THE LAST OF THE MOJITOS (Or, VIRGINIA CITY: WORST AND LAST HANGOVERS) -- Part One

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[Virginia City, Nevada] was a busy city of streets and houses above ground. Under it was another busy city, down in the bowels of the earth, where a great population of men thronged in and out among an intricate maze of tunnels and drifts, flitting hither and thither under a winking sparkle of lights, and over their heads towered a vast web of interlocking timbers that held the walls of the gutted Comstock apart. These timbers were as large as a man's body, and the framework stretched upward so far that no eye could pierce to its top through the closing gloom. It was like peering up through the clean-picked ribs and bones of some colossal skeleton. [...] Taken as a whole, the underground city had some thirty miles of streets and a population of five or six thousand. 
~ Mark Twain
'Roughing It', 1872; Chapter LII
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Virginia City Waltz by Squeek Steele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcdkB3SfOo

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I know nearly every inch of Virginia City, Nevada, because it's my favorite place on the planet. Yeah, I'm lowbrow and lovin' it! 
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The first time I was in Virginia City in this lifetime was 1972 or '73. I have gone back so many times that I couldn't even begin to calculate it. I'd probably been there at least 12 times even before I moved to Reno -- which I did primarily to be within 30 minutes of Virginia City. I own at least 17 books and 2 DVD/VHS programs about VA City!
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My previous blog bit 'bout the place can be found HERE.
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Virginia City Destination Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJ7GzQHYaM

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If that video was a bit too tame for your Wild West cowboy or cowgirl spirit, try this next one. And watch for the brief shot of the lovely Squeek Steele painting soundscapes with the piano...
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Virginia City -- Special Events
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3TVjmYWn5Y


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One morning in 1986, I woke up in a Reno motel room with the worst hangover of my life. Imagine the worst hangover YOU'VE ever had. Multiply it a godzillion and six times!! Now you're in the ballpark. I got as far as the Sugarloaf Mountain Motel in Virginia City. It was probably about 10:00 AM and my day was already done. I rented a room and spent the rest of that day on my back, staring at the popcorn ceiling.
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However, that was before my 1994 encounter with Christ Yeshua. On September 22, 1995, I took a final sip of wine from my silver cup and not a drop of alcohol crossed my lips after that for over 6 years. 
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I can't remember why I started drinking again. I can't even remember where I was or what I drank. I just know that I climbed down off that wagon after 6+ years. 
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In 2017, the Hula Girls socks that FAE gave me became my official Virginia City footwear...
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I made many happy trips up there this year and had a good time visiting my favorite haunts and saloons. (My truck, Chuck, was a real trooper! Never once let me down!!) 
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On several occasions, I texted friends from up there and later wrote to them about Virginia City in Emails. Below are excerpts from some of those writings:
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Amusing signs I've seen in VA City...

"Body Piercings By Glock"

"DOG: Depend On God"

At the Palace Saloon there's a sign that says...

"My Reality Check Bounced"

There's also a store on C Street selling T-shirts that say...

"A.T.F. : Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
Who's bringing the chips?"


"My Indian Name Is Runs-With-Beer"
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Damn, man, I love this place! I'm at the Old Corner Bar again -- where  Sam Clemens became "Mark Twain" -- and the guy next to me orders a drink but tells the bartender not to make it too strong because he has to attend a wedding in an hour.
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The Bartender: "Are you the Best Man?"
Customer: "No, I'm the minister."
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100% true. No joke!
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Now then, you remember me texting you while I was having a drink in The Old Corner Bar? I said it was the place where Samuel Clemens acquired the pen name Mark Twain. Well, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this to you before or not, but... The Old Corner Bar is attached to Piper's Opera House. While visiting Virginia City as a tourist, writer Richard Matheson was captivated by a photograph of the 1800s actress Maude Adams hanging on a wall inside Piper's Opera House. As he stared at the photo, a story began developing in his mind. That story became a novel which became the movie SOMEWHERE IN TIME.
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One of the regulars who live up there in VA City is this guy who plays an old miner character. He has a donkey and for $1.00 you can feed carrots to his donkey and get your picture taken.

He wanders around a bit on C Street, the main street in town, where all the tourists are, but I'd say he spends 80% of his time at a particular intersection.

So, anyway, the miner was standing there on his usual corner and he was talking to a couple of people. I guess they were asking about posing with him or something. And the miner had let go of the reins attached to the donkey's bridle. As he's yakking with the tourists, behind him, the donkey starts to wander off and walks right out into the middle of C Street. Thankfully it's a 20 MPH speed limit on C Street, and no one even came close to hitting the donkey.

But when the miner turned around and saw his donkey in the middle of the street and crossing over toward the other side, he got mad. He runs out there, snatches the reins and starts berating the donkey for being such "a stupid so-and-so", and so forth.
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As I was walking past the miner and donkey -- maybe four or five minutes after the donkey had wandered away and gotten yelled at for it -- I noticed that the miner was talking softly into the donkey's ear and apologizing for having lost his temper and yelling at him.
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Ha!-Ha! Only in Virginia City, man! So many characters there!
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This concludes Part One. Part Two can be found [link:> HERE.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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