by Jonathan Kraft

Written 17. May, 2005

A mountain of thought is what I have got
And I’m thinking I can be much more than I currently am
I seek and I search
Even looking in a church
Ultimately finding that there is no good or bad.
There is just “I am.”

I am hope because I hope for all
I am game, filling hours playing games
I am love, reaching out to those around
I am sex, because I think about sex

I am desire for I desire so much more
I am money as I focus on its attainment
I am truth as the only lie I truly tell is the lie I tell to me
I am sadness, as I see what the fear creates

I am dreams, turning sleeping dreams into waking reality
I am light, bringing light to the world
I am strength, striving to be true to my strength
I am the search, searching to find my calling.

To personally know,
all that can show,
and how fast
can an hour go by,
or a day,
or a year,
or a lifetime go by.
And good, or bad, is less relevant – - what is relevant is why.
Why do we want peace?
Why do we want love?
Why do we want respect?
Why do we want faith?
Why do we want hope?

Because they form the foundation,
which forms the individual,
which forms the society,
which forms the strength of the nation.

And what we are filling our minds with
is not faith, hope, love, peace, or respect.

As a result,
the strength of the nation
is shaken to the foundation.

We must rediscover why, not just what.

By the Beach

by Jonathan Kraft

This was a poem I wrote in response to the following request (he actually asked for 2 poems… one will be published in a couple of days):

It is May 15, 1996 and Jonathan is 16
This is for a class assignment for 10th grade English Lit.

Poems based on “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This is Just to Say”by William Carlos Williams

by Jonathan Kraft

———————————————————————————————-

So much depends on

Parents
What they are
Is what you become

family
Whose support is
always wanted; sometimes needed

friends
That are told things
that others do not know

people
Choosing to do right
in the face of wrong

———————————————————————————————-
This is Just to Say
I have borrowed
the change
that was on
your dresser
and which
you were probably
saving
for an emergency.

Forgive me
I needed it
to make a phone call
to Mom and Dad

Many travelers come to the US on a quick two-three week jaunt, in much the same way Americans travel to Europe or Australia.

During a whirlwind tour, they’ll hit New York, spend a few days in Miami, and then hop over to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and/or Seattle.

They skip the middle of the United States entirely, with one exception:

Las Vegas.

The glitz and glamour of Las Vegas are (for many) the trip of a lifetime.

For me, Las Vegas comes with mixed feelings.

Lost Wages

This is a nickname for Sin City that I learned on a family trip to Las Vegas when I was around 8 years old.  (I must have learned this name from my Dad.)

After I hit the age of 22, Las Vegas became a place I visited 14 times in a period of 5 years.

I was there for various conferences and events.

For me, the glitz and glamour are still amazing, but overwhelming and exhausting as well.

Las Vegas feels a bit more like a place you go to have the money sucked from your wallet and bank account as you sit dumbfounded by… well… the glitz and glamour.

Regardless, even though I’ve been to the magical oasis in the desert so many times, I’ve never written about it for our site, which is strange.

I guess it’s because when it comes to Vegas,  you can fool yourself.

The odds could be in my favor (today, tonight, this month)!

This is a fool’s errand placed upon those who focus on the possibility for reward.

Perhaps it’s just that I know the odds are stacked in favor of the house, every time.

So I’m not really a fan of gambling, whether that be in person, online, or even on a site like www.mobilecasinoaustralia.com.au

I always prefer to play when the odds are in my favor (which is NEVER, if you’re referring to Las Vegas).

Basic facts:

• The odds in Las Vegas are always in favor of the house
• Las Vegas is a great place to spend money and enjoy some really unique activities
• Vegas has fantastic food and entertainment

I’ve come to realize that knowing you’re going for a weekend where you will be spending a lot of money to have a unique experience (and accepting this in advance of it happening). can help you to enjoy it more.

Just be aware that you’re going to Las Vegas purely for entertainment.

If you happen to win something, that’s icing on the cake.

If I were going to Las Vegas and had never been there before, here would be one option for an ideal weekend there, given a fair amount of funds allocated for a fancy weekend.

(Caveat: I would likely never spend $5,000 for a weekend in Las Vegas, but if that was in my frame of reference for something I would do, here is how I would spend the weekend.)

Take Friday off of work

Fly to Las Vegas, arriving around 12 PM or earlier.

Take a limo service from Las Vegas airport and drive to Hoover Dam. (Yes, my tour of the city of glitz and glamour would start by touring the reason Las Vegas even exists… a city built for the men who gave their lives building the electricity system that powers the city, and the establishments and women who offered them a way to turn over their hard-earned wages).

Take the limo from the Hoover Dam tour directly to the Bellagio, where I would stay in a room overlooking the Bellagio fountains.

Go for drinks in one of the fancy restaurants overlooking the fountains, and maybe play a little at the craps tables.

As stated, I’m not really much of a gambler, but it can be a lot of fun to play a little craps or a little poker for a little while.

Tip: Make friends with Casino employees

If you can make friends with one of the pit bosses at one of the tables, you are likely in for getting comped in really great ways.

I’ve gotten comped for hundreds of dollars worth of food at one of the big Vegas hotels, nearly every time I’ve been there, because of the $60 total I once spent at a craps table.

Head over to the Paris hotel and have dinner in the restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

After dinner, catch a late-night showing of the Cirque Du Soleil show O, and perhaps even a later showing of Zumanity or one of the other many shows available in Vegas.

Saturday in Las Vegas

Wake up late and watch the Bellagio fountains from the balcony of the hotel while having room service deliver a nice breakfast.

Go for a walk on the strip (I like walking, even in this weekend where funds are easily available), and walk to the Venetian.

Ride a private gondola with Carrie, whom I neglected to kiss the only time we’ve ever been on a gondola together.

Carrie And Jonathan on the Gondola at the Venetian in 2003.

I would correct that missed kiss opportunity.

From there, I’d catch another Cirque du Soleil show – perhaps Ka, at the MGM Grand.

Then I would have dinner at Joël Robuchon restaurant.

It would be expensive… and worth it I think.

I’d then take the limo to the airport for a night time helicopter tour of the city, and end the evening with romantic champagne looking out at the last showing of the Bellagio fountains, or perhaps head down to old Las Vegas for the Fremont Street Experience.

Sunday in Las Vegas

Room service and nice breakfast with the fountains again (love those fountains at the Bellagio), and then lunch in the Bellagio at Picasso restaurant.

This would be followed by La Reve at the Wynn Hotel and, finally, if I could see one more show, I would see Mystere at Treasure Island.

Sunday before heading out of town, I might find a chapel and get married – just to say I’d gotten officially married to the love of my life in Las Vegas… (even though we’re already married and it would be symbolic).

Carrie and Jonathan at the MGM Wedding Chapel in 2003

And that would be an absolutely fantastic weekend in Las Vegas.

Alternatively, I would do this whole weekend while staying at Mandalay Bay, which I think is one of the nicest Las Vegas hotels, though a bit away from the main action of everything.

Of course, this is just one possibility for all of the amazing weekends that could be had in Las Vegas – at a variety of price points, but this would be a fantastic weekend for sure.

Have you been to Las Vegas as a tourist?

What have I missed?

What would you include in your perfect Las Vegas weekend?

My wife sent me this, this morning, from the world of Dilbert.

I love my wife.

I just bought Samsung’s new 900X Laptop.

One of my favorite things about this laptop is that it gets 4+ hours of working time (in flight mode), so I can literally work for 4+ hours straight without finding an outlet.

There’s just one word for that: AMAZING!

But when you’re flying through multiple airports, as I recently did going from Denver to Portland (via Seattle), the total travel time can be longer than 4 hours.

Knowing this, I hunted at Denver International Airport for outlets before boarding my flight.

We’re a power hungry society.

Every one of the 8 or so outlets in the waiting area were taken.

So, I was super pleased to see that in the Alaska Airlines waiting area in Seattle’s airport, there were power plugs built in under every other seat.

These plugs include USB power plugs as well.

This means that there is an outlet installed for about every 4^th passenger on a flight, right in the waiting area.

There’s also free Wifi in Seattle.  With power and an Internet connection, waiting in an airport is just like being anywhere else for me… I can write posts, get work done, and it makes the time go very quickly in-between flights.

I’m not sure if Alaska Airlines paid for these upgrades, or if this was done by the Seattle airport.

Regardless, it made my layover in Seattle a very pleasant experience and gave me an opportunity to be fully charged for the 2.5 hour flight to Denver.

Congratulations and thank-you to whoever (Seattle airport or Alaska airlines) put in these upgrades for travelers.

Into Whose Pockets
by Jonathan Kraft
Written 12. May, 2008

Jonathan and Carrie were about $22,000 in credit card debt on 12. May, 2008.
Much of this credit was at 26% APR.

Who collects this 26%?
Into whose pockets does it flow?
Does it go to build parks
and safe havens for larks
Or is it carried away by a crow?

And what does such interest do to my life?
Have “they” even stopped to think?
The pressure, for many
is on more than their penny
and will lead many to see a shrink.

What can I do to stop this madness
and stop imprisonment inside this monthly fence?
I will stop overspending
No longer accepting their moneylending
Yes, that will make quite a difference.

Mothers and Children
by Jonathan Kraft

When women look unto the world
Thinking to have a child
It seems that they imagine an offspring
Well-mannered, well-tempered, perhaps mild

But from day one, moms learn, life’s full of surprises
Babies spend lots of time fussing and crying
There are moments of softness and stillness,
but the first months can be quite trying.

Children reach and you teach (and sometimes they listen)
From it all, they learn and they really grow
Sometimes they don’t learn, kids sometimes resist
All the things that you know they should know

But a mother is persistent, her love knows no bounds
She’s patient, as a general rule
And nothing is quite as bittersweet
As the first day her children first go off to school

It’s the first time she sends them out into the world
To learn lessons and meet people too
She sends them out to get what they need,
Because her loves stays true.

The time seems to pass so rapidly
New experiences there are every day
Through good times, struggles, and disagreements
Through times spent going out to play

The teenage years bring struggles and clashes
Sometimes they can be quite fierce
Sometimes moms and children don’t see eye to eye
Sometimes she feels her heart’s been pierced

Children don’t always understand the love
Or give the same love in return
That can be hard in being a mom
Causing the soul to yearn

For more ways to connect to her children
She forgives harsh words that weren’t really true
It’s important that children also forgive
Sometimes moms can make mistakes too

Mothers bring children into the world
They comfort with the peace of a dove
They instruct, support, and nurture,
And raise children in the light of true love.

I’m not sure what all Southwest Airlines is doing on Mother’s Day.

However, on the day before Mother’s Day, in the Portland airport, here’s how Southwest decorated behind the check-in counter.

None of the other airlines had anything at their check-in counters..

Even though I have this impression of Southwest being a cheap and budget airline, it’s little touches like this that make me have a much more favorable impression of them.

Way to go Southwest.

This was a small gesture.

However, you definitely did something different to stand out on Mother’s Day weekend, and this traveler noticed.

Clean Out The Old
by Jonathan Kraft

Written 10. May, 2005

Clean out the old to bring in the new
This is something I’ve been told I must do

In order to embrace all of the success
that life has in store I must confess

my faults and weaknesses, improving what I can
finding hope in the future, creating power where I stand

welcoming new opportunity, letting go of old thought
success is not something that can ever be bought

or won in a contest. No, success takes “I will”
and being willing to develop every possible skill

which will carry me forward to the place I belong
away from the city of the weak to the mountain of the strong.

The lives I will impact, the hearts I will touch
My words and example to their hearts they will clutch.

So today I’m carrying out the old, and bringing in what’s new
opening body, heart and mind to ALL I can do.

(ADDED LATER)
Goal setting is my hymn back to the almighty on the opposite of the page.
Reviewing my day is a chance for me to come clean and be accountable to the dreams the creator put into me.