Letters

Stories to tell

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Happy holidays, folks!

Our 95-word fiction issue is always a fun change of pace. And this year, the change felt needed. I’ve been pretty stressed—in addition to all the usual stuff, I’ve been wrapping up a busy semester at the university, and moving—not far, just 0.6 of a mile from my current place, but it’s just enough added stress to make my eyeballs feel heavy with blood. Anyway, it was nice to kick back and read some bite-sized morsels of fiction from our creative friends, neighbors and other people who read our paper—some just to hate on it—or folks who just like to submit short fiction to contests with no cash prizes.

We had a big crop of submissions this year, and the stories seemed better than in some previous years, even though many of them were on the sad side. Nice work, folks.

To cap off the sad batch of stories, I received an email from reader Craig Paulsen. He wrote that his daughter, Sabrina, passed away in 2009 at the age of 24. She was a prolific writer and he came across a story that was just about exactly the right length for our contest. She was a journalism student who grew up in Reno, so she might have even been working on it for the contest.

Either way, Paulsen found the story after our deadline and sent it after we’d already started judging, so we weren’t able to include it in the contest, but it’s a nice story and the circumstances seemed to warrant a publication:

Handsdown,thisisthebestday Icaneverremember.I’llalways rememberthesoundofthestereo, thescentofyourhairthatItwirled inmyfingers,andthetimeonthe dockwhenwerealizeditwassolate, andtheworkthatwe sharedtogether.Thestreets were wet and thegate was locked,so Ijumpedit, andIletyouin,andyoustoodatthe doorwithyourhandsonmywaist, andyoukissedmelikeyoumeantit, andIknewthatyoumeantit.

—Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

Liberal letter by liberal writer

Can we cool it with the liberal use of the word “liberal?” Last week two out of four letters used the word in an almost derogatory fashion, as if to imply that a word describing a political philosophy had inherent negative qualities by merit of its existence. It’s this kind of discourse that shuts everything down. If you’re convinced that the other side is inherently wrong because of their beliefs, you will find that discussing and participating in democratic politics will be extremely difficult. If that’s the way one sees the world, they should just admit they’re more of an authoritarian than they are a believer in democracy.

I’m no fool—I realize the word conservative gets demonized plenty as well, and it would behoove ardent left-wingers to read and discuss credible right-wing news sources in order to gain insight and perhaps even discover genuine profundity coming from the opposition. The difficulty with the next few years is that we must realize that even though we differ in values we may not disagree on what a positive outcome would be.

Zachary Boyden Reno

Trump’s acreage landslide

Re “Government Overthrow” (Notes From the Neon Babylon, Nov. 17):

Bruce, sorry the election result caused the herpes to flare up. You seem to labor under the misconception that the United States of America is a democracy. It is not. Rather, it is a federal republic. And a constitutional republic. Under that Constitution, the states (not just citizens!) are accorded minority rights and protections. And I know you’re all about minority rights, now aren’t you? The Electoral College, by design, practically ensures that a handful of states cannot dominate a large majority of states in selecting a President.

Consider that Trump not only won 30 states (60 percent), but over 2,600 counties (83 percent) to Clinton’s less than 500. Clinton’s measly 2 percent margin in so-called “popular vote” pales in comparison. Drop all the f-bombs you like, but even millions of precious snowflakes signing an online petition ain’t going to do away with the Electoral College. You know that. So why lead your impressionable acolytes astray by suggesting otherwise? Rather, you should embrace the Electoral College as the bulwark against tyranny that it is! To quote a now-infamous President: “Elections have consequences.” Live with them, with dignity and grace.

Brian Adams Reno

Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Brad Bynum News Editor Dennis Myers Special Projects Editor Jeri Chadwell-Singley Arts Editor Kris Vagner Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Matt Bieker, Bob Grimm, Anna Hart, Ashley Hennefer, Shelia Leslie, Eric Marks, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Marc Tiar, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Design Manager Lindsay Trop Art Directors Brian Breneman, Margaret Larkin Marketing/Publications Manager Serene Lusano Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Senior Advertising Consultants Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Advertising Consultant Emily Litt Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager/Operations Coordinator Kelly Miller Distribution Assistant and Driver Jennifer Cronin Distribution Drivers Alex Barskyy, Bob Christensen, Debbie Frenzi, Denise Cairns, Gary White, Jennifer Gangestad, Lori Ashley, Lori DeAndreis, Marty Lane, Marty Troye, Patrick L’Angelle, Tracy Breeden, Vicki Jewell President/CEO Jeff VonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Executive Coordinator Carlyn Asuncion Project Coordinator Natasha VonKaenel Director of People & Culture David Stogner

Bergland on Hartman on Myers

Re “Hartman on Myers” (letters, Dec. 1):

Hey Jim, question 2 passed. Google it. Now, after 50 years, I can finally roll a legal doobie and smoke it in the privacy of my own home. Ha!

You need to quit attacking our hard working researcher and reporter, and get rid of some of that nastiness. Many admire Mr. Myers, and although I may not always agree with his good works, I do respect him. Mebbe you should chill, and—oh never mind, it would just make you crazy(er).

Hey, marihuana’s legal now, you really should learn to deal with it. It’s not going away. If you don’t like it, well, don’t smoke it. Isn’t that a real, real, real simple solution?

Is it 4:20 yet?

Craig Bergland Reno

Editor’s note: Mr. Bergland’s spelling of marijuana reflects a practice of many decades by the federal government, whose early drug warriors seemed to have some kind of resistance to that J. The federal spelling was finally brought in line with the rest of humankind in the early days of the Reagan administration because, as Justice Department official Richard Williams put it, “People are making fun of us because we don’t even know how to spell it.” Thus are federal drug policies made, and the old form is sometimes used to poke fun at federal ignorance. Ω

ERIK HOLLAND

Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Dargitz Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Kate Gonzales N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes

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