Knit Sisters

Just to prove to you that I still knit, that I don’t just go from desert town to desert town zipping around in red convertibles, drinking whiskey sours, and shooting craps doing serious research on Cold War history, I give you Exhibit A:

Fetal Icarus, made from luscious Alchemy Haiku, color 41a—Vermillion

And isn’t it fitting in a town like Las Vegas to be knitting a pattern called Icarus? Icarus, the boy whose hubris led him to fashion flimsy wings out of $100 bills and fly over to the high stakes gaming tables where he proceeded to lose everything and was subsequently forced to work as a male stripper in the “Bareback” show over at the MGM Grand. His personal humiliation became complete when he was asked to perform in backless feathered chaps.

Or have I got that wrong? I always did get kind of mixed up on my mythology.

Anyway, I’ve been getting accustomed to my surroundings here in Little Egypt:

The Sphinx, looking vaguely perplexed, watches planes land at McCarran Airport.

The Luxor wedding chapel was hopping over the weekend. It is conveniently located right across the way from the food court, which means that you and your wedding party can enjoy a round of Big Macs right before the big event.

No, I don’t want any fries with that, but can I get the Honorable Estate of Holy Matrimony?

The Luxor chapel pledges to organize your dream wedding, to make it a day that you will never forget.

No matter how hard you try.

But seriously, I don’t think a Vegas-style quickie union is necessarily less likely to work out than any other marriage. My great Aunt Mary Frances and my great Uncle Boone were married in Reno at one of these kinds of chapels and they were together for decades. Until he died at an advanced age just a few years ago, in fact.

In the spirit of full disclosure, it must be noted that sometime fairly early in their marriage she threw a massive lead crystal ashtray at his head in an attempt to kill him, but he nimbly ducked and all was forgiven in the long run. And they do say that successful couples need to learn how to fight.

But the best part of being at Luxor over the weekend was watching these two energetic musicians perform at the Nefertiti Lounge. One plays keyboards and the other plays saxophone. They do mostly covers, but they do them with such verve and energy that their performances often outshine the originals. I can’t stop photographing the saxophonist because he’s so mesmerizing.

Here he transmutes into pure energy.

I was out early on Sunday morning for a run on The Strip, which turned out to be a nice way to get some time to myself. Note the general scarcity of people in this photo:

I reckon everyone was at church.

Unfortunately, cell phone reception is not that great in my hotel room. But what do you expect? I’m smack dab behind the Sphinx and one of the great pyramids. There have to be some trade-offs.

So I’ve taken to calling Alex from the outdoor pool area, which has given me the chance to say something that I’ve wanted to say all my life:
“Hey, baby. I’m calling from the pool.”

Living the dream, living the dream.

More news and, with any luck, more Icarus, on Thursday…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 15th, 2006 at 11:00 am and is filed under Casting on, Icarian games, Lace it up. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.