Twenty years already? My, how time flies!
On Sunday, July 15, 1990, I arrived in the Sacramento area, in my green 1970 VW Volkswagen Bug, from Salt Lake City, UT.
It was an inglorious trip. I was squabbling with my wife, and we drove out separately from Salt Lake City, in separate cars, not knowing where the other one was.
I broke down along I-80, in Nevada. That's one scary prospect, given how empty Nevada is, but as luck had it, I broke down while passing through one of the few substantial towns along the route, on the outskirts of Battle Mountain, NV. I limped into town, only to discover all the garages had closed. It was a Saturday evening. I would have to wait the night.
But someone pointed me to a mobile home on a dirt road on the edge of town, where a backyard mechanic was busy trying to rebuild the engine of a hippie-style school bus for three young people who had similarly become stranded in Battle Mountain. Fortunately, my problem was simpler. The strangest-looking mechanic I ever saw: a bearded, skinny, very-darkly-tanned fellow with one withered arm, and barely-wearing the oiliest, filthiest plaid shirt I had ever seen, soon had me on my way again. Against all appearances, a great guy!
On the way in, I stopped at a Nevada casino. I stopped more out of curiosity than anything else. Backing out of my parking space with my driver's side door unaccountably left open, I badly-damaged a neighboring car's paint job and ruined my door's fit. Perturbed, and irresponsible, I simply drove off.
Like I say, an inglorious trip all around.
After arriving, I met up again with my wife at her parent's house in Orangevale, and tried to mend things.
First day of work in Sacramento, at 8 a.m., Monday, July 16th, I went to the bus stop on Hazel Avenue to catch the bus for the trip into downtown Sacramento. There was a bearded man sitting at the bus stop drinking a beer. Eight a.m. on a Monday! Living in Sacramento wasn't going to be anything like living in Salt Lake City, where it's hard to spot people drinking beer, even on a Saturday night.
Another striking difference between Salt Lake City and Sacramento was how bad the shopping options were in Sacramento supermarkets. Where Salt Lake City supermarkets featured five or six competing brands of consumer products, Sacramento supermarkets featured maybe only two or three competing brands. Why the inferior shopping selection in Sacramento? Because California stores devote a quarter-acre of valuable floor space to wine and other alcoholic products! In Utah, they couldn't do that, since alcohol could only be sold in state liquor stores. So, with all the extra space at their command, Utah supermarkets were able to carry much more competing merchandise. Salt Lake City: a consumer's dreamtown! Who would have thought so?
There are downsides to wine and spirits that people don't give much thought to.
I wonder what the next twenty years will bring?
Please, no flying cars! Don't introduce them when I'm aging, please! Things are hard enough as they are right now on the roads!
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