The Vacancy Sign Is Always On At The Drifterhotel

Woody Barlettani owns the hot dog cart at the Truckee River and Sierra Street. He doesn't usually look like he smells something stinky. OK, his mom made us say that--he really does.

So who is this guy, the manager of the Drifterhotel? It is, of course, highly likely that you don't want to know, but we'll tell you anyway. Of course. He came on the Nevada scene about a quarter century ago after working at various publications in Southern California (That's not the best thing to put on a resume), at a fine publication in Northern California (Near Berkeley, so that's probably OK), worked the streets of the Comstock for a Virginia City publication (That's the best one for a resume), and excels in making one of the best marinara sauces you've tasted.

Woody isn't unlike hundreds of thousands of us who managed to survive the '60s despite every effort by those in power to have us hauled off and done away with. His cartoons are a form of poetry that dances through the mind, and, at least for this old journalistic dog, conjures some wonderful memories.

He's not as old as the editor of this rag, but at least he likes the "old-time rock-n-roll," and if you're a really good person, you can discuss any subject under the sun at his rolling hot dog stand on Sierra Street, downtown Reno. He had a hot dog stand in Oakland, California for awhile and a member of the Black Panthers was a regular customer, but challenged him on his "hot dog stand philosophy."

Oh, yes, one more thing. Woody Barlettani has had brain surgery, but he swears on a stack of hot dog buns drowning in marinara sauce that the surgery was not a lobotomy.

For more on Woody, see The Hot Dog Guy (Reno News & Review article).

--Editor