Hard news

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

This was always supposed to be the column about nothing. The whole idea of the thing originated because this newspaper and its employees had a reputation for being radical, bomb-tossing liberals. Of course, yes, we earned some of the reputation, but the fact is when we’re sitting around the office, feet kicked up on our desks, we talk about the things in life that really matter: What did you do this weekend? How does your garden grow? Does my giant gut make me look fat? My dog ate my bird. Doesn’t poor service at local businesses piss you off?

The thought was, if readers could see that we’re just plain ol’ folks here, maybe we could do something about the somewhat inaccurate view people in town had about us and the paper. I mean, the column would always be available when I needed it for newspaper business, like to apologize to people we’d inadvertently offended, take potshots at people we didn’t quite offend enough, make announcements about changes at the paper.

But I mostly write about the stuff that everyone goes through. Yesterday, I went through one of those things.

Last night, my significant other and I had to have one of those conversations with our son: “Mom and dad aren’t going to live together anymore. We love you. You are going to live at this house this week, a different one the next, back here the next. Alice the dog is going to be wherever you are. Everything is going to be all right.”

I know many readers have had this conversation—either as the giver or the recipient. I also know some people read my little meaningless column every week. I guess when I consider all the other things that will pop up—as associated with the previous paragraph—in future Editor’s notes, I’d be a bit remiss if I didn’t offer regulars a heads up.

So here we go. Oh, man. Not this again.