A new look and a get well wish

Finally, finally, finally, at the urging of my many readers (all five of them), I have had a new picture taken for the Appeal to accompany this byline. Now you know what I really look like so if you see me around town you will recognize me and you can throw rotten eggs or whatever you may have handy. In any case, I appreciate all of the people who read this column and comment. I have learned that for the most part only those people who agree with the column comment directly to the author so the vast majority of comments I have received over the years have been positive. I suspect that there is an equally large population of readers who vehemently disagree with me and are just not bothering to tell me. In any case, I sincerely appreciate their thoughtful consideration of the issues.

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There is a hole in Carson City daily life. Helen, the redhead who ran the front-end of Bobby Page Dry Cleaners on Winnie Lane, is no longer working there. Every week, when I took my dry cleaning in, I looked forward to her pleasant smile and quick wit. If another customer was in there, she would introduce us and as a result I met a number of people I would not have otherwise known. Evidently, Helen, who is much older than anyone would have suspected, has some health issues so we will have to do without the sparkle in her eyes for a while. We miss you, Helen.

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If you had a hard time understanding the governor's state taxation court challenge, don't feel badly. I have a law degree, and I could not figure it out. I felt like we had stepped through the looking glass and were sliding down a slippery slope into a glitch in the matrix. The only thing that is apparent to me is that gaming miscalculated their hold over legislators and Governor Guinn miscalculated the effect of his imperialistic attitude in January on the eventual outcome of the session. Unfortunately, the educational system was held hostage and ultimately it might be our children who take the brunt of this failure in leadership.

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After several years of mountain biking, I have taken up road biking. I am deathly afraid of being hit by a car, so you will be hearing more about bike paths in this region in future columns. On my inaugural ride around Carson, I was in the bike lane on Fifth Street crossing 395 when two Sierra Pacific trucks hauling skip loaders the size of teenage T-Rexes, sandwiched me in between them - way SCAARRY!

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Carson City, what a great place to live! Architect Art Hannifin organized a hike of about 20 people, two grandchildren and five dogs to ascend Jobs Peak in honor of Lou Douscher's 60th birthday. At the top we signed the log and then enjoyed Angel food cake and sparkling apple juice along with a stirring round of Happy Birthday. The trouble began on the descent when we decided to follow Carter Twedt, American Airline navigator, because he had a really cool GPS and he knew how to use it. We ended up traversing across a 45-degree slope covered with loose shale so slippery that the legislature couldn't have negotiated it. All ended well and we made it to the Hope Valley Resort for homemade pie and a root beer float, an Art Hannifin tradition.

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God willing, when you read this, my husband Tom and I will be skiing in Portillo, Chile to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with family and friends. I will update you next month on 30 years of marriage and seven days of skiing in the southern hemisphere in August.

Linda Johnson is a wife, mother and attorney and has hiked the Sierra for the past 28 years and ridden a road bike in Carson City for the past 28 days.