Can’t trust that day

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

This little column is sometimes the most difficult part of my job. Sometimes, it’s easy—I have important information to disseminate regarding what’s going on here at the paper.

(And now it’s time for a commercial break: We have our 95-word Fiction Contest deadline coming up; all entries must be received by 5 p.m. on Aug. 18. Send to <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">{ document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97,32,104,114,101,102,61,34,109,97,105,108,116,111,58,114,101,110,111,102,105,99,116,105,111,110,64,110,101,119,115,114,101,118,105,101,119,46,99,111,109,34,62,114,101,110,111,102,105,99,116,105,111,110,64,110,101,119,115,114,101,118,105,101,119,46,99,111,109,60,47,97,62)) } </script> with Fiction 2009 in the subject line. We also have our first ever songwriting contest deadline coming up. Go to www.newsreview.com/reno/ballot/renomusicsubmission.)

Other times, I like to write about the people and events that make up the lives of our staff—marriages, pregnancies, awards, gardens, lost loves, you know, all that light-hearted stuff that lets you readers know that we aren’t some megalithic ivory tower organization, but just a four-and-a-half person editorial staff that works its ass off every week to make a newspaper that’s relevant, fun and informative.

This morning, Monday, it’s hard. I’m sitting here reeling from three phone calls I received before 9 a.m. In the first, a friend called with a conversation that made me question the very basis of our friendship; in the second, a good friend called for a ride home from 911 Parr Blvd. after she was arrested with a DUI; in the third, a friend who’s suffering from cancer called to say he hasn’t been feeling too good lately.

I’m not so egotistical as to believe that any of this is about me. But I know there are many of you out there who are looking around the world for some kind of lynchpin to grab onto, something that’s going to give you hope that everything’s going to work out.

Well, you know what? It’s not all dark out there. There are rays of light—maybe it’s your job or your family or your health—that you can concentrate into a laser beam that will lead you to the dawn.