Bad news and good music

With the ever present attempts on behalf of some of our youth in the area to pass themselves off as old enough to "tip a few" in our local drinking establishments, kudos and congratulations need to be made to one vigilant parent, (who shall remain nameless), and also to the action taken by the owner of one bar in our area, to ensure his employees and other patrons were aware of this underage person. Like the wanted posters on the post office wall, the parent provided a photo and description of her underage child to the establishment owner at which point he printed copies, posting it for all his employees to see. If more parents would take the steps this one did, by providing this kind of information to surrounding establishments, it would go a long way toward curbing the problems of underage drinking and make the job of tending bar or being a convenience store clerk just a little less of a police action. Congratulations on a job well done.

On another note, I am sorry to report that we have lost our one and only pizza parlor in Topaz Ranch Estates. Wild West Pizza has closed its doors for good, so now if you get a craving for pizza it means getting in the car and driving to the C.G. Bar in Wellington or a trek to Gardnerville. Sure do hate to see our pizza parlor go.

On a brighter note, Nevada Trading Company has increased its deli selection of sandwiches and has added weekly specials and homemade soup to the menu. With the passing of the non-smoking law where food is being served, Topaz Joe's was forced to close down its grill and the awesome hamburgers and tacos will no longer be available in the bar. To make up for the loss owner, Joe Scalise, has increased the menu offerings and seating arrangements on the store side (in the Nevada Trading Company) to still offer hungry patrons hearty homemade food from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. every day.

n Now a shameless plug for my good buddy John Tyson, not that he needs any plugging. For anyone who has lived in Nevada for any length of time, you will know that Tyson has traveled every inch of Nevada and parts of California and Oregon to bring us wonderful stories in his segment he does for KOLO Channel 8. John has spent a lot of time in our area doing special stories on some of our local residents as well as doing some entertaining for us too, when he and Richard Elloyan entertained at Topaz Lodge during a fundraiser for Kids & Horses Therapeutic Riding Center a few years ago. Most people recognize him for his television show "John Tyson's Journal" but few know that he is a singer among his many other talents and accomplishments.

John, after doing a cut called "Mustang Moon" a few years ago for Lacy J. Dalton's CD "Let 'em Run," recently released his first CD "Sagebrush Justice," a collection of Old West standard tunes - "Shenandoah," "Red River Valley," "Home on the Range" and the like - that he recorded at a performance at the Brewery Art Center in Carson City. John and his wife Patty had asked me a few months ago if I would let them use the drawings I had done of John for his CD cover. Like there would have been any question on my part? I was very flattered. I received my copy last week and over and above the use of the artwork, there was also an additional delight for me when I saw the songs he chose to include in the collection. One in particular, "High Country," written by a mutual friend of ours, Bob Wagoner, who lives in Bishop, Calif., something I had claimed as my very own personal song a long time ago and it always will be personal to me. I am sure John did not include that particular song in the collection with the thought of pleasing me in mind, as it was a tribute dedicated to the author who wrote it. When Bob wrote that song though, he had to been able to hear my heart speak as he wrote about the one thing I love the most ... the high country.

In 1997, John sang at my wedding and one of the two songs he did was "High Country" the other being "Darcy Farrow," also included on the CD. From that day on, every time I was at an event that John was entertaining at, be it the Gold Hill Hotel, Piper's Opera House, Kids & Horses fundraisers or the many events he used to entertain at his ranch in Virginia City, The Tyson Canyon Ranch or Rafter 7-M, he always did "my song" and never failed to dedicate it to me. This was a habit that Bob Wagoner adopted as he also dedicated that song to me, when I was anywhere he was performing.

Just as John sang that song for me on one of the happiest days of my life, he warmed my heart with happy memories as he sang for me once again on one of the saddest days of my life, at my husband's memorial service after he died in April 2005, and "High Country" still speaks to my heart.

To obtain of copy of one of John Tyson's CD's you can e-mail him at tyson.john@sbcglobal.net or write to him at P.O. Box 528, Virginia City, NV 89440.

Until next week, just keep on keepin' on.

n Jonni Hill can be reached through The Record-Courier at jhill@recordcourier.com or by calling 782-5121, ext. 213, or after hours at JHILL47@aol.com