Although I live pretty close to Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, both in Connecticut, I never went into a casino until a trip to Washington state last year. I drove from Seattle to Seaview to get to a music event at the Shelburne Inn on a Saturday at 8 p.m. Along the way, I did the Kurt Cobain/Nirvana route through Aberdeen and continued down the coast.
When I reached Tokeland, I decided it was time for me to try the slots. So I set my limit at $13 and we went inside the Shoalwater Bay Casino which I thought looked similar to a pancake house restaurant on the East Coast.
I must have lost track of time, because eventually I received a call from a friend, who was already at the event, asking where I was! Come to find out, I was given the wrong time (it started at 6:30 p.m.) and I were still far away.
For the rest of that ride, I thought about how uninteresting it is to gamble. I work too hard to throw my money away.
But, for some people it is a sickness. And, so, there is a patron saint of gamblers. St. Cajetan was born on Oct. 1, 1480 in Vicenza, Italy. He studied law in Padua and became a priest in 1516.
St. Cajetan founded the Order of the Clerics Regular (the Theatines). He had a deep interest in healing through spirituality. He died in Naples on Aug. 7, 1547. Canonized: 1671. St. Cajetan is also the patron saint of the unemployed. His feast day is Aug. 7.
(Happy Birthday, Grandpa Fred: May 18, 1892 to Aug. 30, 1976 and Grandma Isabel: May 18, 1914 to April 18, 1997)
