You know, I would like to be able to blame my good-turned-bad weekend in Sin City on Democrats, Republicans, your mom, and video games, but the simple fact of the matter is that I have, officially, just become my parents parents …. and not in the good way that I typically like.

It all started simply enough – I was on my way to Las Vegas and the Hard Rock Hotel to watch the 2009 American Motorcyclists Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony. To be fair, I will say that the AMA part of it was awesome. I will write about that later, whether you like it or not, but suffice it to say that being around such amazing contributors to the sport of motorcycling was one of the highlights of my year. Add to that the fact that Dan Gurney introduced one of this year’s inductees and you might imagine that I was unable to watch the entire ceremony without getting a bit emotional at times.

But enough of the sentimental stuff for a few minutes … I will get back to that another day.

I probably should have known that I was in for a bad weekend. First, as we went to check our bags, the “woman” from the airline became enraged when we entered the First Class line. There was no one in either the First Class or the Coach Class lines, nor were the desk agents busy helping anyone, but, for some unknown reason, we were forced to get in the customer-less Coach Class line before we were allowed to approach the counter.

Then, while grabbing a quick bite and waiting for the flight, we were unfortunate enough to be seated next to this absolute jerk of a doctor, bragging to his wife/girlfriend about how he was going to be able to do so much less work, but bill so much more. Look, I understand that doctors spent an ungodly amount on their education and that the work is stressful. I understand that it is business, but should they feel so inclined to increase their profit margin simply by doing less work and appearing to care less, I wish they could please keep it to themselves.

And then there was the mini-bar fiasco.

Sometimes a guy absolutely, positively needs to drink a cold beer and put his feet up, while letting the soothing lights and sounds of a stupid TV show numb his brain. Is that really all that much to ask? Sometimes there are unfortunate delays to that process, however, like when you open the mini-bar and find that it has ceased to be a refrigerator, and has, in fact, become a heater. I don’t think I need to remind everyone that sudsy adult beverages are really not all that fond of heat. In this case, several of them tried to escape, so the dead liquid was all over the inside of the “fridge.”

This part, while obviously a bummer, is not the end of the world. But when you repeatedly try to fix the situation by carefully and patiently explaining that the mini-bar fridge is broken, and that while you’ve given up on the convenience of said mini-bar, the inconvenience of having to explain, at length, on a daily basis that you didn’t open all of those seven dollar beers and pour them into the fridge, is quite painful.

Then, having a leaf blower running at full-tilt-boogie, right outside the window at 7 AM on the day of checkout – a Sunday – followed by housekeepers and various other hotel staff repeatedly knocking on the door, didn’t really help my increasing level of frustration.

Did aliens take over the Hard Rock Hotel? Really. I used to love the place. I have stayed there more times than I can count. I have given these folks more money than I can remember. I have walked through its halls and wondered what the guitars that hang on the walls might be able to tell me. I understand that it might be a hard place to work – what with all the people who come there simply to consume too much and become belligerent, but c’mon … I smile, say “please” and “thank you,” tip well, and have my key card ready when approaching the elevators …

Dear employees of the TSA, hotels everywhere, restaurants, airlines … and lots of other stuff, for gosh sakes, please listen to me for a few minutes --- not all of the people you deal with are stupid. I, for one, am not completely stupid. I guarantee the fact that I travel more than you do. I have endeavored to try and treat you all like you are worthy of my respect. The simple fact of the matter, however, is that I am growing tired of the lack of reciprocation.