Las Vegas Blvd. palm trees bring me to my knees. The texture of the bark in my hands feels like the inside of a coconut washed up on the shore of the abandoned resort beach I visited in Haiti. Lady luck struck again with another trip to Las Vegas. I am a spiritual millionaire breathing the desert scorching heat.
Serenity at last.
Las Vegas Blvd. in the Arts District sees very little tourism. The locals recognize stranger things like a backpack journalist snapping photos. They approach with malice.
A jackknife in one hand and me delivering a shove with the other. The Arts District boasts brothel and back alley gutter culture. Too many too scared to witness. They cling to the strip.
Let’s step into the mind of civilian readjustment.
As a veteran journalist of the 10th Mountain Division, the walk with the 60-pound backpack full of multimedia gear could not bring back the tears. The readjustment in the Las Vegas heat baked my forehead while walking effortlessly towards the military equipment on the horizon met by showgirl purple haze.
Las Vegas Blvd. cross fitting the next phase of my branding career. Braiding corporate social responsibility with the gutter reality veterans face. The gutter is the taste of a poor moral compass and a liquid one-course-meal living on the street. No family. Nothing to eat. Just blistering heat and an empty soul.
We were groomed for this. Degradation breeds success.
The comeback story of the Las Vegas Blvd. store. Boarded up during the Floyd riots turned pawn shop providing high priced junk galore. The desert beats down on my neck. No rhythm in my step like calling cadence on a road march. Walking Las Vegas Blvd. from Golden Nugget to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign cannot possibly fathom the misery of desert homelessness.
The time spent alone aligned me with my higher self. The true potential and the fortitude of a warrior walking the same distance 30 years ago. A jaded patriot lost and found. The ground is what we pound. A reflection of the lengths a combat vet will go. We own tenacity. We Climb to Glory in the heat and the lake effect snow.
The Capitol Capstone Journal 
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