Truth Is Stranger Than Television

An e-mailer asked me the other day if Reno was actually as funny as it appears on Reno 911. I told her that it's even more interesting here than it appears in the fictionalized version--the truth is, the world isn't ready for the REAL Reno. Most mornings I myself don't feel ready for it. But I think her question probably deserves a more detailed answer than the flippant one I gave her.

Exhibit A: Today I had to work with a case that involved a charge of disorderly conduct. Now I won't use proper names, tell you the outcome or give away any specific information so as to protect the anonymity of anyone involved (although it is all a matter of public record if you care to hunt it down), but the charge was based on the report of an officer who came across the defendant at a city bus terminal and found that said defendant had just relieved himself on the sidewalk and was now sitting on a bench with his pants around his ankles and his Special Purpose available for inspection by any interested passer-by. So as you can see, sometimes life in Reno does resemble it's fictional counterpart.

Of course, I'm probably being too harsh. In a lot of ways that show is totally unrealistic. Like for example...., uh,....well, there's....well, we don't actually have any palm trees. There sure do seem to be a lot of palm trees on that show, but we haven't got any in this part of Nevada. So there you have it: totally unrealistic.