WEBVTT - Las Vegas: Mother Cabrini 0:00:15.316 --> 0:00:26.476 Pushkin. Well, here we are the bright lights and the 0:00:26.516 --> 0:00:29.356 glitz of Las Vegas. You've done it again, Brendan. This 0:00:29.396 --> 0:00:31.076 isn't what you thought I meant when I said we're 0:00:31.076 --> 0:00:33.876 gonna have a boy's weekend in Vegas. I just about 0:00:34.196 --> 0:00:37.516 got hit by a tumbleweed back there. And I don't 0:00:37.556 --> 0:00:41.676 mean like tumbleweeds adult gentlemen's club, which I would go to. 0:00:42.316 --> 0:00:45.356 I mean we're in the middle of nowhere. Where are 0:00:45.356 --> 0:00:47.516 we going right now? We're heading to the Hoover dam. 0:00:48.316 --> 0:00:50.116 It seemed like the right place to start because I 0:00:50.156 --> 0:00:52.636 think it literally gave rise to all of Vegas. So 0:00:52.636 --> 0:00:57.076 it's where Vegas began. This is because like water and power, 0:00:57.156 --> 0:01:00.676 basically exactly right. See these power lines right here. Yes, 0:01:00.756 --> 0:01:03.796 that's the juice that the damn sending that keeps those 0:01:03.876 --> 0:01:06.636 lights on and those fountain spinning, and those little guns 0:01:06.676 --> 0:01:09.556 that shoot like Coca Cola and diet Cola and ginger 0:01:09.636 --> 0:01:11.716 Allen Seltzer. They're all powered by all I can think 0:01:11.756 --> 0:01:14.756 of our the little pulses traveling through those lines all 0:01:14.796 --> 0:01:17.836 the way to a casino into a slot machine where 0:01:17.916 --> 0:01:21.916 I will then also be inserting money and winning hundreds, 0:01:21.916 --> 0:01:24.916 if not thousands, of dollars and it all starts out here. 0:01:25.036 --> 0:01:28.316 So you know what you've You've actually convinced me this 0:01:28.556 --> 0:01:37.196 is Vegas, baby, this is not lost. Each episode, a 0:01:37.236 --> 0:01:39.916 friend and I travel somewhere to see the sights and 0:01:40.476 --> 0:01:43.556 try to get invited to dinner. I'm Brendan Frances Newnham, 0:01:44.556 --> 0:01:46.716 not in real Vegas, but out of here. And that's 0:01:46.716 --> 0:01:49.676 my friend Luke Burbank. We've known each other since we 0:01:49.676 --> 0:01:52.396 were cub radio producers stilled the wild West, and this 0:01:52.436 --> 0:01:56.636 episode we're in Vegas. Well look at this, and behold, 0:01:56.676 --> 0:01:59.836 look at this. We are coming around the bend here 0:02:00.196 --> 0:02:04.836 and looking out on it. Would this be Lake Mead 0:02:05.716 --> 0:02:09.716 and in the distance then the Hoover dam This is 0:02:09.916 --> 0:02:14.956 I mean, this is genuinely gorgeous. Wow, where it is? 0:02:15.396 --> 0:02:20.276 Everything around us is massive, like this damn is massive. 0:02:20.556 --> 0:02:24.156 That bridge we drove under his massive. Brendon's anxiety is massive, 0:02:24.796 --> 0:02:28.316 That's all massive. Yes, it's been a minute since I've 0:02:28.436 --> 0:02:31.556 driven on a narrow highway without guardrails overlooking a canyon. 0:02:31.956 --> 0:02:34.756 But I've been to Vegas before. When I used to 0:02:34.796 --> 0:02:37.236 live in Los Angeles, I'd sometimes hop a short flight 0:02:37.276 --> 0:02:39.716 over to meet up with friends. We drink too much, 0:02:39.996 --> 0:02:43.316 play cards, and as my fifth grade teacher, mister Bicello 0:02:43.436 --> 0:02:47.316 used to say, act like knuckleheads. But that was a 0:02:47.356 --> 0:02:49.836 while ago, and lately I've been trying to leave my 0:02:49.916 --> 0:02:54.156 knucklehead days behind. Meanwhile, Lucas kept up his love for 0:02:54.196 --> 0:02:56.836 Since you're not you've been to Vegas before like a bunch, right, yeah, Like, 0:02:56.916 --> 0:02:59.676 I mean probably thirty five or more times. He has 0:02:59.716 --> 0:03:02.596 a preferred hotel, a system for winning roulette, and a 0:03:02.636 --> 0:03:05.276 tattoo of two playing cards on his arm. And that's 0:03:05.316 --> 0:03:07.196 just the gambling tattoo I can see. But we are 0:03:07.236 --> 0:03:09.716 going to the casinos later, right, I mean staying not 0:03:09.756 --> 0:03:12.436 far from the strip now. Luke is newly single and 0:03:12.476 --> 0:03:15.316 it's Valentine's weekend, so I thought it'd be good for 0:03:15.356 --> 0:03:17.676 him to join me here. Would allow him to take 0:03:17.716 --> 0:03:19.876 his mind off things in one of his favorite places, 0:03:20.196 --> 0:03:22.356 and it would allow me to record an episode of 0:03:22.436 --> 0:03:24.916 my show. Instead of a dinner party, I thought we 0:03:24.916 --> 0:03:27.356 could just have dinner for two. It'll be happening somewhere 0:03:27.436 --> 0:03:29.676 now with my knucklehead days in the rear view, I 0:03:29.756 --> 0:03:33.396 built an itinerary that avoided the strip altogether. The only 0:03:33.436 --> 0:03:35.596 thing is I didn't tell Luke that, so I picked 0:03:35.676 --> 0:03:37.756 him up at the airport. I hate to break your heart, 0:03:37.756 --> 0:03:40.476 but if I have my way, we won't even send 0:03:40.476 --> 0:03:43.316 foot in the Gazino. Did anything in the contract I 0:03:43.316 --> 0:03:47.076 signed with you stipulate that I have to be physically 0:03:47.116 --> 0:03:49.556 near you this whole weekend? Well, also speak of this weekend. 0:03:49.956 --> 0:03:54.436 It is Valentine's Day weekend, and you know you were 0:03:54.476 --> 0:03:56.516 one of the people who could join me. Yeah, because 0:03:56.556 --> 0:03:59.476 of the fact that I'm going through a breakup. So 0:04:00.036 --> 0:04:03.476 once again I am back on the market. And I thought, 0:04:03.516 --> 0:04:05.436 where should I spend the most romantic day of the 0:04:05.516 --> 0:04:09.876 year out in the desert with my friend Brendan Holy shit? 0:04:10.756 --> 0:04:13.156 Or in Arizona. Are we supposed to be in Arizona 0:04:13.236 --> 0:04:15.436 right now? I don't think that's for the purview of 0:04:15.436 --> 0:04:17.316 this podcast. We might have to go dark for this 0:04:17.356 --> 0:04:21.676 portion of the ride. Really well, I'm gonna see if 0:04:21.716 --> 0:04:24.516 I can keep keep things rolling here in Vegas this 0:04:24.556 --> 0:04:27.636 weekend as part of Operation Luke Gets his Groove Back. 0:04:31.796 --> 0:04:46.236 We're back in the bottom of update. Hoover dam Bill 0:04:47.076 --> 0:04:50.636 under time and under budget from nineteen thirty one to 0:04:50.756 --> 0:04:54.876 nineteen thirty five during the Great Depression, back in the 0:04:54.916 --> 0:04:57.916 thirties that was all about you know, man over nature 0:04:57.956 --> 0:05:02.876 and great things, and Hoover Damn definitely represents that. Patty 0:05:02.956 --> 0:05:05.796 Aaron is a public affairs officer for the Federal Department 0:05:05.836 --> 0:05:10.316 of the Interior, whatever specialties Hoover DA did. They build 0:05:10.316 --> 0:05:14.116 this because they needed it for like hydroelectric power, or 0:05:14.156 --> 0:05:18.036 because people needed jobs. So the Colorado River was a 0:05:18.116 --> 0:05:22.596 really wild river and ran extremely high or extremely low, 0:05:22.996 --> 0:05:26.516 so that actually the primary reason that it was built 0:05:26.636 --> 0:05:32.516 was for flood control. How do you even like, do 0:05:32.556 --> 0:05:34.996 you have this huge rushing river when you don't have 0:05:35.036 --> 0:05:37.756 a dam. How do you get the beginnings started? Well, 0:05:37.796 --> 0:05:41.996 you start by building tunnels through the two sides of 0:05:42.036 --> 0:05:48.076 the canyon. So as you can look over here, it's scary. 0:05:49.356 --> 0:05:51.516 It is scary. Luke and I stare over the lip 0:05:51.556 --> 0:05:54.396 of the dam. Behind us is a massive lake being 0:05:54.396 --> 0:05:57.236 held at bay. And in front of us, or rather 0:05:57.436 --> 0:06:02.676 sixties stories of sheer concrete below us buys a river. Wow. 0:06:02.996 --> 0:06:07.156 From here, you can see the bottom of the generation deck. Yeah, 0:06:07.156 --> 0:06:09.436 we're going down there. Oh my god, how do we 0:06:09.476 --> 0:06:12.516 get down there? We're going to go down in the dam. Wow, 0:06:13.196 --> 0:06:16.156 they're an elevator. Yeah, Patty points to the middle of 0:06:16.156 --> 0:06:18.436 the walkway running over the ridge of the dam, and 0:06:18.516 --> 0:06:21.036 in the midst of the backdrop of blue sky and 0:06:21.156 --> 0:06:24.956 brown canyon sit two gleaming brass doors marked off by 0:06:24.956 --> 0:06:27.276 a velvet rope. It looks like an entrance to a 0:06:27.276 --> 0:06:31.516 fantastical time machine. You guys, go ahead and go in there. Oh, 0:06:32.036 --> 0:06:34.716 this is incredible. So as you see here, we're at 0:06:34.716 --> 0:06:38.196 elevation twelve thirty three. Yeah, and we'll go down and 0:06:38.276 --> 0:06:44.876 we'll see other elevations set. Do you want to guess, 0:06:44.956 --> 0:06:48.276 Luke and see who gets closer to how far we've descended. 0:06:48.636 --> 0:06:56.596 I'll see how far we've descended. Yeah, times weekends. Yeah, 0:06:56.716 --> 0:07:00.196 we're still in the elevator. Yeah, I could feel like 0:07:00.236 --> 0:07:05.156 the humidity changing. Have we gone below them of a 0:07:05.236 --> 0:07:08.676 rochic boundary? Yet that's a layer of the of the 0:07:08.716 --> 0:07:17.956 Earth's crusted dark cloth. Yeah, we're gonna now walk through 0:07:18.036 --> 0:07:20.076 the dam now all right, so we're gonna walk down 0:07:20.076 --> 0:07:27.556 this hall. We're gonna walk down this hall. I feel 0:07:27.556 --> 0:07:31.436 like we're going towards something angry. We're going towards the 0:07:31.476 --> 0:07:35.036 generator deck. We're gonna see where the power is generated, 0:07:35.156 --> 0:07:44.116 Like how this is gonna be noisy for you. Are 0:07:44.156 --> 0:07:46.676 you kidding me? Are we in a sci fi film? 0:07:46.756 --> 0:07:49.956 Right now? You can see lights on on top of 0:07:49.956 --> 0:07:52.556 a few of the generators. That means that they're generating 0:07:52.596 --> 0:07:55.756 power right now that is being spun by the pressure 0:07:55.836 --> 0:07:59.076 of Lake Mead and the Colorado River coming through. Yeah. 0:08:00.476 --> 0:08:03.636 So those large generators are the ones that generate power 0:08:03.716 --> 0:08:13.036 for Arizona, California, and Nevada. Okay, now we are in 0:08:13.556 --> 0:08:17.356 what is a hallway that is carved out of solid rock. Yeah, 0:08:17.356 --> 0:08:20.156 I mean this is something out of some kind of 0:08:20.236 --> 0:08:25.356 jewels vern. See. You can see the dynamite holes, holy gow. 0:08:26.236 --> 0:08:28.956 And so we're walking through the mountain to the tunnel 0:08:28.956 --> 0:08:35.276 that was blasted out. Wow. Wow, it's skinny smell, it's 0:08:35.276 --> 0:08:37.876 like dank a little bit. Well, you see the salt 0:08:37.956 --> 0:08:44.796 crystals here on the walls. Is water through the rock? No, 0:08:44.956 --> 0:08:48.556 it's what it's what nature does, water seas. But nature 0:08:48.636 --> 0:08:54.156 also had a river that was untamed, but man tamed it. Yeah. 0:08:58.476 --> 0:09:01.036 I mean, do you think we'll ever do something like 0:09:01.076 --> 0:09:04.676 this again, Patty? No, I don't see how we would. 0:09:11.516 --> 0:09:14.396 This is a door. You gotta be kidding, You're right, 0:09:15.476 --> 0:09:27.876 probably the thickest like steel doors just opened longer at 0:09:27.876 --> 0:09:32.396 the bottom of the Damn. Yes, we are, Holy cow. 0:09:34.676 --> 0:09:39.716 We are looking at the Hoover Dam from river level 0:09:40.796 --> 0:09:49.516 and it is quite something. It's hard to come out 0:09:49.556 --> 0:10:15.836 here and not be completely amazed. You know, I didn't 0:10:15.836 --> 0:10:19.436 even know that this part of Las Vegas existed them. 0:10:19.476 --> 0:10:22.036 It's like, of course Vegas has a Chinatown, but it 0:10:22.116 --> 0:10:25.076 never occurred to me to go to it. You're welcome, Luke, 0:10:25.436 --> 0:10:27.956 Thank you. What a voyage of discovery. This is turning 0:10:27.956 --> 0:10:31.316 into Brendon. We're on our way to Big Dan. Chauncey Taste, 0:10:31.636 --> 0:10:35.236 a tiny food counter inside a Chinese supermarket, which itself 0:10:35.356 --> 0:10:38.196 is inside a double decker strip mall filled with immigrant 0:10:38.236 --> 0:10:42.316 jasper of restaurants. It's like a Turducan of conference because 0:10:42.356 --> 0:10:44.796 it looks like we've got an intersection of a supermarcano 0:10:45.556 --> 0:10:47.596 and then a Vietnamese name, and then we're going to 0:10:47.676 --> 0:10:50.276 a Chinese restaurant. This is a rule. We're here to 0:10:50.316 --> 0:10:53.596 meet Kim Foster, a critically acclaimed food writer who moved 0:10:53.596 --> 0:10:55.636 to Vegas with her family a few years back and 0:10:55.716 --> 0:10:59.236 surprised herself by falling in love with it. If we're 0:10:59.236 --> 0:11:04.116 going in here, so we're entering a grocery store. He there, 0:11:04.116 --> 0:11:10.156 she is Hello. Kim has bleae, blonde hair, an easy laugh, 0:11:10.396 --> 0:11:13.596 and she's cool, not in and off putting way, but 0:11:13.676 --> 0:11:16.436 in that I want to be near her way. She's 0:11:16.476 --> 0:11:20.436 joined by her food buddy, David Claire. He's a samolier 0:11:20.596 --> 0:11:23.636 from a buzzy restaurant named Esters, but he loves coming 0:11:23.676 --> 0:11:25.876 to this food counter for its taste of cuisine from 0:11:25.876 --> 0:11:29.076 Shuanca Province, a place he used to visit regularly. It 0:11:29.156 --> 0:11:31.996 turns out cuisine from most regions of China are available 0:11:31.996 --> 0:11:34.916 with Vegas. Is Some people would disagree with me, but 0:11:35.156 --> 0:11:38.516 I think our Chinatown rivals New York and San Francisco 0:11:38.796 --> 0:11:42.756 in terms of Chinatown. Can you can order for the table? 0:11:42.756 --> 0:11:43.996 I mean, how do you want how do you want 0:11:43.996 --> 0:11:46.996 to tackle this hunt is definitely order the cold noodles. 0:11:51.276 --> 0:11:53.236 I think a lot of people think about food in Vegas. 0:11:53.356 --> 0:11:56.836 This is not the neighborhood they're thinking of. Star chefs. 0:11:57.036 --> 0:11:59.676 Tell me about the evolution of your relationship to food 0:11:59.676 --> 0:12:02.036 in Vegas. One of the big surprising things about Vegas 0:12:02.316 --> 0:12:06.996 is that it's one of the most diverse cities, and 0:12:07.116 --> 0:12:09.436 Nevada is one of the most diverse states. There is 0:12:09.476 --> 0:12:14.436 a huge Mexican, Filipino, Chinese. This is the ninth island 0:12:14.516 --> 0:12:17.676 for Hawaiians, and there's strange diversity, like because we have 0:12:17.716 --> 0:12:20.436 struck to slay, we have a community of Mongolians here, 0:12:21.276 --> 0:12:27.756 so with that comes these food experiences. So that's n P. 0:12:28.076 --> 0:12:31.196 So what did we get here? Delivered? So this is limpeak. 0:12:31.236 --> 0:12:34.076 So Lenpe is very classically associated with the city. Ission 0:12:34.476 --> 0:12:37.636 he's kind of hand pressed wheat noodles literally translates to 0:12:37.956 --> 0:12:42.916 cold skin. Las Vegas is this place where people think 0:12:43.396 --> 0:12:46.356 that the strip is like Times Square. So it's like 0:12:46.476 --> 0:12:49.876 saying New York is like Times Square, right, that's just 0:12:49.916 --> 0:12:52.276 a tiny tiny part of New York and that isn't 0:12:52.316 --> 0:12:55.236 even like a way to define New York. And the 0:12:55.316 --> 0:12:59.236 same thing happens in Vegas. Would like the first time 0:12:59.316 --> 0:13:00.636 Tim was like where do you live? And you were like, 0:13:00.796 --> 0:13:05.076 Las Vegas? Because that's a whole statement unto itself. Right, 0:13:05.076 --> 0:13:06.716 you know, it's still kind of weird every time that 0:13:06.796 --> 0:13:08.756 I say, because you know, you have to kind of 0:13:08.756 --> 0:13:10.836 go a ends what people already think they know about 0:13:10.916 --> 0:13:13.516 Las Vegas. You're living a penthouse and you're maybe a 0:13:13.556 --> 0:13:15.676 male hooker, or some kind of something like that. But 0:13:15.796 --> 0:13:18.356 like you know, I now want to mention that I 0:13:18.396 --> 0:13:21.836 live in Las Vegas. Nobody would think that about the 0:13:21.916 --> 0:13:26.836 physical condition d versus me. Our physical conditions were all 0:13:26.876 --> 0:13:29.996 in jeopardy due to the slurpy deliciousness of these hand 0:13:29.996 --> 0:13:32.556 press noodles. But I didn't meet up with Kim and 0:13:32.636 --> 0:13:35.676 David to just talk about food. A couple of years ago, 0:13:35.796 --> 0:13:38.196 Kim wrote a series of articles called The Meth Lunches 0:13:38.716 --> 0:13:40.516 about the man she and her husband had hired to 0:13:40.556 --> 0:13:42.756 fix up the house they live in with their foster children. 0:13:43.276 --> 0:13:45.636 It turned out he was a meth addict, and every 0:13:45.716 --> 0:13:47.996 day she would prepare him lunch and sit with him. 0:13:48.036 --> 0:13:51.236 And meth is really like a big problem here. So 0:13:51.356 --> 0:13:54.236 the piece that I wrote is really about my relationship 0:13:54.396 --> 0:13:58.356 of feeding this addict and going through his addiction with him. 0:13:59.156 --> 0:14:01.916 And we ended up becoming foster parents. And I would 0:14:01.956 --> 0:14:05.196 say that probably three quarters of the kids that came 0:14:05.236 --> 0:14:08.156 to us came to us because of a drug addiction 0:14:08.716 --> 0:14:12.676 meth related issue in their house. Our meth is extremely addictive, 0:14:13.076 --> 0:14:15.076 It's very very difficult for people to get off, and 0:14:15.196 --> 0:14:17.596 there's not a lot of you know, services are tricky. 0:14:17.876 --> 0:14:19.636 You know, we are a state. One of the reasons 0:14:19.636 --> 0:14:22.476 it's reasonable to live here is because there's not a 0:14:22.476 --> 0:14:26.756 lot of taxes. We don't pay city taxes, we don't 0:14:26.756 --> 0:14:30.516 pay state income taxes. But we're not thick with programs either, 0:14:30.676 --> 0:14:33.436 because we don't have the revenue for Yeah, so things 0:14:33.516 --> 0:14:36.036 like if you have a problem and you can't afford 0:14:36.156 --> 0:14:40.516 to be shipped off to you know, a really expensive yeah, exactly, 0:14:40.876 --> 0:14:44.356 then you know you're then you're scrambling for your own stop. Awesome? 0:14:44.716 --> 0:14:47.596 Is that like the shadow of the libertarian ethos that 0:14:47.716 --> 0:14:50.876 purvades this area? Right? Education is fifty out of fifty 0:14:50.876 --> 0:14:53.796 in Nevada, where the bottom with number fifty in the US. 0:14:53.956 --> 0:14:56.516 That's interesting because I was gonna say, I remember a statistic, 0:14:56.676 --> 0:14:59.396 which is this town, if you only have a high 0:14:59.396 --> 0:15:02.596 school diploma, you have the highest quality of life than 0:15:02.636 --> 0:15:05.196 any other city in America because there are good unions 0:15:05.236 --> 0:15:08.276 and a lot of hospitality jobs. But it's interesting to 0:15:08.436 --> 0:15:11.116 contrast that, so they don't invest in their schools because 0:15:11.156 --> 0:15:14.356 maybe having a certain level of aptitude isn't necessary for 0:15:14.436 --> 0:15:17.796 business here. It's like we're like discussing the sort of 0:15:17.956 --> 0:15:20.996 civic infrastructure of Vegas while eating some of the best 0:15:20.996 --> 0:15:23.116 food of all time and not commenting on it. But 0:15:23.156 --> 0:15:26.316 instead of getting into like tax district. Is that is welcome? Welcome, 0:15:27.076 --> 0:15:29.756 welcome to my nerdy brain. It's true, a big part 0:15:29.756 --> 0:15:31.676 of my nerdy brain does like to chop it up 0:15:31.716 --> 0:15:35.076 about public policy, but another part likes to rustle up 0:15:35.076 --> 0:15:38.476 dinner parties with near strangers. Now I'd imagine Luke and 0:15:38.516 --> 0:15:41.156 I would be dining solo tomorrow, But I can't help 0:15:41.196 --> 0:15:42.676 but ask what Kim and David, what are you doing? 0:15:42.716 --> 0:15:47.716 What are you doing tomorrow? Um, it's Valentine's Day. My 0:15:47.796 --> 0:15:49.956 husband and I are going to go to Esther's and 0:15:50.116 --> 0:15:54.836 have pasta and homemade bread and a lot of carps. 0:15:55.676 --> 0:15:57.196 But what about you? What are you? What are you 0:15:57.196 --> 0:16:01.156 doing tomorrow? I'm gonna be slang in a sparkling roseate. Right, 0:16:01.156 --> 0:16:05.596 you're working, You're working. It's every every service industry person's 0:16:05.596 --> 0:16:08.396 favorite night of the years. It's like amateur, Yeah, it's amateur. 0:16:08.396 --> 0:16:10.996 It's the night that everyone goes to a restaurant who 0:16:11.156 --> 0:16:13.436 never goes to a restaurant and any See, this is 0:16:13.476 --> 0:16:15.756 my thinking. So when I booked this trip on Valentine's 0:16:15.796 --> 0:16:17.996 I was like, no one, really, it's not a real holiday, 0:16:18.076 --> 0:16:20.076 you know. And I asked my girlfriend if it was 0:16:20.116 --> 0:16:21.676 okay that I came out here, and she was like, 0:16:21.716 --> 0:16:25.116 it's fine that you left her on Valentine's Day? Yeah, 0:16:25.236 --> 0:16:29.396 are you sure about that? I learned this in marriage 0:16:29.396 --> 0:16:40.836 one and two. Yeah, after leaving him and David. My 0:16:40.916 --> 0:16:44.436 belly is full, but my mind is racing. Perhaps I 0:16:44.436 --> 0:16:48.076 should have taken Valentine's Day more seriously. Also, why didn't 0:16:48.076 --> 0:16:50.716 my girlfriend take it more seriously? Doesn't she want to 0:16:50.756 --> 0:16:54.156 spend Valentine's Day with me? Anyway? You know what's funny 0:16:54.156 --> 0:16:56.516 to me is I feel like we may be passing 0:16:56.516 --> 0:17:01.036 each other Brendan in terms of like, I, you know, 0:17:01.156 --> 0:17:02.756 usually keep it on the strip and I have all 0:17:02.796 --> 0:17:06.036 the places I go to, and you're very anti, but 0:17:06.236 --> 0:17:08.956 I think that there's also some fun and excitement to 0:17:08.996 --> 0:17:11.756 be had on the strip for you. Oh, I just 0:17:11.796 --> 0:17:14.476 want to say I'm not anti strip as much as 0:17:14.516 --> 0:17:17.796 I'm just like, I feel like there's those are simple, 0:17:17.876 --> 0:17:21.676 big pleasures that right I've I've partaken in. I just 0:17:21.796 --> 0:17:26.316 had a real big gulp of being single, and now 0:17:26.516 --> 0:17:31.396 I'm trying to be in a real relationship. I'm just 0:17:31.436 --> 0:17:34.676 like I think the quieter different pleasures are. I'm trying 0:17:34.676 --> 0:17:36.196 to lean into them a little bit. That could be 0:17:36.236 --> 0:17:38.356 a little bit of what's happening in the background. That's 0:17:38.396 --> 0:17:41.236 fine with me, man. You know, I'm in a sort 0:17:41.276 --> 0:17:43.356 of fragile place in my personal life, and I think 0:17:44.196 --> 0:17:47.196 you me book it a BEPO in front of the 0:17:47.236 --> 0:17:51.316 ex caliber. But now I kind of hear what you're saying, 0:17:51.396 --> 0:17:54.516 like that, you know this is uh, this is Sin City, 0:17:54.596 --> 0:17:57.356 like we gotta do. You know, you can't not touch 0:17:57.436 --> 0:18:00.836 upon that. And so I'm taking us now to talk 0:18:00.836 --> 0:18:06.556 to someone who has insight into it. M That doesn't 0:18:06.556 --> 0:18:13.516 sound very fun. The chapel at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic 0:18:13.556 --> 0:18:16.276 Center is just a rhinestone throw away from the strip. 0:18:16.996 --> 0:18:19.236 Now Vegas might seem like a thankless place to battle 0:18:19.236 --> 0:18:22.796 sin the Father Daniel tells us there are advantages. I 0:18:22.796 --> 0:18:25.356 always say that, you know, coming to Sin City is 0:18:25.436 --> 0:18:29.316 job security for me. And the reason I wanted to 0:18:29.356 --> 0:18:32.476 come here is, as you may know, I'm also a magician. 0:18:32.516 --> 0:18:34.996 So I'm a priest who does magic. I made an 0:18:35.076 --> 0:18:37.516 agreement with Jesus I don't do any of his material. 0:18:37.556 --> 0:18:42.916 He doesn't do any of mine. But do you like 0:18:43.516 --> 0:18:46.556 kerchiefs or or or? Yeah. So the type of magic 0:18:46.596 --> 0:18:48.876 I do is called parlor magic. This is happening. I'm 0:18:48.916 --> 0:18:50.996 it's excited when he saw that deca card. I mean, honestly, 0:18:51.036 --> 0:18:53.156 this is the closest I've gotten to a gambling situation 0:18:53.236 --> 0:18:56.196 this trip, So it's it is pretty exciting. Well, this 0:18:56.276 --> 0:18:58.076 is what I took off the deck of cards was 0:18:58.556 --> 0:19:01.276 some rubber bands. Oh, okay, okay, I know. So so 0:19:01.356 --> 0:19:04.036 you have two rubber bands, two rubber bands, but they're 0:19:04.076 --> 0:19:07.436 intertwined so that they can't get out. Yeah. So I say, 0:19:08.316 --> 0:19:11.476 sometimes we get ourselves into situations in which we think 0:19:11.476 --> 0:19:14.956 we're free, but then we're not. Yeah, no, because the 0:19:14.996 --> 0:19:17.676 other rubber band's restricting that one rubber band. There are 0:19:17.716 --> 0:19:20.636 boundaries in our lives, boundaries which prevent us from being 0:19:20.676 --> 0:19:25.356 all that we can be. But Jesus sets us free. 0:19:26.116 --> 0:19:31.236 Whow And so the one rubber band penetrates through the other, 0:19:31.356 --> 0:19:34.356 and now they're free. In the illustration, we are, honestly, 0:19:34.476 --> 0:19:37.316 we are like like ten inches from your hands right now. Yeah, 0:19:37.356 --> 0:19:38.836 and I do not know how you did that. We 0:19:38.876 --> 0:19:40.836 haven't had a drink in a while, Like this is 0:19:40.916 --> 0:19:42.316 we are clear eyed, and I don't know how you 0:19:42.356 --> 0:19:49.036 did that. Is there a different kind of clientele or 0:19:49.076 --> 0:19:51.996 parishioner being in Vegas? The people who are off the 0:19:52.076 --> 0:19:55.956 strip generally are you know, for lack of a better 0:19:55.996 --> 0:20:01.236 way to say, a run of the mill center, to 0:20:01.316 --> 0:20:03.356 get to run of the mill center status that he's 0:20:03.396 --> 0:20:05.836 coming down, I'm moving up. Yeah, you know, with people 0:20:05.876 --> 0:20:09.596 who are traveling to Las Vegas, those can questions that 0:20:09.676 --> 0:20:15.876 I hear, you know, really speak to a lot of loneliness, pornography, 0:20:16.116 --> 0:20:20.556 some gambling addictions, but a lot of that is from 0:20:20.596 --> 0:20:27.236 the people who are visiting. Do you ever have occasion 0:20:27.276 --> 0:20:30.476 to be walking around the trip in your color? I 0:20:30.516 --> 0:20:32.876 feel like you would be like really standing out on 0:20:32.876 --> 0:20:35.396 the strip if you're dressed as I would do. They 0:20:35.396 --> 0:20:38.636 think you're promoting a comedy show, right, you know, it's like, oh, 0:20:39.676 --> 0:20:42.676 this must be the Friar from the ex Caliber, you know, 0:20:43.876 --> 0:20:47.476 Um no, I don't want people thinking, oh, my father 0:20:48.196 --> 0:20:50.636 was that the collection this Sunday? And yeah, I wonder 0:20:50.636 --> 0:20:53.276 if security would rush you out. You're like, Harry comes, 0:20:53.276 --> 0:20:54.916 He's going to really put it dead in our earnings. 0:20:54.916 --> 0:20:57.796 They're all gonna scatter. Or people are like, oh, you know, father, 0:20:57.916 --> 0:21:03.076 bless my machine or whatever, Mother Cabrini, Mother Cabrini, bless 0:21:03.196 --> 0:21:06.756 my machine? Anyway? Um, who can we just back up 0:21:06.756 --> 0:21:09.036 a minute? Sure and a lucky chance. No, No, that's 0:21:09.116 --> 0:21:12.156 it's a made up thing. Well, that sounds legit to me. 0:21:14.276 --> 0:21:17.116 When you're counseling couples, is one of the major issues 0:21:17.156 --> 0:21:19.436 that one of the people did a bad job at 0:21:19.516 --> 0:21:22.956 remembering Valentine's days. That come up a lot, not particularly, 0:21:22.956 --> 0:21:26.436 but it's a symptom of lack of communication, and that's 0:21:26.436 --> 0:21:29.716 the number one problem with couples. Yeah, what's your I'm 0:21:30.516 --> 0:21:34.396 you know, I'm embarking on single, single, doom, single hood. 0:21:34.556 --> 0:21:36.716 I'm going back out in the world. Father. Do you 0:21:36.756 --> 0:21:38.996 have any advice for me in terms of seeking a 0:21:39.116 --> 0:21:42.076 partner or just relationship stuff or I know, how can 0:21:42.156 --> 0:21:47.996 I not get divorced again? Okay? Well, I think one 0:21:48.036 --> 0:21:51.716 thing would be to take time for yourself. And I 0:21:51.716 --> 0:21:54.876 don't mean like all right, party, No, I mean take 0:21:54.916 --> 0:21:57.516 time to get to know yourself and make sure that 0:21:57.556 --> 0:22:00.316 you know what it is that you're offering to another person. 0:22:00.916 --> 0:22:03.476 In every relationship, there's something really wonderful and really good 0:22:03.516 --> 0:22:05.396 and you really want to treasure that. And then there's 0:22:05.396 --> 0:22:07.116 stuff that you just really need to let go of 0:22:07.236 --> 0:22:10.276 and maybe change within you or know that that was 0:22:10.356 --> 0:22:13.236 that person's stuff so that you don't bring it into 0:22:13.276 --> 0:22:17.676 the next relationship. Okay, okay, thank you for that. All right. 0:22:17.916 --> 0:22:19.796 I feel like I need to bow to you or something. 0:22:19.796 --> 0:22:23.396 I don't know. You can just shake my hands. This 0:22:23.516 --> 0:22:26.156 has me very much, Father Daniel, and also with you. 0:22:31.196 --> 0:22:33.596 After our visit with Father Daniel, we'd go back to 0:22:33.596 --> 0:22:37.236 our lodgings. Luke begins to play online poker and I 0:22:37.276 --> 0:22:41.476 call my girlfriend, but it goes straight to message. When 0:22:41.476 --> 0:22:44.236 the desert sun begins its descent, we hop in our 0:22:44.236 --> 0:22:47.596 rental car and head to the strip and then keep going. 0:22:56.516 --> 0:22:58.116 I feel like every time I think we're gonna do 0:22:58.116 --> 0:23:01.356 something fun, we start driving again away from the city 0:23:01.396 --> 0:23:05.076 of Las Vegas. So we're currently doing that is what's happening. 0:23:05.916 --> 0:23:09.316 We're getting into the lake. Things that didn't bounce back 0:23:09.356 --> 0:23:14.516 from two thousand and eight districts, all right, So next stop. 0:23:14.636 --> 0:23:16.876 I wanted to do something fun in the evening that 0:23:16.996 --> 0:23:19.236 wasn't gambling, and so I was looking around, Yeah, and 0:23:19.276 --> 0:23:20.756 I found this. Only I have no idea who she 0:23:20.876 --> 0:23:24.836 is and she gives tours of the stars okay, and 0:23:24.956 --> 0:23:29.916 she also claims that sometimes they see UFOs. Nevada has 0:23:29.956 --> 0:23:32.636 long been considered a UFO hotspot. So when I came 0:23:32.676 --> 0:23:35.716 across a nighttime UFO tour in the desert, I signed 0:23:35.756 --> 0:23:38.916 us up. Luke might prefer playing poker, but I was 0:23:38.956 --> 0:23:41.436 betting a close encounter of the third kind beats a 0:23:41.556 --> 0:23:44.476 royal flush. I'm glad to get into this spirit of things. Yeah. Well, 0:23:44.716 --> 0:23:46.516 I looked to our left. I didn't see those mountains 0:23:46.516 --> 0:23:49.236 and that pink sky. I mean, you hear it all 0:23:49.276 --> 0:23:50.996 the time. We really are in a valley. I guess 0:23:51.356 --> 0:23:54.156 it's never even occurred to me, the geography of this area. Yeah, 0:23:54.236 --> 0:23:58.036 you know, like I've never been out here. One forget. 0:23:58.436 --> 0:24:00.996 I mean it's it's designed to forget. You fly in right, 0:24:01.156 --> 0:24:04.436 airport's so close, and then you're in just this sealed 0:24:05.916 --> 0:24:10.796 warren of pleasure. Look at that. See those balloons, they're 0:24:10.876 --> 0:24:14.156 Valentine's balloons. Someone let them off in the desert. I 0:24:14.196 --> 0:24:17.436 was poetically. Yeah, I think your day away from this 0:24:17.476 --> 0:24:20.316 trip is really no enaching your soul. We're in a 0:24:20.356 --> 0:24:25.396 Sam Mendi's film. You're making keen observations. Now we're going off, 0:24:26.436 --> 0:24:29.356 and now we're really going into what they call in Nevada, 0:24:29.436 --> 0:24:32.756 the rurals. You know that. No, no, all right, we're 0:24:32.756 --> 0:24:34.916 taking a left, but there's no road right now where 0:24:34.916 --> 0:24:37.756 we're about to take a left. Yeah, we are leaving, 0:24:38.476 --> 0:24:53.156