Making Time to Write

While I'm not certain where this comes from, I thought I'd share it anyway. For me, making time to write has always be something of a struggle. It takes determination to make a writing schedule and stick to it. My time is limited. While my writing time isn't the most important thing in my life, …

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Silver Tailings: Germany and the Comstock

Baron Ferdinand Richthofen (uncle of World War I German fighter ace, the 'Red Baron') visited  in 1866 to examine the Comstock Lode for himself. He wrote a report of his trip that claimed the lode was a 'true fissure vein.' This meant the silver went down into the earth for thousands of feet. The quantity of …

Silver Tailings: Attention Ghost Hunters!

In my experience, there are many places some folks would consider as haunted. One of those places is the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah. According to legend, Wyatt Earp kept the saloon, Jack Dempsey was a bouncer, and Howard Hughes married Jean Peters at the Mizpah. But Wyatt Earp left Tonopah before the Mizpah was built, …

Caughlin Fire Victim Named

For the last couple of weeks, the media has simply identified him as the "74-year-old man who had a heart attack while evacuating from the Caughlin Fire." Well, we now know his name and the events leading up to his death. Born in 1937, Gordon Cupples, grew up in Red Bluff and joined the U.S. …

A Recollective Kiss

It’s a memory I’ve kept to myself for years, fearful that the person it involves might not recall things as I do. But I’ve decided to share it anyway – since I ain’t getting any younger. We were playing along the fence line, jus’ beyond the swings and the twirler bar before school started at …

Silver Tailings: Crystal Peak

In 1864, the Crystal Peak Company founded a town in Washoe County near the mountain of that name, a couple of miles north of where the Truckee River exits Truckee Canyon. Part of the town was in Nevada, but part of it was in California. Fortunately, Sierra County, California did not squabble over taxation and …

Weighting

For the last six months Kay has been working the Weight Watchers program. She’s have success with it too. This new eating life-style has led to some odd recipes; some having tasted rather delicious – while others, not so much. Either way, I try to encourage her to stick to the plan and try different …

Silver Tailings: Tuscarora

In 1871, the newest EI Dorado in silver was Tuscarora in Independence Valley. The town was 25 miles away from one neighbor, Cornucopia, and 45 miles away from another, Columbia. At its liveliest, perhaps there were 4,000 inhabitants. A rush of men journeyed to the area when the silver was discovered. As usual, more went …

Goodbye, JK

His death rocked the news and broadcast community throughout Northern Nevada. JK Metzker died November 13th after being struck by a vehicle while crossing North Virginia late Saturday. He was only 41-years old and a father of three young boys. The news practically shattered the staff of KTVN, where he was Sports Director. The TV …

Silver Tailings: The Pony Express

In April 1860, the Pony Express Company was started. It's only link to the US Post Office was that the letters it carried had to have stamps on them. This enabled them to be dropped in the mail when a city with a post office had been reached. The delivery cost of a letter between …

The Caughlin Ranch Conflagration

It began, at least for me, at about 12:25 Friday morning. I was listening to the scanner in the station's newsroom, when I heard a fire crew tell dispatch they were unable to get a handle on brush fire  burning in a ravine, between Cashill Drive and Skyline Blvd. A second crew was sent and even …

Silver Tailings: Gold Hill County

This series was written as a part of a advertizing campaign that Paul Stewart and I dreamed up for KONE Country. Unfortunately it never got beyond this stage as the format changed from Country to American Standard music. We had intended them to be voiced-over by Norm Nielson, who had some fame as one of the writers …

Occupy This!

Time and again I’ve heard the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd and their offspring, “Occupy Oakland,” “Occupy Seattle,” etc., tell a news camera they have a right to assemble and protect. And I’ll go so far as to say they are absolutely right and I’d defend that right with the last bit of my strength. But …

Wild Goose Chasing

Slowly I was drawn from sleep by the thump-thump-thump of a helicopter flying around behind my home. This was overtaken by the annoying rattle and buzz of my windows, vibrating from the power of the helicopters blades. “What the hells going on?” I mumbled as I crawled from bed to look out my bedroom window. …

Some Little Known Information

Watching TV shows and movies regarding “the War on Drugs,” where U.S. Forces sought to cripple the cocaine trade between Central America and North America, I see one glaring error, time after time. Our guys are packing the wrong weapon! Oh, certainly you see the M-16 or the AR-15 – but those were the arms …

Conspiracy Theories Aside

It's been six-years since I was "deuced" from my last job. That's the term used for firing someone for blogging about company business -- disparaging or not. It's possible it could happen again. I hope that's not the case though. The last few days I’ve heard all sorts of rumors floating around why the radio …

JK Metzker

It was a little before midnight Saturday, when I heard chatter on the newsroom scanner that a man had been struck by a hit-and-run driver near the University of Nevada, Reno's campus. It was obvious from the sound of thing he was in bad shape. A minute more and I heard someone clearly say, "Its …

Two Effing Lines?! Really! Come on!

I've been sitting on this for a long time... "Adam was born on August 4, 1963 and passed away on Monday, January 25, 2010. Adam was a resident of Hydesville, California." That's all the online obituary reads. Are you fucking kidding me?! Two friggin' lines meant to cover 46-years of life. Bullshit! This pisses me …

Marine Arrogance

A Marine Sergeant wrote this in response to an Army guy who posted a comment on the Marine Corps site that he was sick and tired of "Marine arrogance". The Sergeant writes: "I think that's what makes Marines special, if only in our own minds, is that elusive Quality of Esprit D'Corps. It's the fact …

She Used to Write

When I first met my friend Kay in 1995, she had jus’ started down the long road of recovery from a having a brain tumor surgically removed. I was working as a driver for CitiLift and she was a reservationist for Reno Air. By the time I’d pick her up from her work place to …

Beyond the Blue

We had jus' moved the KHIT studios from Neil Road to South Virginia. At the time I was working as the overnight jock. As normal, I came in about half-an-hour early jus' so I could get a pot of coffee on and so the person I was taking over for would not have to worry …

A Surprise Between the Sheets

When I left my barracks room, my bed was perfectly made. There were no bumps or wrinkles in it. The same couldn't be said by the time I returned from class. There was a fairly large lump in the center of the mattress. At first I thought someone had jus' stuffed something under the top …

Silver Tailings: Creech AFB — Little Base, Big Role

One of the smaller military bases in the U.S. is located in the Nevada desert, north of Las Vegas. It also plays one of the biggest roles in the nation's war on terror. The airfield that now bears General Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech’s name was originally built by the Army in the early 1940s to …

Wasp the Matter?

The four of us were down in what we commonly referred to as the pasture. There was John Paul Arnold, Chucky Yates, Adam and myself. We were doing what young kids do – especially boys – roughing around, chasing each other, etc. How we all ended up together on that Saturday morning is lost to …

The Burnt and the Brave

It was a temporary assignment to learn how to deal with life-threatening burns in a clinical setting. I was familiar with the place as I had been assigned to Brooks Air Force Base for technical school a couple of years earlier, which borders the fort. The school was one of the most unpleasant courses I …

Into the Freeze

The entire week had been one snow day after another. Despite this, I decided to enjoy my time off by taking a day-trip to take photographs and see what else I could learn about Nevada. The roads were icy and therefore slick – making driving fast a bad idea. So I took my time, stopping …

When Reflections Attack

We should have never been inside the old, abandon house, but then again the back door should have been locked. It was reportedly haunted, but I wouldn’t stick around long enough to find out. The DeMartin’s house sat vacant for years facing the beach that also carries the same name. And while I won’t tattle …

Bluebird

The swirling, blowing snow made for a confusing pattern as the Bluebird headed west out of Nebraska and back to the Air Base. The sun had already set and the darkness seemed to add to that confusion. Everyone aboard the bus knew the trip home would be long and boring. Many had drifted off to …