Time off

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Can you believe it? I’m on vacation. I don’t have any big plans, just hanging out at the house this week, although I did have quite a wild weekend. Chuck Laugh, my roommate from 1987, came into town for a union conference, and we tore up the town pretty good. It’s kind of funny how 20 years can pass, and people don’t really change deep down. Of course, he’s grayer than he was all those years ago, and I’m balder, but in many ways, it was as though no time had passed.

Saturday, we made it down to the Aut-Fest on Victorian Square in Sparks. It was a very cool event, a benefit for autistic children. There were four venues, 29 bands or so, just about any style you can imagine. I find myself hoping that this becomes an annual event; the speed, diversity and quality with which this came together suggests to me that Aut-Fest has legs.

Today is Hunter’s first day back at school. His summer vacation ends just as mine begins. He finished his on a couple of high notes: On Friday, the last official weekday of summer, we floated the Truckee River from Dorostkar Park down to Wingfield. A few days earlier, my cat, Prometheus, got into it with a skunk. That’s some powerful funk, and Hunter and I were wandering around, looking for the source of the electrical fire. I know—pretty exciting stuff at Casa Burghart.

So, let the kicking back begin. I’ve got some chores around the house I want to handle. The back deck needs staining, and it wouldn’t hurt any to clean the house from top to bottom. We’ll see, though, I’ve got allergic reactions to this haze that’s been hanging around over the valley: sinusitus, fever, aches and pains. But I certainly don’t want to let a little cold get in the way of a good time.