A mere sliver.

Before I get started on this post I have to share a vision I am having about future Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD). As everyone knows by now this will be the inaugural for VIAD. I am thinking much further down the road when the Raider's move to Las Vegas (2020). VIAD will be moved to the weekend that coincides with the KC- Raider's game. I realize it is still a long ways off, but I thought I would give people the heads up any way:

I chatted with a friend of mine in Las Vegas today in order to encourage her to attend VIAD - "You mean to tell me you handed over all those restaurants and didn't see any money out of them. Why did you do that?" She was referring to a previous post where I stated I signed ten restaurants in Chinatown a few years back for a food delivery site and saw nothing from it. - "The post said those restaurants have generated a couple hundred thousand in revenue for the site, but yet you saw nothing." She didn't have to rub it in, but you live and learn. The truth is only a few made it to the site. If all of the restaurants had been put on and marketed correctly the revenue number would have been triple. I told her such and she replies - "This whole Chinatown stuff you have been blogging about has me both curious and confused." I understand Chinatown is out of the wheelhouse of most people who read the blog. I get it. That's why I am encouraging people to attend VIAD.

"Look, I missed out four years ago because I had no control over things," I then add, "The restaurants I am telling people about are a mere sliver of what can be extrapolated from Chinatown. When you come to VIAD I will showcase a number of examples that will be clear for people. The key is coming to VIAD." She then tells me to sum up the idea so it is clear for her - "I'm not coming out unless I have a better understanding of what it is you are trying to accomplish."

It was a fair question so I told her this - "Orange County California has always been the center of the universe in terms of introducing new products and services to the masses. The thought has always been if you can sell a sandwich or shoes there it will act as a hallway to the rest of the country. Chinatown has that kind of muscle as a market. If you can get something to be successful there it is bound to be successful to a much larger market...and it is mostly untapped." She then requests another example. I have many but gave the one I believe most are familiar with.

"Do you remember when things went to hell in the recession?" She answers yes, I reply, "Every casino in town was going broke because of it. Tourism was literally cut in half. Caesars and MGM had to reorganize. It was a bad time for everyone." I then add, "I take that back. It was a bad time for everyone except Steve Wynn (Mirage) & Sheldon Adelson (Sands) their respective companies were pulling in more money than ever before while all their competitors were headed straight down the shitter. Do you know why?" She had no clue, I add with emphasis - "It's because they had the foresight to tap into the Asian consumer when all of their competitors were building monstrosities on the strip."

I could go on and on why I believe but than I start to sound redundant. I just want her to come VIAD and see for herself - "So you are telling me if you can be a facilitator in Chinatown there is enough to go around." Again, without trying to sound redundant, I answer her question the best I know how - "That is what I am saying exactly Sweetie. If it can work for Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson there is nothing in the books that says it can't work for Rob Astle. And I know exactly how to get to it! Come to VIAD and I will show you!"

The return of the idiot...

Let's start this post by venturing back in time to the spring of 2013. I was tasked with signing ten restaurants for a food delivery site a than associate was launching. I remember, vividly, writing the names of a number of traditional restaurants on a legal size piece of paper. I visited those restaurants on a number of occasions and was given the same answers every time - "You have to call corporate. The manager isn't in." After hearing the same rejections over and over I was close to throwing in the towel and than an Asian friend suggested I approach a lady he knows in Chinatown who owns a restaurant about the service. I was unfamiliar with Chinatown and the comings and goings. But I had nothing to lose so I followed his advice. Turns out - I have never been given better advice in my life!

I remember it like it was yesterday, I sat down with the owner and explained in detail how the service will bring her more revenue. She asked a few questions that I answered without hesitation and the next thing you know I had a signed contract for a nice restaurant. As I was leaving she told me to go next door and talk to her neighbor (Lee) at the Korean restaurant - "Tell him I sent you and just signed up," were her parting words to me. I did exactly as she said and the next thing I know I have another signed contract. After the experience I decided to recruit a couple of locals in Chinatown to help me with the effort and in no time at all I had ten restaurants. Fast forward to present time: Turns out a number of restaurants I signed have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the site. Did I see any of it? No. Am I upset about it? No, not really. I didn't have any control over them once I gave them to the site. Should I have done things differently back then? Yea, but the truth is those restaurants are a very small sliver of what can be done in Chinatown.

Present day

I called my friend Flash in Wichita the other day to share with him my thoughts - "They're a number of things I would do differently if I could turn back time. A million people share the same thoughts as me. I don't want to spend any of what remaining time I have left looking back and thinking, 'Man, I should have done this; or man I should have done that.' That's why I am so stoked about VIAD. I am positive the people who attend will be enlightened like they have never been before. It will be an absolute look in to what Trump style thinking, as pertains to the economy, can provide if people are willing to get ahead of it." I cherish Flash' opinion as much as anyone, so when he asked, "How much are you looking to raise?" I answer, "250K." There was a brief silence and he says - "That's a lot of money. What are you going to do with it." I proceed to give him the rundown and he says - "Look, I am going to do my best to come out for VIAD. You have me intrigued," he then adds, "250k is a lot of money. You better be damn convincing." 

Facilitation

Facilitator:  someone or something that facilitates something; especially :  someone who helps to bring about an outcome (such as learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision - the workshop's facilitator kept discussion flowing smoothly

I called a friend of mine in Albuquerque the other day to encourage him to attend Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD) which is scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas:

"What do you mean when you claim you are a facilitator?" I was explaining to Junior a new age is upon us. It is imperative he, along with whomever else attends VIAD understand exactly what the palpability of a well planned facilitation process is capable of - "When I say I am a facilitator, think of it as a person who brings products and services to the forefront of new audiences. Facilitating is a big, big part of how internet entrepreneurship works."

However one decides to define facilitating is up to them...If you want my laymen's definition...it is as simple as this - A person or small group who are capable of getting completely underneath viable concepts and ideas and lifting them to a level that is understandable to a larger group - "Facilitating is not for the feint of heart," I add with a laugh.

Junior owns and operates a beef jerky company in Albuquerque and has been doing quite well at it. But like every small business he is looking to expand - "Look," I tell him intently, "When you come to VIAD I am going to devise a way for you to place your product into a Chinese market," I then add, "Doesn't that sound like a good deal. There's a billion potential new customers." He says, sheepishly, "Asians aren't into beef jerky." I immediately respond - "I disagree!" I then add - with vigor, "The problem is they have not been introduced to your product. They're over a billion Chinese. I am positive you can find a clientele in there if you can reach them. My role as a facilitator is to make such things possible."

We chat about the weather for a minute and he says - "The wife and I are coming to VIAD and I will bring plenty of samples of beef jerky." I smile and say, "I have been telling you this for years. Sooner or later the times would shift and my way of thinking would become chic or en vogue or whatever you want to call it. Now we have an administration who is taking a better stance on trade and commerce, especially with Asians." I then ask if he remembers what I have been stressing to him and others for a long time, he answers - "Yes I remember. You said, 'When your way of thinking becomes tangible to people it will hit like a fucking hurricane." I smile widely.

Cocaine, whiskey and hookers.

The other day I chatted with a friend of mine from the Midwest in order to encourage him to attend Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD) which is scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas:

The first thing he says after I extend the invitation is - "Do you know what the three most important marketing tools are for attracting people to an event?" I give the standard answer - "That would be research, presentation and convenience." He responds by saying - "Wrong! The three most important tools for attracting people to an event are cocaine, whiskey and hookers. It has been tried and true for years. I am telling you those are the things that bring people in."

I'm no spring chicken, that much is for sure, so when he shared with me his secret for building a better mousetrap I couldn't help but laugh and say - "It isn't that I don't agree with you, but VIAD isn't that kind of event. I'm billing it as more of a family/friend kind of thing. Coke, whiskey and hookers don't fall into that genre. Besides, this will be the first year for VIAD so there is no room in the budget for those sort of amenities."

We share a few laughs and he says jokingly - "I thought you were a marketing genius? Hell, you don't even know the three keys to planning a successful event. Jeez, I got you pegged all wrong." My friend is a good ol' boy from Kansas who likes to tease, that's okay with me. I would rather deal with humor than descent any day of the week - "Look," I say with a wide smile, "If that's what honks your horn I could very discreetly arrange, well, let's just say, 'I can point you in the right direction." I hear a roar of laughter after my statement and he says, "I would probably have to run it by wife and kids because they most likely will be with me. I'm pretty sure what their answer will be."

I really admire this guy. He's provided a number of insights to me through the years. It would be awesome if he could attend VIAD and listen to the spiel - I add before our conversation ends - "If you come to VIAD I promise I will make things interesting and entertaining. Besides, there should be a number of other good ol' boys and girls from the Midwest in attendance who hail from the same area as us. Think of it as a Kansas reunion in the desert."

Overcompensating

"People are strange when you're a stranger. Faces look ugly when you're alone. Women seem wicked when you're unwanted. Streets are uneven when you're down."

People are Strange ~ The Doors


"You are overcompensating because you feel bad about not visiting Dan when he was sick. It's something all of us go through. I wish I would have went and seen him as well. We didn't know how bad off he actually was." - James was right - Recently, a mutual friend of ours passed. He was a homeless guy I met when I lived in North town - "Long live 'Dan the man!" He says intently, "There will never be another one of him. That's for goddamn sure."

Well, I have been feeling guilty with how things went down with Dan so I decided to atone by lending a hand to another homeless gentlemen I know...his name is Jeff..."He's no Dan. That's for sure," I tell James, "Do you remember how thoughtful and intelligent Dan was?" James nods yes. "What's the best way to put this?" I murmur, "Let's just say if Dan was a can of beer Jeff would try to pop his top and drink him."

"Imagine that, a homeless guy who is a drunk. I have never heard of such a happening," he says with a snicker - "Makes you really appreciate Dan that much more." My new friend Jeff is not a bad person, he just has a drinking problem...a big drinking problem - "The other day he came over and I made a nice dinner for us but he didn't take one bite. I think he was afraid food would mess with his buzz."

We chat about the weather for a minute and then James says - "You really wouldn't know Dan was homeless unless he told you or you saw him sleeping at the church. He seemed like an ordinary guy most of the time." - I say to him - "Not this guy. He is the most disheveled person you will ever meet. He is long gone." The other day when Jeff came over I made him take a shower and wash his clothes before he did anything - "I gave him some my of clothes to wear and he looked like a scarecrow in them," I say with a hearty laugh.

I will continue to help Jeff as much as I can. I would say that missing Dan is the underlying factor in why I decided to help Jeff. It's not the only reason. It seems like the right thing to do as well. But I will say this - "I sure miss Dan."

The worlds greatest bookie.

I visited my cousin Joel at his bar yesterday. I wanted to bring him up to speed on Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD) scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas:

"Bookie!" I yell as I enter, "What the hell is going on?" I nicknamed him Bookie a number of years ago, because, well, you know why - "What's the line in the Celtic's game?" I add as I take my place at the bar. Joel takes and gives action every single day on games. Do you need to know the spread or money line? Call Joel! He is a fiend for the action.

He says to me - without removing his eyes away from the Celtic's game on the big screen - "Do you want your usual?" I answer in a matter of fact tone - "You got that right Bookie!" I then ask - "How are things looking on the game?" He goes on to tell me that the Celtic's are a slight favorite and he has a pile riding on them - "It won't kill me if they don't cover," he adds, "You know how I do it."

We chat about the weather for a minute and then I say - "We will be discussing in detail what the future of sports betting holds for the country at VIAD. I know the worlds greatest bookie will want to be there." A belief shared by many is now that marijuana is becoming the norm in this country it will only be a matter of time before the other shoe drops and sports betting online becomes legal - "It will happen during the Trump presidency," I add as I take another swig of my beer.

"I am starting to agree with you," he tells me after the Celtic's pushed the lead to twenty - "The future is wide open for sports betting and I am in the right place at the right time." I add, "Be sure to mark VIAD on your calendar. I want you in attendance to explain how things work. I will help you in the presentation as well. Besides, we can't have a village idiot gathering without a genuine bookie in attendance. You got that Bookie!"

We share some laughs as I down my third beer, he then asks if I had heard from uncle Ned lately, "Yes I have," I tell him intently, "He moved to a care center in Hutchinson and is as ornery as ever." Joel laughs and says - "It's too bad he isn't in better health. He would enjoy coming out to Las Vegas for VIAD." - I nod in agreement.

All aboard the Trump train!

"From the great Atlantic ocean to the wide Pacific shore. To the queen of flowin' mountains and the South belt by the shore. She's mighty tall and handsome and she's known quite well by all. She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball."

Wabash Cannonball ~ Johnny Cash

"You keep talking about the so called Trump train and how it would be a good idea to jump aboard. Where is it?" I called a friend of mine in Las Vegas today to extend him an invitation to the first annual Village Idiot Armada Days (VIAD) scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas - "Look," I tell him intently, "The Trump train is something you have to find yourself or; you have to find someone who will lead you to it. It's not something that shows up at your door. And believe me when I say this! The Trump train will be making a stop at VIAD!"

We chat about the weather for a minute and then he asks - "What is it that you expect to find on the Trump train?" I encourage him to attend VIAD once again - then I answer, "The Trump train will be business and idea heavy. It will consist of a number of people who have been waiting for taxes to drop and regulations to be lifted. It will encourage entrepreneurship and new market exploration. It will be the one train in life that you don't want to miss!"

We chat a bit more about the weather and then I state, "The goal of VIAD is to give everyone who attends a genuine look at what will work in terms of today's Trump America economy." He then asks, "How can you be so sure they will let you on the Trump train when it arrives at VIAD?" I snicker and say, "People are going to want to make me the conductor of it after they listen to what I have to say at VIAD."

The worlds greatest homeless guy.

"It would be time to grab your guns and head for the hills. He would always tell me that. Think about it for a moment. What would your reaction be if all of a sudden you woke up and there were no more homeless people in Las Vegas? It would be surreal to say the least." James and I were watching UFC fights and reminiscing about the life and times of a dear friend who passed recently - "This one is for 'Dan the man," he says boisterously as we hoist beers and take a swallow in memory of our favorite homeless guy of all time. Daniel Frederick Tepas passed on April 15, 2017. He was an icon in North Las Vegas and will be missed dearly by his friends and family.

"Remember the time he freaked out at Circle K," I say with a hearty laugh to James, "He got all pissed because I said, 'Tom Brady was the greatest quarterback of all time.' Man he hated the Patriot's. He would always say, 'Bellicheater this and Bellicheater that.' All you had to do was mention New England and how they are a dynasty and the next thing you know he would flip out." James smiles and then says, "Remember how he would always claim that Hillary Clinton was the Antichrist and how happy he was that Trump got elected. I tell you he had a few screws loose."

The stories about Dan go on and on. It was truly a blessed time knowing him. I will never forget how kind and compassionate he was to me - "I think they broke the mold with Dan," I tell James with a smile - After a few snickers James says, "I agree with you about breaking the mold with Dan. He was a unique guy to say the least...RIP Dan," he says one more time as we hoist our beers for yet another salute to the worlds greatest homeless guy.

A Trump man in Chinatown.

I called my friend Fred in Arizona today in order to bring him up to speed on Village Idiot Armada Days - (VIAD) which is scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas. We exchange pleasantries for a few minutes and then he says, "I can't believe this country elected a clown like the one we got now. He is so obnoxious," Fred's opinion of  President Trump is that of an incompetent boob who happened to run against a bunch of other incompetent boobs and won. "I feel Mickey Mouse would make a better president than this blowhole. What is it that you think is so great about this guy?"

I have been waiting for someone to ask me why I REALLY like President Trump - "Look," I say intently, "The thing that turns me on with him is his position on how China has been zapping money out of this country left and right and no one is trying to make any money off of them. It's a one way street and I believe he is apt to set a better trade policy with them. I mean it can't get much worse. The trade deficit was three hundred and seventy six billion dollars with them last year. Don't you think it would be a good idea to at least try an reverse it a little?"

We chat a little more about the weather and then I ask, "Do you remember the Chinese restaurant I took you to when you were last in town? You know, the one you said, 'was the best Chinese food you ever had." He answers yes, "Good," I tell him intently, "Because that restaurant and a hundred more in Chinatown are all under my thumb. And let me tell you this with all certainty. Trump is viewed as a businessman in Chinatown, and business is good in Chinatown! One last thing...Chinatown is the gateway to a much, much larger audience. And I am the guy who holds the key!"

Just to bring people up to speed on the last paragraph - a few years ago I was tasked with signing up restaurants for a food delivery site. A few restaurants I signed in Chinatown have been pulling in astronomical numbers for the site. And the truth is they're a hundred other restaurants in Chinatown that are apt to perform - I am the only one who can get them. I reiterated to Fred the sentiment and he tells me - "You sound awfully sure of yourself...I tell him, "It ain't bragging if it's true." I then add, "Just be ready for VIAD. I will be demonstrating a number of dynamic and emerging trends." I then yell - "Trump!" He does not reciprocate the statement.

Trump man numero uno.

I called my friend Mad Max in Kansas today to gauge his interest in attending the first annual Village Idiot Armada Days scheduled for June 22-26 in Las Vegas. I figure him attending is a long shot, but I thought I would give him a shout nonetheless. Besides, he makes me laugh:

"Trump you asshole!" He bellows as he answers, "I haven't heard from you in a while. What the hell have you been up to?" Mad Max is Trump man numero uno. All his posts on social media consist mostly of how much he loves Trump and hates all of the president's opposition. When Trump won the presidency it was as if he had hit the lottery - Now - I'm a Trump supporter as well, but Mad Max takes the cake...by a mile!

"Mad Max you asshole!" I've always found it better to talk forcefully to him - especially when you are trying to get a point across, "I need you to get your ass out here for VIAD. I guarantee we are going to touch on a number of things that your idol President Trump would approve of!" I then pause for a second and before he can speak - I yell - "Trump!" He immediately reciprocates my statement and then says, "You want to know something asshole...I mean Astle. I am feeling so much better about the direction of the country now that a businessman is in charge. I am going to do my best to come out to Las Vegas and listen to your spiel at VIAD. By the way I love the name...Village Idiot Armada Days," he says with a hearty laugh, "It's catchy. Only a flake like you could come up with something like that."

Mad Max and I go a long ways back. He's been to Las Vegas a couple times to see me, but not in a long while, so when he said he would do his best to come out for VIAD - I left it at that. I then asked if he had bought any new guns lately - "No," he says with a snicker, "No need to. Besides, we have a president who is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. As long as that is the case I'm not worried about buying any more guns."