comes to my mind..Throw in the fact that Las Vegas is a diverse town..Well, you catch my drift..Anyways, a regular at 7-11 is my friend Mickey. This is one interesting character, he was born and bred in South Boston, a Southie is how he describes himself. He moved to Las Vegas years ago, and was a professional bartender for many years. He's sinced retired, and nowadays? He spends most of his days gambling or thinking about gambling. The thing I like about Mickey the most? From the sounds of it, he's lived one helluva life.
"Uncle Whitey!" Every time I see Mickey come into 7-11, that's my standard greeting for him. Mickey grew up in South Boston during the Whitey Bulger era (For those of you not familiar with Whitey Bulger? Watch The Departed, the character Jack Nicholson portrays, is based on Whitey Bulger)..Well, whenever he comes in, we spend a few minutes chatting about politics, women, whatever the topic of the day is? Today? We spent a little time talking about our home town. I told him this about mine.."Small town Kansas, good place to raise a family, conservative, all the things you would expect in Kansas? My home town has. Tell me more about Whitey Bulger." His home town is a lot more interesting than mine, and like most everyone else in America. I love hearing stories about the mob. He then told me this:
"My grandmother, god bless her soul, babysitted Whitey Bulger and his brothers when they were youngsters. Even back then, they were a rambunctious group is what she told me. She lived in the same house in South Boston for 57 years. As she got older, Whitey and his crew would always check in on her. Let's put it this way. If anyone in South Boston back then, gave my grandparents any grief..They would have to deal with Uncle Whitey..No doubt he's a criminal, but during his time in South Boston, he took good care of my grandparents. No matter what the media or movies say, South Boston was a great place to live, as long as Uncle Whitey wasn't mad at you."
After Mickey leaves, I start thinking to myself AGAIN.."7-11 sure is an interesting and diverse place. If you want to be a writer/blogger? You had better have something interesting to share with your readers. No problem with that at 7-11."
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