Bellagio Express

Bellagio Express by Ken West ©2010 by Ken West, all Rights Reserved



It was the butterflies that did it. They provided frosting on the Jubilee cake. Light, fluttery and beautiful, just like the Jubilee showgirls. So we sat at the bar looking out at the crowds, soaking in the best of Vegas.


All the seediness and despair were gone. In its place was joy, the joy of an unobstructed life. The joy of sex without lust. The joy of food and friends. The Eiffel Tower and balloon across the street. The Bellagio fountains and music. The lights of the Vegas Strip. The Empire State Building and New York, New York, just down the street.


Vegas can be a dream or a nightmare, whatever you make it. Slot machines from heaven or hell, ready to take you up or down. Your choice, never the dealer's. Always your choice.


Viva Las Vegas.


Ken West is author of Get What You Want!… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

A Bull Fighter Goes to Washington

Wikimedia Commons - Photograph by Tomas Castelazo

A Bull Fighter Goes to Washington ©2010 by Ken West, all Rights Reserved


His name was Jaime Bravo, like the famous bullfighter. But he wasn't a matador. This Jaime fought a different kind of bull. He fought the kind that spews from the mouths of politicians.


He fought bull in his own unique way. Every time he found political bull he'd draw a sad or mad face across the offending politician's  poster or sign. Could be anywhere, the golf course clubhouse or city hall. Didn't matter. He was a bullfighter.


One day, however, Jaime Bravo travelled to Washington, DC, to our nation's Capital. Suddenly he was so overwhelmed by all the bull that he had a nervous breakdown. The illustrious career of the esteemed bullfighter was over.

Will anyone rise to take his place?


Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is the founder of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

Best Business Thinking

Best Business Thinking ©2010 by Ken West, all Rights Reserved



He wondered what all the fuss was about. So what if the #1 business guru in the world had gone on strike. Who cared. Now it was his turn to show everyone what business was all about. It was about passion and purpose and having fun. Yes, fun.


So he, Ralph Q. Bountiful, was now ready to become number 1. Yes, numero uno. But how could he get his message out to the business world?

He decided that Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, BuzzOff, and maybe even WritersEgo.com could broadcast his prognostications. He'd let the world know, and soon they would be worshipping at his feet.


Now, if only he could come up with some decent business ideas.


Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is the founder of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

Standing Idle in Prime Retail Space

Standing Idle in Prime Retail Space ©2010 by Ken West, all Rights Reserved

Why had he come to this town, he asked himself, not really expecting an answer. To escape from what? To find what? He had no clue.

The buildings remained silent around him. To find shelter from the wind he leaned against the side of an alcove to nowhere. The place was not out of business, just no business yet.

“Prime Retail Space” said the sign. He wondered what was so “prime” about it. Perhaps all commercial real estate called itself prime. Who knew? Who cared?

So he stood and watched the cars and occasional buses zoom by, wondering why he was here.

A stubby woman wearing a black jacket and dirty sneakers stood nearby, smoking a cigarette.


But then a strange thing happened. She turned, saw him, and smiled. No apparent reason—just a smile.

His world view suddenly changed for the better.


Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is the founder of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

Raw Naked Greed by Ken West

Raw Naked Greed © 2010 All Rights Reserved by Ken West



The theme of this tale is greed. Raw, naked greed… the greed of one homeless man who tried to cheat the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of its needed tax revenue.



Let’s call the guy Joe. He was tired of appealing to people’s pity, so he decided to scrap the “Homeless, Hungry, and Sober” sign. He collected various odds and ends from the streets—things discarded by those who didn’t need them any longer.


Joe set up a little green felt cloth on the edge of the sidewalk next to where he sat. He artfully laid out his wares—assorted trinkets, a tin ring, a few colored bottles. His new sign read, “Good Stuff Cheap! Inquire About Prices from Joe, the Proprietor.”


Within days the cops had shut him down. His crime: No Vendors’ Permit and Sales Tax Log.”



Never one to give up, Joe was back two days later.

The End.

Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is the founder of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

What Would You Do?

What Would You Do? ©2010 by Ken West, all rights reserved


Government Center Plaza, 7:30 in the morning. Lots of people flowing by to their jobs in the big city. You’re headed uptown for a job interview at 9 o’clock. Cold morning, but a decent day is in store. You are early and should have plenty of time.


Suddenly, a moving object, coming from an old building on your left, catches your eye. Something red is waving back and forth. It’s very high up in an open window next to the spiral fire escape that looks like an off-center spinal column.


You stop and look up. People hurry past you. Someone is in the window waving what looks like a red bandanna. He or she is waving it frantically, as if wanting attention.


You hear a faint scream, almost like a seagull’s shriek, coming from that open window, high up in the old building. Others hurry past you. They don’t seem to notice.


Is the person waving that red bandanna in trouble, or is it some childish prank? The frantic waving continues with another faint shriek.


Should you call 911? By the time you finish explaining to the 911 operator, it could be too late. Should you go over to the building and investigate? What could you do? Or should you ignore the whole situation, and walk on?


What would you do?


Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is president of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

Music Hotel

Music Hotel © 2010 by Ken West, all rights reserved

 

I was walking two or three blocks near my hotel. Dusk was turning into darkness. I spotted the seedy-looking hotel I had passed the other night. But tonight it looked different. The yellowish light from inside looked warm and inviting. I could see a tall, dark man through the plate glass window. He was setting up a microphone as his companions got their guitars and shiny brass horns ready to play. I continued walking.


By the time I came back, music was coming from inside the place. Couldn’t really hear the melody, but I could almost feel it with my eyes. I moved closer to the window. The formerly dingy hotel lobby now looked like a Cuban nightclub. Patrons of the hotel lined the walls, listening to the tall guy singing as his fellow musicians played along. I wanted to go inside and listen, but I didn’t. I watched from outside, standing alone in the dark.


The next day, I went over to the hotel to ask about the performance. No one at the hotel admitted that it had ever taken place.

But, I saw it. If only I had gone inside to listen.


Ken West, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, is president of Better Grip Media LLC and author of Get What You Want! Workbook… available worldwide on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. In the U.S. at http://bit.ly/alF9vp.

Bull's-Eye

Bull's-Eye Copyright © 2010, all rights reserved, by Ken West

How it happened he didn’t know. But, it did. Bull’s-eye. He hit the damn Bull’s-eye! All of a sudden his luck had changed.


The lights of the carnival blinked and bobbed all the colors of the rainbow. A calliope chimed out semi-sweet carnival noises. The smell of popcorn, Italian sausages, peppers, onions, hot dogs, candied apples and cotton candy all sought his attention.


“You gets your choice of any prize displayed,” said the carnival barker impatiently. He didn't sound very happy.


The guy who hit the bulls-eye looked over all the prizes. “I’ll take the big pink bunny with the blue bow-tie, the one way up on the top shelf.”

 The carnival barker looked disgusted. It was his biggest prize. No one ever hit the bull’s-eye on the first shot. But someone finally did. Now he had to give away the big pink bunny.



He reached to the top shelf and jerked it down, none too gently.
“OK, Bull’s-Eye,” he said, “Here’s your damn prize.”  He turned his back on the guy, shaking his head in disgust.



Ken West is the author of Get What You Want, available worldwide on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982577702.