LAS VEGAS, NV – As I sit on the rotunda in the main hall of the Bellagio, Campbell Belden is ignoring me.
He has just been handed a report from his assistant on the odds for today's horse races. Belden, who received his doctorate in the psychological, social and behavioral patterns of maine coons from Harvard at the tender age of 11, has been living in Las Vegas for the past 36 months. He calls this period a "journey through the depths of hell."
"It's the basis of my new book," he says as I check my watch. It is 6:36 a.m. and I have been awake since Tuesday. Belden brought me to a series of his favorite strip joints this morning, and when we emerged the sun had come up. We decided to do breakfast.
"I think that I'm going to put a stain in the universe," Belden said as he took the penultimate bite of his quadruple stack of blueberry pancakes.
"I think that I'm going to put a stain in the universe," Belden said as he took the penultimate bite of his quadruple stack of blueberry pancakes.
During a long winded afternoon of re-run episodes of "Forgive or Forget" back in 2008, Belden realized that heading to Vegas was the appropriate next move. He immediately phoned local cab driver, and part time stationary aficionado, Mitchell Duran. Duran was not pleased, to say the least.
Seven days after Belden and Duran departed on their trip, they arrived at The Palms. Belden who had minored in the history of pancakes was keen on speaking with the executive chef. When Duran's phone rang he was getting a call from suicidal auto mechanic Derrick Schoening.
"Fuck my life," Schoening said, and abruptly hung up.
 |
| Belden with his driver, Duran, moments before they left for Las Vegas |
Duran, confused and alone, decided to book a room at the Hollywood House in Old Vegas. When Belden awoke the following morning, in his six-floor penthouse suite at The Palms, he had a telegram from the manager at the Hollywood House.
"Ur frndz ded." The note read, enthusiastically.
Realizing that he no longer had transportation, Belden frantically called everyone in his rolodex. Matthew Rutledge, personal trainer and self-professed "Corky Romano" fan, was also in Las Vegas. Although, he too had skipped town, so to speak, to check out early from the single life.
"My book is really about re-birth. I don't want anyone to know what actually happened. I just want you all to know that it did happen."
How Much is Too Much? is available from Philistine International® in hardcover for USD 499.99. Look for it on iPad, Kindle and Android.
Posts
