Lonnie Hammergren finally did something of taste

Nevada has a host of colorful political figures. Las Vegas had a former showgirl and now has a former Mafia defense attorney as mayor. The biannual legislature meetings may have yet to let go of it's wild west protocol. I remember one Sherrif candidate with go-go dancers on his 4th of July float (he didn't win). But the epitome of unusual characters in the public eye has to be neurosurgeon and former Lt. Governor Lonnie Hammergren.

I've met this man several times, although I'm sure he doesn't remember me. I remember one particular time he was at the unveiling of an interpretive site about the Great Unconformity. Strange this, when Hubby and I heard of the ceremony on NPR, we thought we'd be surrounded by a few tens of geology geeks and that would be it. Instead, Interior Sec. Bruce Babbit, (now Minority Leader)Senator Reid, and Lt. Gov (at the time) Lonnie Hammergren were there, among other political figures. The dignitaries nearly outnumbered the Geeks. Hammergren joked that he came to the event because he thought it was for him, the Great Non-conformist.

That title doesn't even begin to describe him. He has a stretch of three homes in Las Vegas, with the backyards connected, where he keeps a scale model of the Thomas & Mack sports arena, a very large model of a UFO, and several other unusual things to maintain in anyone's backyard. He's been accused of accosting hospital orderlies. He likens himself to Teddy Roosevelt, to the point of having grown the mustache and dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing. I do have to say that I was most impressed with the Lt. Governor's race of I think 1996, where neither of the candidates resorted to dirty stuff. Lonnie looked like he was slitting his own political throat with his colorful mailings all about Teddy Roosevelt, but I think the populace was refreshed by such polite-yet-odd discourse in the midst of a particularly ugly State Supreme Court race, and kept him in office.

Anyways, to get on with it since my kids are wanting me to help make a tent with them, he had a float in this year's local 4th of July parade. Not unusual, he's had some doozies before, usually involving an airline staircase. But this time, I have to give him credit. This bizarre Republican put in a memorial float for the fallen Nevadans in the Middle East since 2001. Relatively tastfully done, names on plaques on an A-frame structure, what looked like a coffin in the back. I think there had to be close to 100 names on it. No one dared throw water balloons at this float.

In a parade full of uniformed men and women, and several "God Bless America" floats, it was refreshing to see something recognizing part of the true cost of this insanity. In a day of flag-waving and rhetoric, here was something bringing truth to the situation.