As an ex-GI of WWII, I’ve had occasion to attend many celebrations of Veterans Day from various locations ranging from South Korea to Florida.
This year my locale of choice was a typical American community—Virginia City. Watching a long and impressive parade from the warm confines of the Delta Saloon and Restaurant, I noticed the very active local participants were well-abetted by military units from Fernley and a number of independent clubs. Equally impressive was a large number of spectators, lined some three or four deep. Those viewers ranged in age from tiny tots in belly-packs to grizzled vets. It was a true slice of Americana that would have warmed the cockles of the heart of famous artist Norman Rockwell.
Following the parade, the Delta main room, which is a treasure-trove of photos, chandeliers and other historic memorabilia, was the scene of a vibrant floor show.
The show was called, “Retro Radio Dolls” and featured three powerful singers, who were dressed in appropriate clothing of the 40’s-era and sang famous nostalgic songs. The greatest applause came after their renditions of, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”.
A capacity crowd filled the room, which saw many of the patrons get up and dance to the melodic tunes.
The entire operation was under the direction of owner Doc Amalfitano, who assisted in the serving of food and libations to the huge crowd.
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WCSD WOES. The latest trouble facing the Washoe County School Trustees is a fiscal one. It seems they are short $6.6 million over some miscalculations in per-pupil funding. This comes on the heels of the much-ballyhooed issue over the evaluation of Superintendent Tracey Davis’ performance. In essence, Davis is accused of lack of communication and interaction with members of the teaching community. Her hands-off approach to the job might be due to the fact that she lives in Clarke County according to the latest information.
Another interesting fact is that the re-negotiation of her contract will require the hiring of outside legal counsel since the Board’s lawyer reports directly to Davis. Currently, Davis’ annual salary package totals some $360,000.
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FAULTY INFORMATION. As much as I dislike second-hand print stories, I also note that there are often many mistakes made on television. The latest such one to occur was on the “Old Tales of Nevada” show. Mrs. Hayes-Zorn was being interviewed by host John Obrien about the Nevada Historical Society’s current show on Reno. They were in the Gaming section and standing in front of a large portrait of a grey-haired bespectacled gentleman wearing flamboyant suspenders and when Obrien asked Mrs. Hayes-Zorn who the gentleman was, she replied, “That’s Harold of Harold’s Club.” In actuality, people who knew the Smith Family that operated the Club would have recognized the portrait as that of Raymond I. “Pappy” Smith, founder of the establishment.
An interesting side-note: When the Club first opened, Pappy wanted to name it, “Ray’s Club” in honor of his oldest son. Ray demurred and said, “No, I think we should name it after my younger brother Harold because he looks so much like movie star Harold Lloyd.”
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BIDEN RESURFACES. Currently, former Vice President Joe Biden is on a nation-wide book tour. In addition to promoting his tome, he has sat down with TV interviewers who have unanimously brought up the prospect of his running for President in 2020. In his answers to them, he has expressed remorse for not running in 2016 but has noted that at that time he was still grieving over the sudden death of his son. What was not noted is that he would have had little chance of besting fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, who had taken control of the DNC and who had locked up most of the super-delegates. It was the same Clinton strategy that doomed Bernie Sanders’ campaign.
Since Biden will be seventy-eight in 2020, he would surpass Ronald Reagan in age as a candidate.
Also, during the Obama administration, Biden was joined at the hip with the President and backed him on his (Obama’s) controversial mandates.
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SPEAKING OF OBAMA. One wag at a recent kaffee klatch noted that President Obama might have had the most effective plan to stop illegal immigration. His rationale was that Obama, by his rollout of massive regulations intended to bring America in line with most third-world countries, would have been a salient point in deterring people from entering this nation. His thought could be summed up by the illegal immigrant stating, “Why do I want to go to a country that is just as bad as the country I’m in?”
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CAL NEVA LODGE MYSTERY. Several weeks back, I received a tip that former Oracle head man Larry Ellison had purchased the Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe for the sum of $36 million. To date, I have not seen any news release or confirmation of this story.
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