Down to the finish line

Welcome to this week's Reno News & Review.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my column last week. Five different people called, beginning on Thanksgiving morning. Between that sentence and this, I just got another. We did indeed find Neal C. Kirk, and on Monday, he spoke to his brother for the first time in 56 years. I only tell you this so you don't have to roust the poor guy anymore. Well, I do think it's pretty cool. Silly me, I didn't bother to check my voicemail while I was off for the long weekend. I just figured word would come over email.

Anyway, as I said before, I only knew the guy for a minute a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know my name, and he's unlikely to remember me. I once gave him a business card; he saw the ‘D' and decided it stood for doctor. It just wasn't worth explaining to him.

So what do I know about what's going to happen with him and his family? Little. Things like incredibly long separations take time to heal, and while it seems possible, or even probable, that one family member or the other will travel to Reno to see Nealand (I don't know how to spell this, but this is how his sister-in-law kept referring to him), I won't be surprised if it doesn't happen. I'm hoping for the best, even though I don't know what the “best” is.

Anyway, I don't want to further violate his privacy except to wish him and his family the best. Unless, of course, he meets up with his family members. Then maybe I'll have something more to say, and I'll get to tell you all about it.

***

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I did. Took two whole days to be really off from work and school. Some great people came over and helped me drink Brian's Perfect Eggnog, which is a famous cocktail I developed over years of diligent testing. I ate turkey and stuffing and Dutch bread and pie and drank red wine. And now, I've got about 10 days in which to implode my brain while I try to do my final papers for the semester.