Walking Journal #16

Another place that Allison frequents in Downtown Reno is the Cal Neva. Allison spends most of her nights working as a waitress at the Cal Neva, and it becomes an important spot for her because she meets friends here, including Dan. “The Cal Neva Top Deck restaurant re-hired her and when they did, she asked to be put on graveyard shirt. She was scared to sleep at night in the apartment alone, and the restaurant even at the late hours was half full and the tips decent. The drunks were there, but a security guard and manager walked the floor and together they made sure the customers stayed in line. At the end of the first month, she had regulars, and the regulars became the first friends she had in town” (Vlautin 90). I see the Cal Neva as Allison’s comfort zone: working reminds her of the home she’s been driven out of, and keeps her safe at night when she’s most afraid. The Cal Neva for Allison compares to my dorm for me. While Allison finds comfort in the Cal Neva, I’m comforted and reminded of home by my dorm room.

Allison’s trips to the Cal Neva consist of her working. She goes to the restaurant late at night and works until early morning. She sees the late night scene of things at the restaurant. Also, Allison meets a plethora of people at the Cal Neva, most of who are troubled in some way. “There was a frail old woman who dressed in western outfits. Her teeth were either missing or rotten. She was a drunk. Every night at two a.m. she came in, sat in the girl’s section, and ordered the late night Calorie Saver Special: a single hamburger patty, cottage cheese, a half peach in light syrup, and wheat toast. She never ate the hamburger, just had it put in a to-go bag. ‘Saving it for later?’ asked the girl one night. ‘I have a dog named Cottonball. It’s his only supper.’ ‘What about you?’ ‘Me?’ ‘Is this your only supper?’ ‘It is,’ the old woman whispered… the girl began giving her an extra hamburger patty each time she came in” (Vlautin 90). Allison also meets Dan at the restaurant, “he sat alone, and each morning he wore the same thing: black work shoes and a dark blue uniform with a patch on the left breast that read ‘Dan’” (Vlautin 93). I think that Allison is able to relate to these troubled characters in her section of the restaurant: she sees in them what she often feels.

My trip to the Cal Neva was less dramatic than Allison’s time here. The casino itself isn’t very impressive in my opinion, just another casino in Downtown Reno. The surroundings, however, are easy to relate to Allison’s surroundings. The streets of Downtown Reno are less friendly than what I’m used to at the University. Maybe some of the people at the Cal Neva share a similar story as Allison or one of her friends, but it’s hard to tell.

While the Cal Neva is a place of safety and friends for Allison, it seems to me like just another downtown casino. The Cal Neva of Northline is easy to relate to the Cal Neva of my Reno, although the Cal Neva of Northline holds much more significance to Allison than the Cal Neva of my Reno holds for me.