Happy Trees, Sad Trees

Well, I'm back from the world of IT hell, and into the world of squidgey tummies, non-hot flash fevers, and the head rush/spins.

So, I'll keep it brief. No, really.

Nothing gets in the way of The Baroness and her sick-naps. Nothing.

Here goes. One last Vegas story. It's late in coming, but I've been without communication for days. Days. Maybe that's what's making me sick.

One day while the Baron and his associates were having their morning symposium, I busted out of the Land O'Canals to take a walk. In the real world.

OK, the sort-of-real world.

As I am usually based in a geographical location where it is gray and gloomy about 2/3 of the year, I felt compelled to walk on the sunny side of the street. To grab me some Vitamin D, as it were.

It was on this stroll that I came across what Vegas is all about.

Happy Trees.

And Sad Trees.

Standing on my side of the Strip, looking at the view across the boulevard, I saw this:

Here is Vegas at its shiny best: The Wynn Hotel with it's lustrous, well-tended palms and assorted pampered arborage. The whole landscape exudes privilege and opulence, whether you can afford it or not. Here is a Las Vegas where they go out of their way to make everything appear flawless, down to the grooming of the plants. Happy Trees.

No doubt inspired, in turn, by this guy:


Then I looked at the empty cement lot next to me. It was filled with refuse, and the withered near-dead trees. Neglect, and potentially some abuse seemed evident:

Sad Trees.

This, I'll posit, is the real LV. And these sad trees? Like the city itself and its current condition, perhaps the result of a little too much greed and a lot too much overreaching.

Here's the weird part. When I went to zoom in with my crap phone camera, this is what was painted on the side of the container:

click to see the larger weirdness...

Coincidence? I think not.