Th’ Gaussling is on the road again this week somewhere in fabulous Las Vegas just off the strip. What a strange place this is. Underneath the friendly veneer everyone is mad as a hatter- jabbering, drooling wacko. Chronic exposure to the chiming drone of slot machines and the “Thunder from Down Under” puts the brain into a continuous limbic overload.

Field Phrenology Notebook.  While waiting in line for some cheap fast food at el Pollo Loco here in Vegas, I had the opportunity to study the skull of the fellow ahead of me. The fellow was sporting a bristling soul patch under his bottom lip as the only bit of hair on his head. When I queued behind him, he was already in the middle of a tiff with the manager. He was waving his arms up and down (el Pollo Loco) and making a show of his contempt by constantly shifting his weight from one leg to another. To his credit he never uttered a rude word. Though it was dark outside, he was wearing wrap around sunglasses clamped to his shiny head.

The back of his head was notable by the pronounced eccentricity of the occipital region of his skull. On the back he had a 1 inch diameter, hemispheric, protuberance that obviously posed a hazard for the daily whole-head shaving ritual. Because this guy was skinny, he didn’t have that horizontal rear mustache of fuzz that occurs when the skin folds prevent the razor from covering all of the scalp.

Finally, the man was released from his agony with a $26 refund and stomped out. We were all relieved and went about our business.