One of the things I love best about living here is what I call: Dirty Reno
This is the old part of Reno, the Gold N Silver Inn, the El Dorado, downtown… This part of Reno.
This is where you end up after Happy Hour. This is where you go after a show, or a ball game… Old downtown 1960s Virginia Street… Dirty Reno.
Today I met a good friend at the Irish Bar: Shanty Dolans. After many beers and shots of Irish whiskey I was ready for a good ol’ French Dip sandwich…at the Gold N Silver Inn… The epicenter of Dirty Reno.
The people-watching is the best part of being here, way better than the food. The people here are what you’d expect in a place called “dirty”. Greezy old veterans, street walkers, tourists…this place gathers them all.
Tonight I’m sitting here waiting for my food and nursing a beer while watching a biker gang size up a group of out-of-towners. I’m anxiously anticipating the drama. Everyone else is staring intently.
It doesnt matter if the food is good or not. That’s not why you come to Dirty Reno. The draw is the entertainment.
Today is December 29th 2021 — it is my birthday — and I am now 50 years old.
For weeks I’ve been thinking about what to post on my website. I’ve been contemplating what I want to say. (I used to have sooo much to say here!) My life is good. Boring, maybe. But easy, and good. I’m happy. I’m content. I’m very lucky to live here, in my house, in Reno.
I sleep better now. Much better than I did 20 years ago. When I was 30, in Chico, my life was chaotic. I was unsure of my future. That’s when I started this blog and posted all the time. I needed a place to clear my head. Now I know exactly where I am and where I’m going. (Nowhere!) When I was 30 I would be awake all night thinking, thinking, thinking… and unable to turn my brain off. Now I’m at peace and I am falling asleep on the couch at 10pm every night.
I don’t travel, I don’t take vacations. I don’t feel like I need to. I’m blessed that everything I need and want is right here, very close by, to my house in Reno. Fishing is 15 minutes away. Truckee is 30 minutes away. Lake Tahoe is 45 minutes away. My dad lives 10 minutes away, and my oldest friend Dave lives 20 minutes away. (I do miss Scott terribly though–he’s 100 miles away).
But most days I’m perfectly happy to stay home. I sit right here in my chair, next to the window that faces my back yard. I look at my pine trees, and snow, and mountains beyond. And I’m at peace. In the morning I sit here with my laptop and a cup of coffee, I work and I think about how lucky I am. This used to be just a dream.
Because I have always hated working in an office–particularly in a cubicle. And now I get to work from home. I used to lay in my rack on the ship when I was in the Navy, and dream about one day having a house in the mountains with pine trees in my yard. And now I have exactly that. I used to dream about living in a place where I can go fly fishing after work. And now my favorite fishing spot on the Truckee River is 15 minutes from my house.
I am living my dreams, my friends. It took me a very long time to get here. And I’m so grateful for what I have. Fortune has smiled upon me.
I don’t post much on this website any more because I don’t have much to say. My life is too easy. I usually tell people that my life isn’t that interesting (it isn’t). I don’t consume The News and I don’t use social media. Because it’s absolutely true what they say: ignorance is bliss. And yes it is, and I highly recommend it.
So that about wraps it up. Today I’m 50 years old and boring.
And finally, I have found my peace.
(me at Fumare in Reno, smoking what Mike Krukow would call, a “victory cigar”)
