Looking for Mr. Reno

I’ll bet you’re going to like this year’s Summer Guide. We elected to go a little abstract with our stories, mostly because we were tired of the same old, go-here–do-this Summer Guide formula. Enter Mr. Reno, the spokesmodel.

Mr. Reno is kind of a pun. When we are talking about the image metaphor for our Summer Guide, we usually bandy about ideas about symbols that represent “summer.” Good examples of this could be sunglasses or heat or sweat. But Mr. Reno is not just an image to represent “summer.” He represents “summer guide.” In other words, he’s the guy to show you summer in the issue devoted to showing you summer. Get it? He is the Summer Guide.

You don’t think it’s funny? I guess it’s possible to get a little punchy when you’ve been involved in eight or nine of these Summer Guides over the years.

Anyway, Miranda Jesch, David Robert and I all get a little bit of credit for the actual sculpting of Mr. Reno. I made three of them, Miranda made eight, and David made some of the accessories, like the guitar and the backpack. You probably would have enjoyed the afternoon we sat around in my supposedly adult office and made Mr. Renos. Miranda probably deserves even more of the credit since she convinced her sister, Amber, to pose for the cover. Of course, I get a little more credit because I convinced my son, Hunter, to pose with the ice cream in the Introduction. Not that it took a lot of convincing.

Anyway, have a nice summer. Be careful out there.

Reason to vote No. 28: Artistic freedom of expression is protected at the highest level by the United States Attorney General. As John Ashcroft proved by covering up “The Spirit of Justice” statue in the Great Hall of the U.S. Department of Justice, some attorneys general take this responsibility more seriously than others. Your vote this election may influence how your civil rights are protected.