Setting: Hudson News stand, departures terminal, Vegas airport. I stopped into buy the Pepto Bismol I’d been seeking for about 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Aside — you’d think they’d sell that stuff in vending machines on the casino floor, next to packets of Alka Seltzer, rehydrating drinks, and a hefty array of painkillers, but I was striking out everywhere. Ironic sidebar? In another section of the sprawling convention center, The National Association of Convenience Stores trade show.<\/p>\n
I hand over a ten and the classic pink box. I can’t help but notice that the clerk’s name tag says “Socrates.” He’s a not very tall, somewhat balding, late 30ish, maybe Phillipino guy with a fetching smile and a little bit of an accent.<\/p>\n
Me: Wow, Socrates! Were your parents philosophers?<\/p>\n
Socrates, laughing: No, no.<\/p>\n
Me: Are YOU a philosopher?<\/p>\n
Socrates, throwing his hands in the air and laughing: No, no, my parents are VERY disappointed in me!<\/p>\n
Me: Well, I can see how working here would make a guy philosophical.<\/p>\n
Socrates, laughing some more: VERY disappointed! They are VERY disappointed in me!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Setting: Hudson News stand, departures terminal, Vegas airport. I stopped into buy the Pepto Bismol I’d been seeking for about 24 hours. Aside — you’d think they’d sell that stuff in vending machines on the casino floor, next to packets of Alka Seltzer, rehydrating drinks, and a hefty array of painkillers, but I was striking … <\/p>\n