Geezer Misses Blogger Dinner

One of the signs of the ageing process is that you stop paying attention to modern culture. You don’t know where the hangouts are anymore. For me, this happened about 20 years ago, before I moved to Reno. The announcement for the Blogger Dinner just said it would be at the Imperial Bar. No street address was given. Six months ago, I would have just looked in the phone book, but not now. Oh no. I’m a new/social media kind of guy now. I’m up to date. I’m connected.

So, I googled Imperial Bar Reno, and the first one on the list said it was on 4th Street…4th Street? That seemed like an odd place to have a dinner, even by blogger standards. So, I checked the website. I thought it said they serve tall cans there. That’s got to be it. This was going to be an interesting evening.

So, there I was, your friendly neighborhood, mild-mannered Republican, cruising up and down Reno’s notorious Red Light District. I think we can all be thankful that Jerry Falwell did not live to see this day come to pass. One good thing to come out of the experience though, was that I now fully realize just how dark 4th Street is after the sun goes down. It’s very dark. It’s Vincent Price Movie dark. It could definitely use a few more lampposts, like say, one every 4 or 5 blocks, just to get the process started.

A little game I like to play whenever I’m looking for a place I’ve never been before is to count the number of u-turns I have to make before parking the car. Five or less is considered good; two or less is excellent. I stop counting at six. I can say with absolute authority though, that I managed to turn the wrong way on a one-way street only once all evening. There was no traffic, and no cops around, so it doesn’t count. No harm, no foul is the general rule there.

Hopefully there will be another dinner next month. Maybe that announcement will contain a street address as well, like 150 N. Arlington for instance. Or, I could just revert to my old fashioned ways and look in the phone book.