That's What You Get For Waking Up In Reno

 My regular 9:30 class on Thursday was cancelled this morning, meaning I actually had the opportunity to sleep in. So, naturally, I woke up at 7:56 A.M. This was the first time I have awoken unassisted before 8:00 am in several years (if the students in my 8:00 A.M. English class couldn’t already tell by my consistently lovely, I-rolled-out-of-bed-15-minutes-ago look). Obviously, some greater force wanted me to go on my walk for Walking Blog #9. I begrudgingly pulled myself out of bed, cursed my brain for letting this rare opportunity go to waste, laced up, and started on my run downtown. This time, I made sure to travel though the casino district before preceding down the Riverwalk and through my favorite neighborhood, which I mentioned in my previous Walking Blog entry.

                Because I visited the Riverwalk again on this walk/run, the marked difference between the casino district and the Riverwalk was more apparent to me. Physically, the contrast is rather stark—the casinos, at least to me, have always seemed shoddy and unappealing. Perhaps it is the stereotypical people that peruse this district that create this aura, or simply the idea of the casinos themselves. Either way, there is a definite difference in values that is present between the Riverwalk and surrounding neighborhood and the casino district. Casinos seem manipulative, dirty, and slightly unkempt, while the Riverwalk is beautiful and inviting. I was not aware that university students were once “off limits” to this area, but I definitely understand why. Or maybe I’m still cranky after waking up so early, who knows.

I suppose I could blame the city planners for this difference, as it could be said that they “control” the literal and spatial rhetoric of this area, but I think it would be more accurate to claim that the intentions behind the casinos are more responsible.  This, of course, is not to say that every person who steps foot in a casino is the next Al Capone, but there is a certain shadiness in the nature of the place itself—its manipulation, gluttony, wastefulness, etc. On the same note, however, Reno would perhaps not be able to afford to build locations like the Riverwalk if it weren’t for the venue that the casinos contribute to the city. This symbiotic relationship between these areas is therefore not only interesting, but necessary as well. One makes the city more aesthetically appealing and draws people in this manner, while the other provides the means for its existence.

So, for now, I guess I’ll have to deal with the casinos if I still want my Riverwalk. Besides, Reno wouldn’t really be Reno without one of its signature, attractions, right?