I packed a light bag for my two day trip to Tucson, Arizona and was running a bit late for my flight out of LAX which was scheduled to leave at 2:15 p.m. My wife and I got dropped off at the curb and I was pleasantly surprised to see no lines anywhere and when I walked up to the podium the skycap welcomed us by name as it turned out he was a big poker fan and ushered us right through.

I came to Tucson to host a poker tournament for Mopar which is the parts division for Chrysler. They are having a retreat here for their top sales people and one of the activities is a poker tournament that they asked me to host. The Marriott hotel here is beautiful and is surrounded by thousands of cactus. The cactus I found out are hundreds of years old. It takes 80 years for one arm to grow on a cactus. Many of them have 4 or 5 arms which make them older then America itself. It is serene and peaceful here.

My wife Marsha has not been feeling well and I was hoping that a couple days at this spa resort would give her a chance to rejuvenate and feel better. By the time we got checked in and settled into our room a siesta seemed the perfect way to begin to relax. I slept for about an hour before heading down to take in some of the other Mopar activities that were going on. I raced around the track in one of those Indy Style Go Carts with some professional race car drivers which was a lot of fun. Allen Johnson (AJ) who is a NHRA pro stock racer lapped me twice and even though I felt like I was letting it out they passed me like I was at a rest stop.

We got to sleep in this morning and then roll out of bed and head down to the spa for a morning massage and relaxation. Then it was onto the golf course for me. A beautiful dessert course that was pretty much target golf. It was a team format called a "Scramble." We take the best drive and all hit from there and then everyone plays out the hole on their own ball. The lowest net score (we used 50% handicaps) is recorded. My team shot -11 under. No good. Winning score was 55!

A quick dinner of grilled lobster, shrimp kabobs and Kobe steaks on the patio under the night sky topped off a beautiful afternoon. I started the poker tournament around 8 p.m Some of the players were playing poker for the first time and really enjoyed it. I ran the tournament but when it got down to five players they wanted to stick me into the final table with a few chips to beat up on me I guess. I imagine it to be like dunking the clown in the water tank. Remember that carnival game? I loved that game. I remember they brought it to my elementary school one year and at the carnival they had the teachers sit up there as part of a fundraising event. Anyway, I was busted almost right away by a man playing in his first event named Tom who now has bragging rights over me.

Back to LA tomorrow and meeting with my partner on creating and developing a reality poker show.

Well, sometimes things don't go as planned. Still in Tucson after getting involved in a four car pile up on the freeway on the way to the airport and took a detour to the hospital. Is it running bad when you hit a car going the wrong way on the freeway or is it good luck that you weren't killed in the process? The answer may define whether you are an optimist or a pessimist. I believe I am of the former, especially considering the fact that we weren't wearing seat belts. In the back of a Town Car heading to the airport an oncoming car hit the vehicle in front of us, then careened off the center divider and then we smashed into it at about 60 mph.

I was texting a message at the time and had my head down so I didn't see the accident unfold. One minute I'm sending a text and the next thing I know I look over at my wife who is hunched over in the seat next to me. My immediate instinct is to get out of the car but my door is jammed. I reach over and push Marsha's door open and see fluid on the ground and smoke coming from the car. I get Marsha out and see the other cars on the freeway strewn about and try to gather where I am and what's going on. We exit the car and stumble over to the side of the freeway. I see an older women not moving and hunched over her airbag. Immediately a young man who happened to be and EMT had stopped to help. As we laid on the side of the road the emotion of the whole event came over me as I look over at Marsha who has blood coming from her nose and mouth. She had bitten her tongue but apart from being dazed and bruised seemed okay. My chest and ribs were hurting but I was more concerned that I may have internal bleeding and spent some anxious moments waiting for the paramedics to assess my condition and transport. Luckily for me I'm well aware of Doyle Brunson's principle, "Never leave yourself drawing dead!"

We spent about 5 hours in the hospital getting tests and making sure we had no life threatening injuries. Thankfully apart from being bruised and beat up we are okay and went back to the hotel to get rest and ice our wounds. Sometimes life moves too fast and unexpected events happen as if to say "slow it down partner." Today is Thursday and we are back in the car on our way to the airport once again to catch a flight to LA. The premiere of "The Heartbreak Kid" is tonight and although I may have a slight limp I look forward to the walk up the red carpet and rubbing elbows with Ben Stiller. From laying on the freeway to walking up the red carpet, talk about life on the edge!

Be safe and happy!

Kenna James

MONDAY