Virginia City's tourist boom was sparked more than thirty years ago with the popular western TV show, Bonanza. For rancher Ben Cartwright, and his sons Little Joe and Hoss, the main characters in the series, Virginia City, a short ride on horseback, was the hub for banking, visits to saloons, and weekly Sunday night plots that highlighted strong western character and values. In truth, Virginia City was never a center of commerce for ranchers or values, but a booming silver town in the 1860's and 1870's. Al and Jean inform me that reruns of Bonanza are currently shown daily on Mexican TV, although Jean can't get used to Ben Cartwright's high voice in dubbed Spanish. I stare into my coffee cup, with my fingertip flick a fleck of salt from the checkered tablecloth.
People really live there.
What I do not say, but what I'm thinking is that people really die there too. Two weeks ago I had a friend from New York City visiting me in Mexico. We hadn't seen each other in years since we met at the MacDowell Artist's Colony. We talked quietly and seriously about our lives. One of the things I talked about was being homesick for Virginia City.